POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

GRADUATE SCHOOL
Sta. Mesa, Manila

Cognitive Social Learning Theory

(Julian B. Rotter)

In partial fulfillment for the requirement in the subject PSY 643 Advanced Theories in
Personality

Submitted to:

Dr. Loreto V. Jao

Submitted by:

Marry Jane R. Sioson

MP-CP-1

COGNITIVE SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

Social Cognitive Learning theories of Julian Rotter rest on the assumption that
cognitive factors help shape how people will react to environmental forces. Both
theorist object to skinners explanation that behavior is shaped by immediate
reinforcement and instead suggest that ones expectation that behavior is shaped
by immediate reinforcement and instead suggest that ones expectations of future
events are prime determinants of performance.
Rotter contends that human behavior is best predicted from an
understanding of the interaction of people with their meaningful environments. As
an interactionist, he believes that neither the environment itself nor the individual is
completely responsible for behavior. Instead he holds that peoples cognitions, past
histories, and expectations of the future are keys to predicting behavior.
BIOGRAPHY OF JULIAN ROTTER
Rotter was born on October 22, 1916 in Brooklyn, New York,
United States
as the third son of Jewish
immigrant parents.
In the years of elementary and secondary schools, he
became interested with psychology and philosophy through
readings.
Rotter recalled that he fit Adlers description of a highly
competitive fighting youngest child.
He was particularly impressed by Adler and Freud.
O In 1930, an activist he was very
much
concerned
with
social
injustice
and
economic
depression.
O In 1937, received his BA major in
Chemistry at Brooklyn College at
21 years old.
O In 1938, received his MA at the
University of IOWA Graduate
School in Psychology
O He completed an internship in
clinical psychology at Worcester
Hospital in Massachusetts, where
he met his future wife, Clara
Barnes. Their union was blessed
with two children.
O In 1941, earned his PhD in
Psychology at Indiana University

O The same year Rotter accepted a

position as clinical psychologist at
Norwich
State
Hospital
in
Connecticut
O Influences include Alfred Adler and
Kurt Lewin, Clark Hull, B.F. Skinner,
and Edward Tolman
O At the advent of World War II, he
was drafted into the army and
spent more than 3 years as an
army psychologist
O 1946, together with George Kelly,
built a clinical psychology program
at Ohio State University
O An Active Participant in the
Boulder Conference which defined
training for doctoral-level clinical
psychologists

O He stated that psychologists must

be trained in the psychology
department
not
under
the
supervision of a psychiatrist.

O He later married psychologist

Dorothy Hochreich. Rotter died
January 6, 2014, at the age of 97
at his home in Connecticut.

O
O

O
O

O
O
O
O
O INTRODUCTION TO ROTTERS SOCIAL LEARNING THRORY
O Social Learning Theory rest on five basic hypotheses.
1. It assumes that humans interact with their meaningful environments.
O
Peoples reaction to environmental stimuli depends on the
meaning or importance that they attach to an event
O
2. Human Personality is learned.
O
Thus, It follows that personality is not determined at any
particular age of development; instead, it can be changed or modified as long
as people are capable of learning.
O
3. Personality has a basic unity.
O
People learn to evaluate new experiences on the basis of
previous reinforcement. This relatively consistent evaluation leads to greater
stability and unity of personality.
O
4. Motivation is goal directed
O
He rejects the notion that people are primarily motivated to
reduce tension or seek pleasure, insisting that the best explanation for
human behavior lies in peoples expectations that their behaviors are
advancing them towards goal.
O
5. People are capable of anticipating an event.
O
People are most strongly reinforced by behaviors that move
them in the direction of anticipated goals.
O
O
O PREDICTING SPECIFIC BEHAVIORS
A. BEHAVIORAL POTENTIAL (BP)
O
Refers to the likelihood that a given behavior will occur in a
particular situation.
O
O
For example:
As Megan, walks toward a restaurant, she
has several behavioral potentials. She might pass by without noticing
restaurant; actively ignore it; stop to eat; think about stopping to eat,
but go on; examine the building and contents with a consideration to

purchase it; or stop go inside, and rob the cashier. For Megan, in this
situation, the potential for some of these behaviors would approach
zero, some would be very likely, and others would be in between these
extremes.
O
B. EXPECTANCY
O
Refers to a persons expectation that some specific
reinforcement or set of reinforcement will occur in a given situation.
The probability is not determined by the individuals history of
reinforcements, as Skinner contended, but is subjectively held by the
person.
O
O
Generalized expectancies (GEs) are learned through previous
experiences with a particular response or similar responses and are
based on the belief that certain behaviors will be followed by positive
reinforcement.
O
O
For example: College students whose previous hard work has
been reinforced by high grades will have a generalized expectancy of
future reward and will work hard in a variety of academic situations.
O
O
Specific expectancies are designated as E (E prime). In any
situation the expectancy for a particular reinforcement is determined
by a combination of a specific expectancy (E) are the generalized
expectancy (GE).
O
O
For example: A student may have general expectancy that a
given level of academic work will be rewarded by good grades but may
believe that an equal amount of hard work in a french class will go
unrewarded.
O
C. REINFORCEMENT VALUE
O
Is the persons preference for a particular reinforcement. The
preference a person attaches to any reinforcement when the
probabilities for the occurrence of a number of different reinforcements
are all equal.
O
O
For example: The womans interactions with a vending machine
that contains several possible selections, each costing the same. The
woman approaches the machine able and willing to pay 75 cents in
order to receive a snack. The vending machine is in perfect working
condition, so there is a 100% probability that the womans response
will be followed by some sort of reinforcement. Her expectancy of
reinforcement, therefore for the candy bar, corn chips, popcorn are
equal. Her response that-is which button she presses-is determined by
the reinforcement value of each snack.

O Internal Reinforcements and External Reinforcements

O
Which refers to events, conditions, or actions on which ones society or
culture places a value Internal and External reinforcements may be in harmony or at
variance with one another.
O
O
For example: If you like popular movies-that is the same ,ones
that most other people like-then your internal and external
reinforcement for attending these types of movies are in agreement.
However, if your taste in movies runs contrary to that of your friends,
then your internal and external reinforcements are discrepant.
O Reinforcement-reinforcement sequences
O Cluster of reinforcement.
O
D. PSYCHOLOGICAL SITUATION
O
Define as that part of external and internal world to which a
person is responding. It is not synonymous with external stimuli,
although physical events are usually important to the psychological
situation.
O
O
Is a complex set of interacting cues acting upon an individual for
any specific time period. (Rotter, 1982, p.318). People do not behave in
a vacuum instead, they respond to cues within their perceived
environment.
O
O
For example: may be relatively constant over a long period of
time, whereas the psychological situation faced by a drivers spinning
out of control on an icy road may be extremely short. The
psychological situation must be considered, along with expectancies
and reinforcement value, in determining the probability of a given
response.
O
O
O
O
O

O
O BASIC PREDICTION FORMULA

O
O

E x p r a sl + RV a sl
BP x p s p r a=f
This formula is read: The potential for behavior
in relation to reinforcement

in situation

to occur in situation

is a function of the expectancy that behavior

will be followed by reinforcement

reinforcement

l.

in situation l

and the value of

O Applied to example, the formula suggest that the likelihood (behavior

potential or

BP

that La Juan will rest her head on her desk (behavior

in a dull and boring class with other students slumbering (the

psychological situation or

ra

s l ) with the goal of sleep (reinforcement or

) is a function of her expectation that such behavior ( E

followed by sleep (

ra

will be

in this particular classroom situation (

sl

plus a measure of how highly she desires to sleep (reinforcement

value, or RV ), in this specific situation ( s . Because precise
measurement of each of three variables may be beyond the scientific
study of human behavior. Rotter proposed a strategy for predicting
general behaviors.
O
O PREDICTING GENERAL BEAHVIORS
O GENERALLIZED EXPECTANCIES
O

Expectations based on similar past experiences that a given behavior

will be reinforced.

O NEEDS
O

Rotter (1982) Defined needs as any behavior or set of behaviors that

people see as moving them in the direction of a goal. Needs are not states of
deprivation or arousal but indicators of the direction of behavior. The
difference between needs and goals is sematic only. When focus on the
environment, Rotter speaks of goals; when it is on person, he talks of needs.

O CATEGORIES OF NEEDS
O Rotter and Hochreich(1975) listed six broad categories of needs, with each
category representing a ggroup of functionality related behavior; that is,
behaviors that lead to the same or similar reinforcements.

Recognition-Status The need to be recognize by others and to achieve

status in their eyes is a powerful need for most people. Recognition Status
includes the need to excel in those things that a person regards as important
for example, school, sports occupation, hobbies, and physical appearance. It
also includes the need for socio economic status and personal prestige.

Dominance The need to control the behavior of others is called dominance.

This need includes any set of behaviors directed at gaining power over the
lives of friends, family, colleagues, superiors and subordinates. Talking
colleagues into accepting ideas is a specific example of dominance.
Independence is the need to be free of the domination of others. It includes
those behaviors aimed at gaining the freedom to make decisions, to rely on
oneself, and to attain goals without the help of others. Declining help in
repairing a bicycle could demonstrate the need for independence.
Protection-Dependency A set of needs nearly opposite independence are
those of protection and dependency. This category includes the needs to be
cared for by others, to be protected from frustration and harm, and to satisfy
the other need categories. A specific example of protection-dependency is
asking your spouse to stay home from work and take care of you when you
are ill.
Love and affection Most people have strong needs for love and affection:
that is, needs for acceptance by others that go beyond recognition and status
to include some indications that people have warm, positive feelings for
them. The needs for love and affection include those behaviors aimed toward
securing friendly regard, interest, and devotion from others. Doing favors for
others in anticipation of receiving verbal expressions of positive regard and
gratitude might be an example of this need.
Physical Comfort This need includes those behaviors aimed at securing
food, good health, and physical security. Other needs are learned as an
outgrowth of needs for pleasure, physical contact and well-being. Turning on
the air conditioner or hugging another person are examples of the need for
physical comfort.

O NEEDS COMPONENTS
O Need Potential (NP)
O

Refers to the possible occurrence of a set of functionality related

behaviors directed toward satisfying the same or similar goals. Need potential
is analogous to the more specific concept of behavior potential. The
difference between the two is that need potential refers to a group of
functionally related behaviors, whereas behavior potential is the likelihood
that a particular behavior will occur in a given situation in relation to a
specific reinforcement.

O Need potential cannot be measured solely through observation of behavior.

O

For example: EATING IN A FANCY RESTAURANT

One person may be satisfying the need for physical comfort;
that is food
Another person may be more interested in love and affection

Third person may be trying primarily to satisfy the need for

recognition-status

O Whether or not ones need potential is realized however, depends not only on
the value or preference one has for that reinforcement but also on ones
freedom of movement in making responses leading to that reinforcement.
O Freedom of Movement(FM)
O

The mean expectancy of being reinforced for performing all those

behaviors that are directed towards the satisfaction of some general need.
Freedom of Movement is analogous to expectancy. It is ones overall
expectation of being reinforced for performing those behaviors that are
directed toward satisfying some general need.
O
For example: FM can be determined by holding need value
constant and observing ones need potential. For example, if a person
places exactly the same value on dominance, independence, love and
affection, and each of the other needs, then that person will perform
those behaviors judged to have the greatest expectancy of being
reinforced.

O
O
O Need Value (NV)
O

A persons need Value (NV) is the degree to which she or he prefers

one set of reinforcement to another. Rotter, Chance, and Phares (1972)
defined need value as the mean preference value of a set of functionally
related reinforcements. In the general prediction formula, need value is the
analog of reinforcement value.

O
O Minimal Goal Level
O

Which he defined as the lowest level within a category of

reinforcements as individual will consider as being reinforcing. For example,
when you are considering job offers, you might tell yourself that you will not
work anything less than $23,000 a year. In this example $23, 000 represents
your minimal goal level. The same can be said for the student who believes
that anything less than A is an unacceptable grade. In this case, the minimal
goal level is an A.

O GENERAL PREDICTION FORMULA

O Consider again the case of La Juan, the gifted student who was having
difficulty staying awake in a dull and boring class. The basic prediction
formula offers some indication of the likelihood that, in the specific situation
of a boring lecture, La Juan will rest her head on her desk. However, a more
generalized predictions formula is needed to predict her need potential for
gaining the recognition- status that comes from graduating with highest
honors. La Juans Likelihood of satisfying their needs depends on a complex of
behaviors.
O

O
O

NP=f (FM + NV )
This equation means that the need potential (NP) is a function of
freedom of movement (FM) and need value (NV). The formula is analogous to
the basic prediction formula, and each factor is parallel to the corresponding
factors of that basic formula.

O To illustrate the general prediction formula, we can look at La Juans situation

with regard to her future academic work. To predict her need potential for
working toward graduation with highest honors, we must measure her
freedom of movement, that is, her mean expectancy of being reinforced for a
series of behaviors necessary to reach her goal, plus her need value of all
those reinforcements: that I, the value she places on recognition status or
any other need she associates with receiving academic honors. The value La
Juan places on recognition-status (need value), plus her average expectancy
of being reinforced for performing the required series of behaviors (freedom
of movement), equals her potential for pursuing the set of required behaviors
(need potential).
O COMPARISON OF THE BASIC PREDICTION FORMULA AND THE GENERAL
PREDICTION FORMULA:
O BASIC PREDICTION FORMULA

BP x p s p r a

Potential for La
RV aher
sl
Juan to rest
head in the
classroom
O
O
O

Is a
Function
of

E x p r a sl
f
Her expectancy
that this behavior
will be followed
by sleep

and
Her need for
sleep in this
situation
+

O
O
O

GENERAL PREDICTION FORMULA

NP

Potential for La
NV
Juan completing
all those
O
behaviors
if
O
necessary to
O
receive a PhD in
O
clinical
psychology and
O
thereby satisfy
her
O need for

FM
f

Her average
expectancy that a
set of related
Is a
behaviors
Function
directed toward
of
recognition status
will be reinforced

and
Her preference for
good grades,
prestige,
reputation,
+
acceptance by
colleagues, praise
from professors
and other
reinforcements
related to

O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Rotters two most popular scales for measuring generalized
expectancies are the Internal-External Locus of Control and Interpersonal Trust
Scale.
O INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL OF REINFORCEMENT

O Locus of control- The belief that people have that their attempts to reach a
goal within their control (internal Locus of control) or are primarily due to
powerful events such as fate, chance or other people (external locus of
control) . Locus of control is measured by the Internal-External Locus of
control Scale.
O
O

O
O INTERPERSONAL TRUST SCALE
O Interpersonal Trust- is the generalized expectancy held by an individual or
group can be relied on. Interpersonal Trust does not refer to the belief that
people are naturally good or that they live in the best of all possible worlds,
neither should it can be equated with gullibility. Rotter saw interpersonal trust
as a belief in the communications of others when there is no evidence in
disbelieving, whereas gullibility foolishly or naively believes the words of
other people.
O To measure differences in interpersonal trust, Rotter (1967) developed an
Interpersonal Trust Scale which asked people to agree or disagree to 25 items
that assessed interpersonal trust and 15 filler items designed to conceal the
nature of the instrument.
O Rotter summarized results of studies that indicate that people who score high
in interpersonal trust, as opposed to those score low, are
1) Less likely to lie
2) Probably less likely to cheat or steal
3) More likely to give others a second chance) More likely to respect the rights of
others
4) Less likely to be unhappy , conflicted or maladjusted
5) More likely to give others second chance
6) Somewhat more likable and popular
7) More trustworthy
8) Neither more nor less gullible and
9) Neither more nor less intelligent
O
O PSYCHOTHERAPY
O In general, the goal of Rotters therapy is to bring freedom of movement and
need value into harmony, thus reducing and avoidance behaviors.
O Although Rotter adopts a problem-solving approach to psychotherapy, he
does not limit his concern to quick solutions to immediate problems. His
interest is more long range involving a change in the patients orientation
towards life.
O Changing Goals
O
Many patients are unable to solve lifes problems because they are
pursuing skewed or distorted goals, The role of the therapist is to help these
patients understand the faulty nature of their goals of their goals and to teach them
constructive means of striving toward realistic goals.

O
a) First, two or more important goals may be in conflict
b) A second source of problems is a destructive goal
c) Third, many people find themselves in trouble because they set their goals
too high and are continually frustrated when they cannot reach or exceed
them.
O
O
O Eliminating Low Expectancies
a) First, they may lack the skills or information needed to successfully strive
toward their goals.
b) A second source of low freedom of movement is faulty evaluation of the
present situation.
c) Finally, low freedom of movement can spring from inadequate generalization.
O
O EVALUATION OF ROTTERS THEORY
O
It had generated both quantity and quality of research. For example,
Rotters concept of Locus of Control has been, and continued to be one of the most
widely researched topics in psychological literature.
O
View of human nature is optimistic. Rotter believes that people can be
taught constructive strategies for problem solving and that they are capable of
learning new behaviors at any point in life.
O Characteristics Limitations
O On being too cognitive: Ignoring the objective situation
O Social learning theory has been criticized for placing too much emphasis on
the cognitive side of the individual. For example, critics from the more
traditional learning viewpoint have expressed displeasure with the emphasis
social learning theory has put on subjective perceptions by the individual. For
example, social learning theory tends to rely on such subjectivity concepts as
reinforcement value and specific and generalized expectancies at the
expense of attention to objective environmental factors (e.g, the situational
conditions under reinforcement and punishment are delivered.) Thus, social
learning theory has been criticized by traditional learning theorist as being
too subjective.
O More on being too cognitive: A theory with no feeling. From the more
humanistic viewpoint, social learning theory has been criticized as placing too
much emphasis on the cognitive side of human nature at the expense of the

emotions as anxiety are not found anywhere in the language of social

learning theory. In its defense, social learning theory uses such terms as high
reinforcement value and low freedom of movement to describe situations in
which social learning theory has been criticized as lacking a concern
emotions, it actually chooses to consider emotional expression in more
objectively stated terms.
O

O References:
O
O
Feist, G, Feist J & Roberts T. (2013) Theories of Personality. 8 th edition.
O
Carducci B. (2009). The Psychology of Personality: Viewpoints, Research,
and Applications, 2nd Edition
O