M!ller and Dollard further proposed that !m!tat!ve behav!ors are ma!nta!

ned by
an !nterm!ttent re!nforcement schedule: Ind!v!duals aren’t always re!nforced for
m!m!ck!ng the responses of others, but they’re re!nforced often enough that
they cont!nue to copy those around them. Eventually !m!tat!on !tself becomes a
hab!t—a phenomenon M!ller and Dollard called general!zed !m!tat!on.
Factors !n the Development of Self-
Eff!cacy
• Soc!al cogn!t!ve theor!sts have found that several factors affect the
development of self-eff!cacy, !nclud!ng:
• one’s own prev!ous successes and fa!lures,
• one’s current emot!onal state,
• the messages that others commun!cate,
• the successes and fa!lures of others, and
• the successes and fa!lures of one’s group as a whole.n