Psych 1

Psychology 102

SEMESTER ESSAY TOPIC

Personality Theory/Cognition & Intelligence

Due: 5 OCTOBER 2012

Drawing on what you know about Cognition (memory, learning, etc) and Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory discuss the role of learning in personality development. It would be important for you to integrate the various aspects of memory and learning in a social environment and show how these influence personality development.

The Cognitive Approach – Introduction

The central idea of Cognitive theory is that cognitions, learned ways of thinking, openly affect the way an individual behaves (Swartz et al., 2008: 129). The learning approach to personality development represents a major break from the traditional approach to personality and behaviour and expands upon many learning theories and concepts to include the theoretical framework of cognition and social behaviour (Swartz et al., 2008: 131). As previously proposed by Skinner, many features of human behaviour are a product of the stimulus-response principle (Swartz et al., 2008: 131). However, with the development of social-learning, internal interpretations of the surrounding environment – also known as cognitions – and the influence of social interactions are also considered to play a vital role in personality development. What is evident from growing research is that there are reformed theoretical perceptions on how behaviour is learned and regulated. In the psychological world today, cognitive processes display a more noticeable role in the attainment and preservation of novel patterns of behaviour.

An individual's personality can be viewed as an active and intricate set of distinctive psychological characteristics that has a direct influences on the behaviour of individuals in certain scenario's (Swartz et al., 2008: 118).

Memory

There are in theory three specific fundamentals of human memory that are interrelated and progressive (Weiten, 2010:276). Encoding is the first element which consists of breaking down information and absorbing what's relevant. Encoding involves deciphering information, paying attention to what is being transferred and remembering it. If one is not paying attention to what is being conveyed, then most often than not, this information will be lost and not stored. Theorists have disputed whether or not specific material is purposely chosen and managed prematurely as a carnal input or later subsequent to the brain handling the meaning and significance of the information (Weiten, 2010:276).

The second vital component of memory is the storing aspect. This comprises of preserving information in the memory (Weiten, 2010:280). Sensory memory observes information in its sensory form for what can be said to be a brief fraction of a second. Theorists hold that stimulus perseverance as more of a resonance than a memory (Weiten, 2010:281).

The third and final component of memory is that of retrieval. ‘Retrieval' involves the ability for an individual to reproduce the information that has been stored (Weiten, 2010:290). The ability of an individual to hold material in ones long term memory is however, worthless if the material cannot be easily accessed and then reproduced.

Learning

Theorists define learning as some sort of comparative and observed transformation in one's behavior that takes place overa certain time frame, and is due to certain patterns such as experience or maturity (Weiten, 2010:232).

Bandura's Social Cognitive theory

In the words of Bandura, "human behaviour is best understood in terms of continuous reciprocal interactions among personal factors, behaviour, and external environmental variables." (Swartz et al., 2008: 131). In other words, people are self-shaping, active, reflective, and adaptable, not only responsive organisms moulded and guided by outside events. Individuals hold the vigour to have an impact on their own processes in order to yield positive outcomes (Bandura, 1999: 2). What differentiates Bandura's framework is the notion that much of behaviour is ascertained through what is known as observation and modelling (Swartz et al., 2008: 131). Observing the actions and behaviours of others, and modelling our own individual behaviour in terms of what has been observed from others. This process is known as ‘observational