Social-Cognitive Perspective

Individuals & Environments Specific ways in which individuals and environments interact Different people choose different environments. The school you attend and the music you listen to are partly based on your dispositions. Our personalities shape how we react to events. Anxious people react to situations differently than calm people. Our personalities shape situations. How we view and treat people influences how they treat us.

Personal Control Internal vs. External Loci of Control Self-control Internal = control your own destiny External = chance or fate Internals seem to achieve more and be happier Self-control Ability to delay gratification & control impulses Needs energy & focus

Learned Helplessness When unable to avoid repeated adverse events an animal or human learns helplessness.

Personal Control Freedom & Choice are good but… Seem to have limits Too much freedom affects overall happiness Are you the generation of information/sensory/choice overload?

* Extreme optimism = invincibility & unnecessary risk Optimism vs. Pessimism An optimistic or pessimistic attributional style is your way of explaining positive or negative events. * Extreme optimism = invincibility & unnecessary risk Positive psychology aims to discover and promote conditions that enable individuals and communities to thrive. OBJECTIVE 22| Discuss the link between performance and optimistic or pessimistic attributional styles, and contrast positive psychology with humanistic psychology.

Assessing the Social-Cognitive Approach Critics believe this approach largely ignores mental processes such as emotion and the unconscious This approach draws heavily on the scientific research of cognition and learning. The question remains how much of you is situation and how much is YOU.

Exploring the self

The Self The organizer of our thoughts, feelings, & actions Taking stock of who you are Spotlight effect – everyone will notice Self-reference – we remember what has to do with us

Self-Esteem How do we determine Self-Esteem? High self-esteem Valuing our skills (emphasize our strengths) Attribution style Comparison within your group of peers High self-esteem Correlates with success and happiness Low self-esteem Correlates with unhappiness *chicken and the egg argument

Self-Esteem Self-serving bias Self disparaging Defensive Self-esteem Good is because of us, bad is someone else Better than average Self disparaging Seek disagreement (compliments) Make possible failure OK Past self versus present self Defensive Self-esteem Egotism that feels threatened Leads to anger and violence when threatened Secure Self-esteem Not based on external judgment