rotter and play

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Julian B. Rotter’s Theory of Personality Connections to the Subjective Experience of Work and Play

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Rotter - one of the most influential clinical psychologists of the 20th century Much current clinical theory is indebted to his work One of the most-cited psychologists in history

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Personality and Behavior Freud - people’s behavior is largely governed by instinctual drives (determined by unconscious forces in the individual) Skinner - people’s behavior is mostly learned through reinforcement (determined by interactions and environment)

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Personality and Behavior Formed through the interaction of the individual and the environment. No such thing as an inflexible personality independent of external factors No such thing as behavioral responses conditioned solely by external factors

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Personality and Behavior Personality is a 'relatively stable set of potentials for responding to situations in a particular way.' However, the longer a pattern of thought and behavior is repeated, it’s harder to change. Rotter sees personality as adaptable and changeable, that there is no crucial period after which a person’s personality and behavior are 'set.'

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Personality and Behavior Rotter’s model for understanding behavior has 3 key components: Behavior Potential Expectancy Reinforcement Value

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Personality and Behavior Behavior Potential: Faced with any situation, a person has almost limitless potential responses. The behavior that has the highest potential is the one that is most likely to emerge. The other two main components, Expectancy and Reinforcement Value, combine to determine the likelihood (or potential) of each possible response.

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Personality and Behavior Expectancy - The level of confidence that the individual has that responding a certain way will bring about an expected outcome. A high expectancy means the individual strongly believes that acting a certain way in that situation will bring about the reinforcement he wants. A low expectancy means the person is not confident that the reinforcement will occur.

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Personality and Behavior An important note about Expectancy: Expectancy is subjective, it is what the individual expects to happen. This may correlate with actual probabilities, or may not correlate at all.

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Personality and Behavior Reinforcement Value - How much the individual desires a possible outcome. (How much he values the possible reinforcement) Again, Reinforcement Value is subject to the individual. Most kids try to avoid punishment from their parents. But neglected kids might do things that they know they’ll be punished for, because they put a higher reinforcement value on punishment than neglect.

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Personality and Behavior Rotter’s theory of personality and behavior is: How likely someone is to respond to a situation in a particular way is a function of how much she believes her actions will determine a specific outcome, and how desirable that specific outcome is to her. How likely I am to try to get a cookie depends on whether I believe that I can get a cookie if I try, and how much I like cookies.

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Personality and Behavior If the Expectancy is high, and the Reinforcement Value is high, then the Behavior Potential is also high. If I’m pretty sure I can get a cookie if I try, and I really like cookies, I’m probably going to go for the cookie.

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Personality and Behavior How the individual interprets their environment constitutes the Psychological Situation. Factors like Expectancy and Reinforcement value may be influenced by the person’s perceived Locus of Control. The Locus of Control (literally 'where the control lies') is the person’s idea of who, or what, dictates the possible outcomes in a situation.

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Personality and Behavior The perceived Locus of Control can vary in different situations. When it is believed to be within the individual, then the individual believes they are able to act a certain way and get a certain outcome. When it is believed to be outside the individual, then the individual thinks that their actions will not necessarily achieve a desired outcome.

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'Internals' believe that in most situations, whether or not they are reinforced depends mainly upon their own actions and choices. 'Externals' believe that in most situations, outcomes are decided by forces outside themselves. Personality and Behavior Internals and Externals are not consistent personality types - the mode of thought varies by situation and learning.

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Personality and Behavior Rotter believes that people’s behavior may be maladaptive, or disadvantageous, because they have not learned more adaptive behaviors. They are simply doing the best they know how from what they’ve learned to expect.

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Personality and Behavior If a person has very low expectancies, or an external locus of control, then they don’t think trying will make any difference. So they don’t try, and probably don’t get rewarded, and the cycle continues. Confidence and the Vicious Cycle If a person has very high reinforcement goals, or inaccurately high expectancies (they always control the outcome), they are likely to experience failure as well.

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Personality and Behavior Confidence and the Vicious Cycle Rotter advocated setting reasonable and achievable goals, challenging expectancies, and changing reinforcement values to un-learn these tendencies and counteract the vicious cycle. What do we know of that does this for us in a very specific way?

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Why do video games sometimes help treat cancer patients? How can the shyest kid in class be a guild leader in WoW? Why do we stop playing with our food, and how can we start again?

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How do we bring the feelings of achievement and fulfillment we have at play back into our working lives? How do we regain the courage to play and innovate?

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If the Expectancy is high, and the Reinforcement Value is high, then the Behavior Potential is also high. OR If I believe that by playing it is likely I can reach achievement and fulfillment, and if I want achievement and fulfillment very badly, then I will play.

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Necessary Conditions: Internal locus of control - I believe that I matter and what I do affects what happens to me. Reasonable Expectancy - I believe that if I play and challenge the world around me, I’ll probably feel good and others might regard me positively. (for example) Reasonable Reinforcement Value - Feeling good is important to me, and the reinforcement I get from playing is really nice.

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Ta-da.