Maslow's Assignment

Bandura

Case Study 23

Application Questions: Using Bandura's social cognitive theory explain Ruth's

personality by answering the following questions.

1. What does Bandura mean by reciprocal determinism? Find an example of it in

the case and describe the interrelationships between the factors.

Bandura believes that person factors (P), behavior (B) and the environment (E) all

influence each other. An example of this is the instance when Ruth felt sorry for herself.

Ruth's thoughts of her blindness (P) impacted her expression of frustration (B) and her

expression of frustration (B) influenced her thoughts of blindness (P). Her expression of

frustration (B) influenced her mother (E) and her mother's crying (E) stopped Ruth from

expressing her frustration (B) any more. Ruth's blindness and her thoughts of it (P)

obviously would impact her mother (E) and her mother's distress over Ruth's blindness

(E) influenced Ruth's thoughts of her own blindness (P).

2. What does Bandura mean by self-regulation? Find an example of it in the case

and describe it.

Bandura believes that people can manipulate their own environments to produce

certain consequences and subsequently these consequences can regulate their own

behavior. This is self-regulation. An example of this is Ruth's striving to act as much

like a seeing person as possible. By being as independent as possible, and sometimes

fooling people into thinking that she could actually see, Ruth would face less

discrimination and would have more pleasant interactions with people.

3. What are the processes involved in self-regulation and how do they apply in the

example you just described? What are some of the external factors in selfregulation?

Explain them through the use of your example.

Bandura believes that self-regulation consists of self-observation, a judgmental

process, and a self-reaction. Ruth observed her own behavior, judged whether she

behaved in ways similar enough to seeing