The “Behavioral/Social Learning” perspective is a theory of learning that focuses on the environmental factors in shaping an individual’s behavior as the approach is based on the notion that all behaviors are learned through interactions with the environment on the part of an individual learner. According to this perspective, conditioning is the primary mechanism in the process that initiates the learning process by focusing on how we respond to stimuli or events in the environment rather than emphasizing intrinsic actions that may motivate or influence human actions. Building on the Behavioral/Social Learning perspective, this paper explores how this approach to personality shapes a child’s personality because of parenting.
Major Themes Related to Behavioral/Social Learning Perspective
The conditioning that is the primary mechanism in the Behavioral/Social Learning process involves two types, operant and classical conditioning, which involves learning through association and learning through reinforcement. As classical conditioning involves “learning through association where a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response”, operant conditioning involves “learning through reinforcement where behavior is either weakened or strengthened depending on the consequences” followed by the reinforcement or punishment given to the learner (Hogben & Byrne, 1998).
The behavior modification in the Behavioral/Social Learning perspective involves the alteration of the behavior by manipulating the environment in order to produce desired behavior and consequences. This mechanism is based on the social learning theory which emphasizes the importance of reinforcement and modeling that can be used to increase or decrease the tendency of adaptive behavior and the probability of maladaptive learned behaviors (Thyer & Myers, 1998). Moreover, the biological perspective of personality emphasizes that genetic and biological factors contribute to the differences in an individual’s personality and focuses on the role of observable behaviors and learning in the environment.
Rationalists’ approach to Behavioral/Social Learning posits that humans are genetically predisposed to certain personality traits which counters the idea that our life experiences and environment form our personalities. Thus, the biological perspective of rationalists provides the basis for learning through social, biological and cognitive means as behaviorists do not believe that learning and personality traits are inborn. According to this approach, the terms “personality” and “behavior” are used to describe a distinctive and relative set of mental traits that are attributable to the environment and aim to explain an organism’s learning patterns.
Behavioral/Social Learning Approach Shaping a Child’s Personality Due to Parenting
Parenting is one of the most important environmental factors that shape a child’s personality because parents are the primary source of socialization for children. For instance, if a child observes their parents being aggressive towards each other or other people, they may learn to behave aggressively themselves because parents’ behavior can have a significant impact on the child’s personality development. Similarly, if a child perceives his parents are warm and nurturing towards their children, he is more likely to develop a positive self-esteem and high self-image.
In addition to this, children can also learn from reinforcements and punishments as they tend to learn from the consequences of other people’s behavior around them. If a child sees that his sibling is rewarded for a good deed in the household or the school premises, he may imitate that behavior to receive similar rewards and praises. Hence, the Behavioral/Social Learning perspective suggests that parenting plays an important role in shaping a child’s behavior and personality. So, by understanding how children learn and develop behaviors they can be influenced to create positive personality traits and avoid negative ones. In a nutshell, as children learn from the consequences of other people in the environment and imitate their parents’ behavior because they are the ultimate source of socialization available to them in the first place, it is essential for parents to model positive behaviors and provide a nurturing environment for their children.
References
Hogben, M., & Byrne, D. (1998). Using social learning theory to explain individual differences in human sexuality. Journal of Sex Research, 35(1), 58–71.
Thyer, B. A., & Myers, L. L. (1998). Social learning theory: An empirically-based approach to understanding human behavior in the social environment. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 1(1), 33–52.
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