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PART IV: SOCIAL CONTEXT

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INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL CONTEXT

Examples of contextMacro- and micro-contextDynamics between context and other unitsWhat is ‘environment’?Examples of macro-contextThree types of micro-context

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Inner, private,

subjective

Outer,public,

objective

Stable Variable

3. Traits &Temperament

e.g. extraversion

Major theorists:Jung, Eysenck,

Gray

1. Motivatione.g. motives,

defenses, psychicstructure

Major theorists:Freud, McClelland

4. Social Contexte.g., culture,

ethnicity, power,gender

Major theorists:Mischel, Triandis

2. Cognition& Self

e.g. self-concept,beliefs, goals

Major theorists:Rogers, Mischel

PERSONALITY UNITS AND COURSE STRUCTURE

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Virginia Woolf on how she was influenced by her mother:

Until I was in the forties . . . The presence of my mother obsessed me. I could hear her voice, see her, imagine what she would do or say as I went about my day’s doings. She was one of the invisible presences who after all play so important a part in every life. . . . Consider what immense forces society brings to play upon each of us, how that society changes from decade to decade; and also from class to class; well, if we cannot analyze these invisible presences, we know very little of [any person about whom we write].

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Other examples of social context:

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Two Types of Contexts

Microcontexts:Immediate features of the present situation; past and present learning and reinforcement history.

(E.g. responses and habits)

Little Albert and Bobo doll experiments.

Macrocontexts:Large-scale, complex, and enduring patterns of environments.

(E.g. gender, social class, religion, race, processes of social identity and influence)

Internment of Japanese Americans during WWII and gender

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MICRO-CONTEXT

MACRO-CONTEXT(e.g., gender, SES, power,

race, culture)

MICRO-CONTEXTimmediate features of the environment (e.g., physical and subjective features of situation, emotional states, group pressure, etc.)

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Person

Environment Shapes Personality,Personality Shapes Environment

Self & Cognition

Motives

Traits

Environment

Author: O. Schultheiss

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What Exactly is “The Environment”?

Physical:Climate,

geographicregion, foodsupply, etc.

Micro & Macro

Social:Family,friends,partner,

teachers, etc.Micro

Culture:TV, books,

music,magazines,

language, etc.Macro

History:Wars,

economicchanges,

inventions, etc.Macro

Author: O. Schultheiss

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Illustrations of the Macrocontext:1. Internment of Japanese Americans

Social context:War against Japan,racism & prejudice

Internment ofJapanese Americans:

Loss of dignity, possessions,role of “outsider”, “enemy”

Some consequences:Lowered self-esteem, sense of

shame; repression, denial(Effects on motives, traits unknown)

Next generation:Disidentification with American

culture, increased power motivationAuthor: O. Schultheiss

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Illustrations of the Macro context:2. Children of Holocaust Survivors

Social context:anti-Semitism,

Hitler

Internment of Jews inconcentration camps:

Loss of dignity, possessions;certain death

Some consequences:Helplessness, traumatization,

depression, guilt (survivors guilt),but also reactance

Next generation:Increased need for power,

enhanced sense of Jewish identityAuthor: O. Schultheiss

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Classical/Pavlovian

conditioning:

• Little Albert• Transference

Instrumental/Operant

conditioning:

• Reward & punishment

Observationallearning:

• “Bobo doll” study

• Violent crime increase in 60s

The Microcontext: Some Examples of Immediate, Direct Influences

Author: O. Schultheiss

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Forms of Operant Conditioning:

a. Positive Reinforcement: give a reward to continue desired behavior

b. Negative Reinforcement: take away an unpleasant stimulus to encourage a desired behavior.

Note: Both positive and negative reinforcement strengthen behavior.

c. Punishment (Time-Out & Extinction): giving an unpleasant consequences to decrease an undesired behavior.

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How Macrocontexts and Microcontexts Interlock:

Macrocontext Microcontext Personality