Reciprocal determinism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (February 2007)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007)

This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. WikiProject Psychology or the Psychology Portal may be able to help recruit one. (November 2008)

Reciprocal determinism as a theory initially set forth the proposition that co-jointly; a person's behavior and the social environment creates a dialectic that determines the transformative adaptibility of the ego.Bandura accepts the possibility of an individual's behavior being conditioned through the use of consequences. At the same time he asserts that a person's behavior (and personal factors, such as cognitive skills or attitudes) can impact the environment. ^[1]. These skill sets result in an under or over compensated ego that, for all creative purposes are too strong or too weak to focus on pure outcome.

Reciprocal determinism is the theory set forth by psychologist Albert Bandura that a person's behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment. Bandura accepts the possibility of an individual's behavior being conditioned through the use of consequences. At the same time he asserts that a person's behavior (and personal factors, such as cognitive skills or attitudes) can impact the environment. ^[2]

An example of Bandura's reciprocal determinism is when a child is acting out in school. The child doesn't like going to school therefore he/she acts out in class. This results in teachers and administrators of the school disliking having the child around. When confronted by the situation, the child admits he/she hates school and other peers don't like him/her. This results in the child acting inappropriately, forcing the administrators who dislike having him/her around to create a more restrictive environment for children of this stature. Each behavioral and environmental factor coincides with the child and so forth resulting in a continuous battle on all three levels.

An example reciprocal determinism is when a child is acting out in school. The child subjective social paradigm isn't being addressed in school therefore he/she acts out in class. This results in teachers and administrators of the school disliking having the child around. When confronted by the situation, the child presumes, rightly so, that what the school promotes is essentially, at best, second rate for what it is requiring of him. This results in the child acting inappropriately, forcing the administrators who dislike having him/her around to create a more personal environment for children of this stature,or risk the estrangement of a creative mind. Each behavioral and environmental factor must coincides with the childs personal potential or the process alienates the creative child along with the children at the other end of the bell curve. Resulting in a continuous battle on three ddifferent levels, and two diverse fields. The basis of reciprocal determinism should transform individual behavior by allowing subjective thought processes transparency when contrasted with cognitive, environmental,and external social stimulus events

Reciprocal determinism is the idea that behavior is controlled or determined by the individual, through cognitive processes, and by the environment, through external social stimulus events.

Contents 1 Triadic reciprocal causation 2 The interaction of genes and environment 2.1 The interaction of genes and environment: aggression in abused boys 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References

[edit] Triadic reciprocal causation

Triadic reciprocal causation is a term introduced by Albert Bandura ^[3]to refer to the mutual influence between three sets of factors:

• personal factors (e.g., cognitive, affective and biological events),
• the environment, and
• behavior

[edit] The interaction of genes and environment

Behavioral genetics is a relatively new field of study attempting to make sense of both genetic and environmental contributions to individual variations in human behavior. Genes can be turned on and off. Multiple genes are factors in forming behavior traits.

[edit] The interaction of genes and environment: aggression in abused boys

Researchers believe there is a genetic link to impulsive aggression through the impact of a gene on the production of an enzyme called Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA).^[4] The MAOA gene reduces the production of MAOA, leading to increased incidents of impulsive aggression. A 26-year-study in New Zealand found strong correlation between experience of childhood abuse and criminal or violent behavior in males with the MAOA gene. ^[5] In that study, impulsive aggression was found to be nine times more likely to manifest in males with the gene who were abused than in abused males without the gene or males with the gene who had not been abused.

[edit] See also

• Individual differences psychology

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Bandura, A. (1986). "Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory." Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

• Juvenile Delinquency,therory, practice and law by Larry j. Siegal

• The Nurture Assumption By Judith B. Harris
• [1] Wrights Law
• [2] Nature, Nurture info
• [3] Personality research
• Social Cognition