Making
Positive Choices
Chapter 2
Determinism
vs. Free Will
n
Determinism – the view that everything that occurs in
nature has lawful causes, even if we are unaware of the specific causes,
including human behavior
n
Free Will – human beings freely choose how to act and
ignore
so-called
determining factors, like the environment or genetics
Deterministic
Theories
n
Biologically based theories – we are a product of
our genetic heritage, ex. Children of people with various abilities,
schizophrenia, other genetic disorders
n
Psychoanalytic Theory – Freud’s idea that early experiences determine
later behavior
n
Behaviorism – Our behavior is determined by our learning
and conditioning histories and maintained by current reinforcements
John B. Watson
John B. Watson
n
"Give me a dozen healthy infants, well
formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in, and I'll guarantee to
take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might
select - doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief - regardless of his talents,
penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors."
n
"Don't kiss and cuddle your children; shake their
hands, and then arrange their environments so that the behaviors you desire
will be brought under the control of appropriate stimuli."
Free Will
Theories
n
Existentialism – Based on European philosophy, although life
has restrictions and problems, you have the freedom to make choices that can
transcend those conditions.
n
Humanism – Our behavior is the result of our choices and
the unfolding of our true selves, “self-actualization”
n
Cognitive - Behaviorism – the S-O-R model
Proactivity
n
The
recognition that our choices determine our lives and that we can take action to
shape our own lives, we are responsible for these choices and consequences.
n
Behavior
is a result of conscious choice based on values, and not a product of your
conditions based on feelings.
Locus of
Control
n
Internal
and External
Locus of Control Scale
n
1.
I usually get what I want in life.
n
2.
I need to be kept informed about news events.
n
3.
I never know where I stand with other people.
n
4.
I do not really believe in luck or chance.
n
5.
I think that I could easily win a lottery.
n
6.
If I do not succeed on a task, I tend to give up.
n
7.
I usually convince others to do things my way.
n
8.
People make a difference in controlling crime.
n
9.
The success I have is largely a matter of chance.
n
10.
Marriage is largely a gamble for most people.
n
11.
People must be the master of their own fate.
n
12.
It is not important for me to vote.
n
13.
My life seems like a series of random events.
n
14.
I never try anything that I am not sure of.
n
15.
I earn the respect and honors I receive.
n
16.
A person can get rich by taking risks.
n
17.
Leaders are successful when they work hard.
n
18.
Persistence and hard work usually lead to success.
n
19.
It is difficult to know who my real friends are.
n
20.
Other people usually control my life.
INTERPRETATION
n
0-15
Very strong external locus of control
20-35 External locus of control
40-60 Both external and internal locus of control
65-80 Internal locus of control
85-100 Very strong internal locus of control
n
The
Internal-External Control Scale (popularly called “locus of control scale”)
attempts to measure the degree to which people perceive a causal relationship
between their own efforts and environmental consequences. People who score high
(in the direction of internal control) believe that reinforcement is generally
contingent on their own actions or personal traits.
n
Internal
– tends to be self-motivated and optimistic, tend to take responsibility for
their actions and see themselves as the cause of what happens in their
life. They try to learn what went wrong
when they make mistakes so they can correct them.
n
External
– tend not to see the connection between their actions and what happens. Will often blame others for
their problems and mistakes. They
may fear change and tend to look to others to motivate them. They often feel nothing can be done when
things go wrong and will blame, “fate.”
Increasing Proactivity
n
Focus
on:
n
1.
Your thoughts
n
2.
Your language
n
3.
Your actions
n
All
three go into doing things, and therefore influencing the reality you create
for yourself.
Focusing on
Your Thoughts
n
Worrying
is one example of an unproductive way of thinking, because it doesn’t involve
any solution to anything, but is mostly a replay of dire and negative
possibilities. 80% of what we worry
about never happens. Planning for the
negative is not the same as worrying about it.
Focusing on
Your Language
n
The
way we speak to ourselves goes a long way to determining how we see and relate
to reality. If we say to ourself, “That idiot made me angry” we become the passive
recipient of our own emotions, but if we say, “I am angry at that idiot’s
behavior,” then we recognize that we are controlling our own emotions.
Focusing on
Your Actions
n
Proactivity in actions has two aspects:
n
1.
Making promises and keeping them.
n
2.
Setting small goals and working to achieve them.
n
Effective
people do the things that ineffective people don’t feel like doing,
to be effective you must be willing to do what is necessary.
Self-Talk
n
We
all have a running commentary in our heads that acts as a buffer between us and
the environment, it is often called Self-Talk.
n
Self-talk
can be reasonable and adaptive or it can become irrational and interfere with
our ability to function at a high and healthy level.
Irrational
Self-Talk
n
There
are two broad categories of irrational self-talk:
n
1.
Beliefs that other people or the world or something should be different
n
2.
Beliefs that your perceptions represent the only reality and not just your
particular view of reality.
n
Our
experience of reality originates in sensory experience which is then elaborated
on by our perceptions and cognitions, which then influences our emotions and
physiology, which in turn feeds back into our self-talk and the cycle
continues.
Common Forms
of Irrational Self-Talk
n
1.
Statements that catastrophize – giving the worst most
horrible interpretation to events in the absence of evidence, but based merely
on anxiety filled thinking.
n
2.
Statements that are absolutes – these demand that things “should, must, ought, always, or never” be a certain way, and
if they are not it is “terrible, intolerable, catastrophic, etc.”
Cognitive
Restructuring
n
This
really means learning to think differently, hopefully more reasonably.
n
Here
are some common irrational beliefs that can be “restructured.”
n
1.
Everyone needs to like you, it is awful if someone
dislikes you.
n
2.
You must be competent and perfect in all you do.
n
3.
Mistakes are sure proof that you are a failure.
n
4.
You should never hurt anyone or refuse a request/favor.
n
5.
It is horrible if things don’t turn out the way you want all the time.
n
6.
You are helpless and have no control over your feelings and experiences.
n
7.
You will be rejected if you don’t go to great lengths to please others.
n
8.
There is a perfect love and a perfect relationship.
n
9.
You shouldn’t have to feel pain, life should always be
fair and pleasant.
n
10.
Your worth depends on what you achieve and do.
What to do?
n
Once
a variation of an irrational belief is noticed, the first step is to examine
and challenge the validity of that belief with our rational mind.
n
1.
Is there reason to think the belief is true?
n
2.
Is there evidence that this belief is untrue?
n
3.
If I reject this belief, what is the worst that could happen to me?
n
4.
If I reject this belief, what good things might happen to me?
New Rational Beliefs
n
The
next step is to substitute a new more rational belief for the old, irrational
one. What are some more rational beliefs we can substitute for these irrational
ones?
n
1.
Everyone needs to like you, it is awful if someone
dislikes you.
n
2.
You must be competent and perfect in all you do.
n
3.
Mistakes are sure proof that you are a failure.
n
4.
You should never hurt anyone or refuse a request/favor.
n
5.
It is horrible if things don’t turn out the way you want all the time.
n
6.
You are helpless and have no control over your feelings and experiences.
n
7.
You will be rejected if you don’t go to great lengths to please others.
n
8.
There is a perfect love and a perfect relationship.
n
9.
You shouldn’t have to feel pain, life should always be
fair and pleasant.
n
10.
Your worth depends on what you achieve and do.
Goodman’s
Rules for Rational Thinking
n
1.
It does not do anything to me – what we say to ourselves produces
negative emotions, not the situation itself.
n
2.
Everything is exactly the way it should be – things are the way they are
because of a long series of causal events, saying they “should” be different
negates these causes.
n
3.
All humans are fallible creatures.
n
4.
It takes two to have a conflict – any party to a conflict contributes at least
30% of the fuel to keep it going.
n
5.
The original cause is lost in antiquity-often finding the exact cause of
something is almost impossible, best to decide to change behavior now.
n
6.
We feel the way we think – what you say to yourself determines your feelings.
Causation and
Correlation
n
What
are the differences?
Empirical
study!
A
TRUE experiment is a research method where one variable (IV) is manipulated to
see if there is a change in another variable (DV).
MOST social sciences research can’t be done in a
lab, is of pre-existing groups, etc. and is correlational...
How do we determine if a study is
done well?
What makes a good one? Look for…
1. Clearly defined variables.
DEPENDENT & INDEPENDENT variables
No confusion as to what is being measured or HOW!
2. Could YOU repeat the study? (replicability!)
3. What is its REPRESENTATIVENESS,
i.e.,
is it GENERALIZABLE?
Is
the sample an accurate representation of all those to whom
it is suppose to apply?
4.
Is it a CORRELATION study?
BEWARE if the authors infer (or state) CAUSALITY!!
Social
sciences research is often correlational.
What is
correlation?? (“co-relation”)
n
A relationship between two (or more) variables
n
Results are correlation coefficients
n
Coefficients represent the strength of relationship
n
Range:
between +1.00 and –1.00
n
Correlations nearer to
zero suggests no relationship
Optimism
n
op·ti·mism n. A tendency to expect the
best possible outcome or dwell on the most hopeful aspects of a situation.
n
The tendency to a world view that focuses on
reasons to be happy and satisfied with life despite its imperfections.
Optimism and
Health
n
Research
shows that four traits are associated with happy people:
n
1.
Optimism
n
2.
Good self-esteem
n
3.
An internal locus of control
n
4.
Extraversion.
n
These
were established by correlational studies
n
Pessimism
is associated with high stress levels, depression, psychosomatic problems,
higher levels of physical illness and premature death.
n
Optimism
is a better predictor of college success than SAT scores.
n
Emotional
attitudes were a critical factor in academic success.
n
TAKE
THE OPTIMISM TEST
Tips for
Optimism
n
Look
for evidence, do not catastrophize when negative
things occur.
n
Don’t
generalize from limited information.
n
Examine
alternatives. Look for what is
changeable, specific, and non-personal instead of what is permanent, pervasive
and personal.
n
If
a negative belief turns out to be true, de-catastrophize
it. Challenge the most negative alternatives and
examine how realistic those alternative really are.
n
Optimists tend to:
n
Face
problems directly.
n
Develop
a plan
n
Accept
the reality of the situation
n
Learn
how to grow from adversity