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Psychology 0f Personal Effectiveness All You Need To Know About How To Live Happily & Effectively Timothy W. Starkey, Ph.D., ABAP. Chapter 2 ~ The Choice Is Yours. Miami Dade College Psychology CLP 1006 Hialeah Campus Room 1214 M/W/F 8:00-10:15 AM May 7- June 16 (2007)
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Psychology 0f Personal EffectivenessAll You Need To Know About How To Live Happily & EffectivelyTimothy W. Starkey, Ph.D., ABAP Chapter 2 ~ The Choice Is Yours • Miami Dade College • Psychology CLP 1006 • Hialeah Campus • Room 1214 • M/W/F • 8:00-10:15 AM • May 7- June 16 (2007) • 305-279-0758 (Home) or 305-338-1615 (Cell) Hours 1:00 to 3:00 PM On Fridays
Determinism Vs Free Will • Determinism - the belief in cause-and-effect relationships for behavior. • Determinists believe that all human actions are caused by something, even if we’re not consciously aware of what the causes might be. • Strict determinists also believe that “free will” is an illusion ~ a belief that most people cling to avoid feeling powerless, or because of their religious beliefs. • The theory of “free will” holds that humans can and do typically ignore so-called determining factors (e.g. genes, childhood conditioning) and freely choose how and when to act. • Psychological theories of personality vary from the determinist end of the spectrum to the free will end. Most personality theories include both determinism and free will in their explanation of human behavior(s).
Three Main Determinist Theories • 1. Biological Theories : these theories hold that we are almost exclusively a product of our genetic heritage. All of out behavior, both normal and abnormal, can be traced back to particular configurations of our genetic makeup. • Scientific research has produced much support for this theory; human characteristics such singing ability, athletic skills, sexual orientation, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, activity level, temperament, and many, many diseases and medical conditions are partly or largely genetically determined. • For example, the concordance rate (e.g. probability that two people will display the same trait) of schizophrenia is much higher for identical twins than for fraternal twins, and higher still than for people in general who are non-related (share no genetic similarity)
2. Psychic Determinism. Freud believed that you are who you are because of how you were raised, and because of the emotionally significant events (e.g. traumas) that occurred during your formative years. Although many of Freud’s beliefs have considerable clinical support, they tend to be limited in their dismissal of significant post-childhood development. They also tended to be so generally worded that rigorous scientific testing has not proven possible. • 3. Behaviorism asserts that we are a product of our conditioning and learning histories. Strict behaviorists have insisted that only traits that are measurable (e.g. observable) are fit things for Psychology to study, and that in fact, only things that are “measurable” exist. Skinner and Pavlov, in particular, taught that it is our overall that shapes our personality and behavior. • For example, one became a “good student” because he/she had been “rewarded” for successful studying and academic achievement. One’s “academic “history” caused him/her to be a good student.
Free Will and Existentialism • Persons who believe in the Free Will Theory argue that these determinist paradigms only tell a part of the story. They may be accurate in describing some areas of human behavior, but they leave out a key component of our human existence. • Some European philosophers in the 19th Century, known as “existentialists” (John Paul Sarte and Albert Camus), believed that although life sometimes gives you unpleasant surprises that are beyond your control, it is still up to you how you deal with them. • In the United States, some psychologists (Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers) were dissatisfied with both the psychoanalytic and the behaviorist approaches, and they developed a viewpoint now called “Humanism”. Humanists were more optimistic about man’s nature and destiny than were the Existentialists, although they agreed with them that we became who we are by virtue of the choices we made along the way.
Locus of Control • “Proactivity” (aka freedom of choice) is an important paradigm guiding the behavior of effective individuals. Obviously, a person who doesn’t believe that it makes any difference what he does in a particular situation is less likely to try his best. “Self-efficacy” is a similar term that refers to one’s belief in oneself as able to deal with a challenging situation or achieve a challenging goal he’s set for himself. • The degree to which one believes that he is or is not responsible for his behaviors is referred to as the “locus of control” (LOC). The LOC is on a continuum ranging from external (not at all responsible for one’s behaviors) to internal (entirely responsible for one’s behaviors. • Individuals with an external LOC see themselves as victims, while persons with an internal LOC believe that they themselves are ultimately responsible for their outcomes in life.
Cognitive Behaviorism • Cognitive Behavorists (Albert Ellis, Aaron Beck) broke with the earlier “orthodox” behaviorists over the issue of “covert behavior” (e.g. thoughts or emotions). They believed that the internal processing of the organism mediated in some way the “response” made to the “stimulus”. • In this sense, they replaced the early “traditional” behaviorists’ S-R paradigm with their own S-O-R paradigm. For example, suppose a stimulus imposes upon you, but before you can respond, you have a thought about that stimulus, you imbue it with meaning. It is then that thought that leads to your particular response. Most psychologists believe that human behavior is the result of both determining (biological and psychosocial) forces and our inherent ability to choose. The degree to which a particular behavior arises from one or the other depends on the particular person involved.
Three Ways To Increase Proactivity • The easiest and quickest way to increase your “proactivity” is to concentrate on three (3) key things: • 1. Your thoughts - you cannot generally control what happens to you in life, but you can usually control what thoughts pass through your consciousness. If you find yourself dwelling on a particular negative or unpleasant thought, try “thought stopping”. Some studies suggest that 80% or more of what we worry about vever happens anyway. Learn to prioritize your worrying ~ save your “worry time” for the stuff that really matters. • 2. Your language - too often we word our speech in the passive mode. “He made me angry” or “I just couldn’t get up and go to class” Take control of your behaviors… make yourself the “actor” and not the “subject” of your life. When “passive” speech becomes too ingrained, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
3. Your actions - set goals for yourself and achieve them; make promises to yourself and then keep them (start small if necessary). Recognize the value of your word… to others, and most of all, to yourself. Don’t set goals that you don’t really want to do what it takes to achieve. Don’t say “I’ll call you” and then not do it. Don’t set yourself up for failure… decide what you want, and then go for it. If you decide to lose 10 lbs, then start dieting and exercising and LOSE THE 10 LBS. Effective people do the things that ineffective people don’t feel like doing. Just because “you don’t feel like it” is no reason (e.g. excuse) for not doing it. Don’t let yourself down.
Catastrophizing (Albert Ellis) refers to giving yourself negative messages about a situation before that are greatly exaggerated. On a 10 point scale (1= no threat and 10=worst possible), it’s consistently rating things 2 or 3 points higher than what they actually warrant. It’s actually “talking yourself” into being upset. • Self-talk (called “automatic thoughts” by Beck) is that constant babble of running commentary that goes on in your head all day long.
Correlation • The correlation coefficient assess the extent that individuals’ scores on one variable are systematically related to scores on another. (e.g. if one goes up or down a lot, the other goes up or down a lot too) • It involves the calculation of what is called a “correlation coefficient”, which is represented by “r”, and which may range from -1.0 to +1.0 • An “r” of “0” means that there is no systematic relationship between the two variables at all • High positive correlation indicates the variables vary together in the same direction • High negative correlation indicates the variables vary together in opposite directions (if one increases, the other is likely to decrease) • CORRELATION DOES NOT MEAN CAUSATION!
Steps for Eliminating Erroneous Thinking & Decisions • 1. Look for evidence ~ don’t rush to judgment. Separate what you’re “observing” from what you’re “inferring”. See if the negative thought “fits the facts”. • 2. Generate other alternatives ~ consider other possibilities. Most things have multiple causes. Remember that correlation does not necessarily mean causation! • 3. Realistically consider what your situation is if the negative thought is true… or if it is false. Ask yourself what the “worst case” could be… and then assess how likely it might be. • 4. Evaluate usefulness ~ sometimes the consequences of holding a belief are worse than the belief itself (whether it’s true or not). There are times when the best strategy is to distract yourself from a belief instead of tackling it head on (e.g. when you’re about to attempt a difficult dive from the 10 meter board in front of thousands).
