Behavioral Perspectives on Personality Differences and Change

UPI Study › Courses › Psychology of Personality › Free lessons › Lesson 8.6 Free with a free account

Behavioral Perspectives on Personality Differences and Change

Psychology of Personality · Chapter 8: Behavioral and Learning TheoriesSection 8.6 · lesson 51 of 838 min · free with a free account

← Watson, Hull, and the Methodological Foundations of BehaviorismNext lesson: Critiques and Contemporary Relevance of Behavioral Personality Theory →

Earn 3 college credits for Psychology of PersonalityRecommended for credit by NCCRS · Psychology 300 · self-paced · one payment, lifetime access
Enroll in Psychology of Personality · $250 →Download the syllabus (PDF)

In this lesson

If personality is learned, then it varies by setting and it can be rebuilt.

  • Explain individual differences as differences in learning history
  • Say why the behavioral view predicts variability across situations
  • Contrast the trait and behavioral accounts point by point
  • Name the techniques that follow from treating behavior as learned

Free study notes

Get this lesson's notes by email

The key points and 4 practice questions with answers, in your inbox. One email, free.

One email. Unsubscribe in one click.

Transcript

Everything said in the video, section by section (1,059 words). Read along, or search it.

Behavioral and Learning Theories

Differences, Situations, and Change

Two people face the same situation and behave completely differently. The usual explanation says they have different personalities. The behavioral tradition says something more specific, and more demanding. They have different learning histories. That reframing has two consequences worth following carefully. It predicts that behavior should vary by setting more than we usually assume. And it predicts that personality can be changed, deliberately and measurably. This section works through both, and states plainly where the optimism runs out.

The Claim

Differences in History, Not in Essence

From a behavioral perspective, personality differences reflect differences in learning history. Rather than fixed inner traits. The reasoning is simple, and it is worth walking through. Each person encounters a unique pattern of stimuli, reinforcements, and models. No two histories are identical, even between siblings in one house. So each person develops a distinctive repertoire of behaviors. And what looks like a stable trait is, on this view, something narrower. A consistent set of responses, learned in similar situations. Notice that the stability itself is not being denied. Its location is what is in dispute.

The Vocabulary

Four Terms That Do the Work

Four terms carry the argument in this section. Learning history is the accumulated experience that shapes a person's behavior. A repertoire is the set of behaviors an individual has actually learned. A contingency is the relationship between a behavior and its consequences. And a reinforcement contingency is the specific rule linking a behavior to its reinforcement. Contingency is the load-bearing term here. It names the rule that the environment is currently running. Change the rule, on this account, and you change the behavior the rule was maintaining. That is the practical hinge of the entire section.

The Prediction

Behavior Should Vary More Than Traits Predict

This emphasis leads to a testable prediction, and it is a bold one. Behaviorists expect behavior to vary across contexts. More than trait theories predict. Take an ordinary observation. Someone is outgoing among friends and reserved at work. The trait account has to treat that as noise around a true underlying level. The behavioral account treats it as the expected result. Different settings carry different reinforcement contingencies. So the person is not being inconsistent, and not hiding a truer self. This is a genuine empirical disagreement, not a difference of emphasis. The two accounts predict different amounts of cross-situational consistency.

Side by Side

Two Accounts of the Same Person

Set the two accounts against each other, point by point. On the source of differences, the trait view says inner stable traits. The behavioral view says learning history. On consistency, the trait view expects it to be high across situations. The behavioral view expects it to vary by context. On capacity for change, the trait view is limited. The behavioral view is high and ongoing. On what to study, the trait view looks at hidden dispositions. The behavioral view looks at observable behavior. And on method of change, the trait tradition works through insight. The behavioral tradition works by altering contingencies. That last row is where the disagreement stops being academic.

The Consequence

Why This View Is Optimistic

A major appeal of the behavioral approach is its optimism about change. And the argument for it is short. If behavior is learned, then it was installed by a history of experience. It was not built in at the factory. Then it can be unlearned, and relearned. The same processes that installed it can weaken it, and install something else. So by altering the contingencies of reinforcement, people acquire new patterns of behavior. More adaptive ones, meaning behavior that helps a person function effectively. That premise underlies behavior therapy. It also underlies a great many self-improvement programmes that never mention Skinner.

The Methods

Four Ways to Change a Repertoire

The techniques that follow are unglamorous and specific. Reinforce the desired behavior, so that it becomes more frequent. Withdraw reinforcement from unwanted behavior. Model new responses, so a behavior can be acquired by observation. And shape complex skills gradually, through successive approximations. Now notice what is absent from that list. None of these requires insight into oneself. The trait tradition changes people by helping them understand who they are. The behavioral tradition changes them by changing what the environment rewards. Those are not two routes to the same destination. They are different theories of what needs fixing.

The Discipline

Progress You Can Actually Check

There is a methodological benefit that follows from all this. These methods target observable behavior and measurable outcomes. So progress can be tracked objectively, and the intervention adjusted as needed. Measurability is not a stylistic preference here. It is what lets an intervention be corrected while it is still running. A method whose progress cannot be checked cannot be adjusted mid-course. But this cuts the other way too, and that is worth saying. If the target behavior does not move, the intervention has visibly failed. There is nowhere for it to hide.

In Practice

The Fear of Public Speaking

Consider someone who fears public speaking. The behavioral route is gradual exposure, with reinforcement for each small success. The steps are deliberately small enough that each one can actually succeed. Each success is reinforced, and only then is the next step set slightly higher. Confidence and fluency get built, rather than discovered. And this shows how behavioral methods produce measurable, personality-relevant change. Notice one thing the procedure never does. It never asks where the fear originally came from. For this tradition, that question is not required in order to fix the problem.

The Honest Limit

Optimism Is a Prediction, Not a Guarantee

It would be misleading to leave the optimism unqualified. The claim is that behavior can be changed. Not that it changes easily. A long learning history has installed a repertoire over years. And altering the contingencies means altering an environment that is still running. Often an environment that is still reinforcing the old pattern every day. The behavioral account also stays deliberately silent on some things. Why the person feels as they do. What the behavior means to them. Those are not oversights. They are consequences of the founding rule about evidence. The next section takes that objection seriously. And asks what this tradition can and cannot answer.

Consolidate

Three Claims, One Consequence

Three claims, and one consequence that follows from all of them. First, differences come from learning history. Unique patterns of stimuli, reinforcement, and models produce distinctive repertoires. Second, behavior varies by situation. Different settings carry different contingencies, so consistency is lower than trait theory expects. Third, behavior that was learned can be relearned. Through altered contingencies, modeling, and shaping. And the consequence is that this tradition grounds behavior therapy. Treatment that applies learning principles follows from the account of personality itself. Rather than being bolted on to it afterwards.

About Psychology of Personality at UPI Study

Psychology of Personality (Psychology 300) is a self-paced online course of 83 video lessons in 13 chapters, from Freud, Adler and Jung to biological, behavioral, cognitive, existential and humanistic theories, traits, personality disorders and culture. It carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits.

Every lesson transcript is free on pages like this one, and the videos are free with a free UPI Study account. Enrolling adds a practice quiz after each lesson, the graded work and final exam that earn the credit, lifetime access, and an official transcript on completion. UPI Study has helped over 130,000 students with college credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Enroll now → Course details Download the syllabus All Psychology and social science courses Every course with PRO →

Compare: Abnormal Psychology vs Psychology of Personality

Why take it here

Why students take Psychology of Personality with UPI Study

What makes each person who they arePsychology of Personality compares the major explanations of why people differ: psychoanalytic and neo-analytic theories, biology and evolution, learning, cognition, existential and humanistic views, and trait models, plus how personality is measured and studied. It is a common course in psychology degrees.
Credit at a fraction of the priceThe same 3 credits can cost $750 or more at a US college. Here it is one payment, self-paced, with lifetime access.
Finish your degree soonerTransfer credits reduce the courses you still owe, so you can graduate earlier or lighten a heavy semester.
Strengthen an applicationA completed college-level course on an official transcript shows admissions and scholarship committees you can do the work.
Study on your own scheduleNo start dates, no deadlines. Watch the lessons, practice, and take the final when you are ready.
130,000+students helped with college creditsACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Where the credit goes

Universities that work with NCCRS

Psychology of Personality carries a NCCRS credit recommendation. These universities work with NCCRS; some are UPI Study's signed partners. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Thomas Edison State UniversityThomas Edison State UniversitySigned partnerUniversity of the PeopleUniversity of the PeopleSigned partnerCharter Oak State CollegeCharter Oak State CollegeSigned partnerStrayer UniversityStrayer UniversitySigned partnerColumbia Southern UniversityColumbia Southern UniversitySigned partnerIndiana TechIndiana TechSigned partnerPenn StatePenn StateWorks with NCCRSSouthern New Hampshire UniversitySouthern New Hampshire UniversityWorks with NCCRSSUNYSUNYWorks with NCCRS +many more cooperating universitiesFind my college →

Find my college → Not listed? Ask Athena in the corner of this page, or book a 15-minute call.

FAQ

Questions students ask us

About Behavioral Perspectives on Personality Differences and Change

Why do people develop different personalities according to behaviorism?
Behaviorism traces personality differences to differences in learning history rather than fixed inner traits. Each person meets a unique pattern of stimuli, reinforcements, and models, even siblings raised in the same house, so each develops a distinctive repertoire of learned behaviors. What looks like a stable trait is treated as a consistent set of responses learned in similar situations. Stability is not denied; its source is what is disputed.
Why does behavior change across situations according to behaviorists?
Behaviorists expect behavior to vary across situations because different settings carry different reinforcement contingencies, the rules linking behavior to its consequences. Someone who is outgoing with friends and reserved at work is not being inconsistent or hiding a true self; each setting rewards different behavior. Trait theories treat such variation as noise around a stable level, so the two views predict different amounts of cross-situational consistency.
Can personality change according to behavioral theory?
Yes, behavioral theory holds that learned behavior can be unlearned and relearned by changing the contingencies of reinforcement. Techniques include reinforcing desired behavior, withdrawing reinforcement from unwanted behavior, modeling new responses, and shaping complex skills through successive approximations, none of which requires self-insight. Change is possible but not easy, because a long learning history and an environment that keeps reinforcing old patterns can work against it.
How would a behaviorist treat a fear of public speaking?
A behaviorist would treat a fear of public speaking with gradual exposure and reinforcement for each small success. The steps are kept small enough to succeed, each success is reinforced, and only then is the next step made slightly harder. Confidence and fluency are built rather than discovered. The procedure does not ask where the fear came from, and progress is tracked through observable, measurable behavior.

About the Psychology of Personality course

How many college credits is Psychology of Personality?
Psychology of Personality (Psychology 300) carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
How much does Psychology of Personality cost and what is included?
$250, paid once, with lifetime access: all 83 video lessons, a practice quiz after each, the graded work and final exam, and an official transcript when you finish. Students who want several courses choose UPI Study PRO instead.
Which universities accept UPI Study credits?
UPI Study has signed partner agreements with universities such as Thomas Edison State University, University of the People and Charter Oak State College, and works with universities such as Penn State, SNHU and SUNY. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Use "Find my college" on this page to check yours.
How long does Psychology of Personality take?
It is self-paced with no deadlines. The 83 lessons total about 8 hours of video; most students add reading and practice time and finish in a few weeks to a few months, on their own schedule.
How are the exams done?
Quizzes and assignments are online in the course. The final exam is taken online with proctoring; a person on the UPI Study team checks assignments, usually within two days.
How do my credits reach my college?
When the course shows 100% complete, request the official transcript from your dashboard. It is sent to the college you name, and you can send it to more than one. Check your college first with "Find my college" on this page, or ask Athena.

Ready for the full course? Earn 3 credits in Psychology of Personality.

83 video lessons, a quiz after each one, and the graded work that earns the credit. Recommended for credit by NCCRS.

Enroll in Psychology of Personality →Download the syllabusEvery course with PRO →
Psychology of Personality
3 credits · NCCRSEnroll →