Question

in the past, michael received $5 for completing his weekly chores. michael has once again completed his chores, and he hopes to receive $5.

according to social learning theory, this is referred to as ______.

imitation
expectancy
self-efficacy
reinforcement value

Explanation:

Analyze the scenario

The scenario describes Michael completing his chores because he hopes to receive a \$5 reward, which he has received for this behavior in the past. This involves a subjective anticipation of a specific outcome based on past reinforcement.

Define the core concepts

In Julian Rotter's social learning theory of personality, behavior is predicted by the interaction of expectancies, reinforcement value, and the psychological situation.

• Expectancy is an individual's subjective probability or belief that a specific behavior will lead to a particular outcome or reinforcer.
• Reinforcement value is the subjective desirability or preference for a particular reinforcer.
• Self-efficacy (from Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory) is the belief in one's capability to execute behaviors.
• Imitation is copying the behavior of a model.

Match the scenario to the correct term

Michael's hope or anticipation of receiving \$5 after completing his chores represents his subjective belief about the outcome of his behavior. Because this belief is based on past experiences where the behavior was reinforced, it is defined as an expectancy under social learning theory.

Answer:

• imitation
• expectancy (Correct answer)
• self-efficacy
• reinforcement value