fei75766_ch18_569-609.indd 598  02/24/20 10:50 AM
Part VI    Learning-Cognitive Theories598
Forexample, acollege student whohasnever taken theGRE nevertheless hashad
experience preparing forother tests. What thatstudent doesingetting ready forthe
GRE ispartially influenced bywhat previous testpreparation behaviors resulted in
themost valuable outcome. Astudent whohaspreviously been rewarded forusing 
self-relaxation techniques toprepare fortestswillexpect thatthesame techniques 
willhelpindoing wellontheGRE. Mischel (1990, 2004) referred tothistypeof
expectancy asabehavior-outcome expectancy .People often construe behavior-outcome 
expectancies inan“if...,then...”framework. “IfIuseself-relaxation procedures, 
thenIcanexpect todowellontheGRE.” “IfItellmybosswhat Ireally think ofher,
thenImight losemyjob.”
Mischel alsoidentified asecond typeofexpectancy— stimulus-outcome expectan -
cies,which refers tothemany stimulus conditions thatinfluence theprobable conse -
quences ofanybehavior pattern. Stimulus-outcome expectancies helpuspredict what 
events arelikely tooccur following certain stimuli. Perhaps themost obvious example 
isanexpectancy ofloud, unpleasant thunder following theobservance oflightning 
(thestimulus). Mischel believes thatstimulus- outcome expectancies areimportant 
units forunderstanding classical conditioning. Forexample, achild whohasbeen 
conditioned toassociate painwithnurses inahospital begins tocryandshow fear
when sheseesanurse withahypodermic syringe.
Mischel (1990) believes thatonereason fortheinconsistency ofbehavior is
ourinability topredict other people’s behavior. Wehavelittlehesitancy inattribut -
ingpersonal traits toothers, butwhen wenotice thattheirbehavior isinconsistent 
withthose traits, webecome lesscertain about howtoreact tothem. Ourbehavior 
willbecross-situationally consistent totheextent thatourexpectancies areunchang -
ing.Butourexpectancies arenotconstant; theychange because wecandiscriminate 
andevaluate themultitude ofpotential reinforcers inanygiven situation (Mischel &
Ayduk, 2002).
Goals and Values
People donotreact passively tosituations butareactive andgoaldirected. They 
formulate goals, devise plans forattaining theirgoals, andinpartcreate theirown 
situations. People’s subjective goals, values, andpreferences represent afourth 
cognitive-affective unit.Forexample, twocollege students mayhaveequal academic 
ability andalsoequal expectancy forsuccess ingraduate school. Thefirst,however, 
places more value onentering thejobmarket thanongoing tograduate school, while 
thesecond chooses togotograduate school rather thantopursue animmediate 
career. Thetwomayhavehadmany similar experiences during college, butbecause 
theyhavedifferent goals, theyhavemade verydifferent decisions. 
Values, goals, andinterests, along withcompetencies, areamong themost stable 
cognitive-affective units. Onereason forthisconsistency istheemotion-eliciting prop-
erties ofthese units. Forinstance, aperson mayplace anegative value onacertain 
foodbecause heassociates itwiththenausea heonce experienced while eating that
food. Without counterconditioning, thisaversion islikely topersist duetothestrong 
negative emotion elicited bythefood. Similarly, patriotic values maylastalifetime 
because theyareassociated withpositive emotions suchassecurity, attachment to
one’s home, andloveofone’s mother.Final PDF to printer