fei75766_ch18_569-609.indd 589  02/24/20 10:50 AM
Chapter 18     Rotter and Mischel: Cognitive Social Learning Theory589
Another novel technique suggested byRotter istohavepatients enter intoa
previously painful social situation, butrather thanspeaking asmuch asusual, theyare
asked toremain asquiet aspossible andmerely observe. Byobserving other people, 
thepatient hasabetter chance oflearning theirmotives. Patients canusethatinfor -
mation inthefuture toaltertheirownbehavior, thereby changing thereactions of
others andreducing thepainful effects offuture encounters withthose other persons.
Insummary, Rotter believed thatatherapist should beanactive participant ina
social interaction withthepatient. Aneffective therapist possesses thecharacteristics 
ofwarmth andacceptance notonlybecause these attitudes encourage thepatient to
verbalize problems butalsobecause reinforcement from awarm, accepting thera -
pistismore effective thanreinforcement from acold, rejecting one(Rotter, Chance, 
&Phares, 1972). Thetherapist attempts tominimize thediscrepancy between need 
value andfreedom ofmovement byhelping patients altertheirgoals orbyteaching 
effective means ofobtaining those goals. Even though thetherapist isanactive prob-
lemsolver, Rotter (1978) believed thateventually patients must learn tosolve their
ownproblems.
Introduction to Mischel’s  
Personality Theory
Ingeneral, personality theories areoftwotypes—those whoseepersonality asa
dynamic entity motivated bydrives, perceptions, needs, goals, andexpectancies 
andthose whoviewpersonality asafunction ofrelatively stable traits orpersonal 
dispositions. Thefirstcategory includes thetheories ofAdler (Chapter 3),Maslow 
(Chapter 9),andBandura (Chapter 17).Thisapproach emphasizes cognitive and
affective dynamics thatinteract withtheenvironment toproduce behavior.
Thesecond category emphasizes theimportance ofrelatively stable traits ofper-
sonal dispositions. Thetheories ofAllport (Chapter 12),Eysenck (Chapter 14),and
McCrae andCosta (Chapter 13)areinthiscategory. Thisapproach seespeople asbeing 
motivated byalimited number ofdrives orpersonal traits thattendtorender aperson’s 
behavior somewhat consistent. Walter Mischel (1973) originally objected tothistrait
theory explanation ofbehavior. Instead, hesupported theideathatcognitive activi -
tiesandspecific situations playamajor roleindetermining behavior. However, more 
recently, Mischel andhiscolleagues (Mischel &Shoda, 1998, 1999; Mischel, Shoda, 
&Mendoza-Denton, 2002) haveadvocated areconciliation between theprocessing 
dynamics approach andthepersonal dispositions approach. This cognitive-affective 
personality theory holds thatbehavior stems from relatively stable personal dispositions 
andcognitive-affective processes interacting withaparticular situation. 
Biography of Walter Mischel
Walter Mischel, thesecond sonofupper- middle-class parents, wasborn on
February 22,1930, inVienna. Heandhisbrother Theodore, wholaterbecame aphi-
losopher ofscience, grew upinapleasant environment onlyashort distance from 
Freud’s home. Thetranquillity ofchildhood, however, wasshattered when theNazis 
invaded Austria in1938. Thatsame year, theMischel family fledAustria andmoved Final PDF to printer