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Part VI    Learning-Cognitive Theories572
department atOhio State. However, Rotter wasunhappy withthepolitical effects 
ofMcCarthyism inOhio, andin1963, hetookaposition attheUniversity ofCon-
necticut asdirector oftheClinical Training Program. Hecontinued inthatposition 
until1987, when heretired asprofessor emeritus. Rotter andhiswifeClara (who died
in1986) hadtwochildren, adaughter, Jean, andason,Richard, whodiedin1995. 
Julian Rotter passed away athishome inConnecticut onJanuary 6,2014, attheage
of97.
Among Rotter’s most important publications areSocial Learning and Clini -
cal Psychology (1954); Clinical Psychology (1964); Applications of a Social Learning 
Theory of Personality, withJ.E.Chance andE.J.Phares (1972); Personality, with
D.J.Hochreich (1975); The Development and Application of Social Learning Theory: 
Selected Papers (1982); theRotter Incomplete Sentences Blank (Rotter, 1966); and
theInterpersonal Trust Scale (Rotter, 1967). 
Rotter served aspresident oftheEastern Psychological Association andofthe
divisions ofSocial andPersonality Psychology andClinical Psychology oftheAmeri -
canPsychological Association (APA). Healsoserved twoterms ontheAPA Educa -
tionandTraining Board. In1988, hereceived theprestigious APA Distinguished 
Scientific Contribution Award. Thefollowing year, heearned theDistinguished 
Contribution toClinical Training Award from theCouncil ofUniversity Directors of
Clinical Psychology. 
Introduction to Rotter’s Social  
Learning Theory
Social learning theory restsonfivebasic hypotheses. First, itassumes thathumans 
interact with their meaningful environments (Rotter, 1982). People’s reaction toenvi-
ronmental stimuli depends onthemeaning orimportance thattheyattach toan
event. Reinforcements arenotdependent onexternal stimuli alone butaregiven 
meaning bytheindividual’s cognitive capacity. Likewise, personal characteris -
ticssuchasneeds ortraits cannot, bythemselves, cause behavior. Rather, Rotter 
believed thathuman behavior stems from theinteraction ofenvironmental andper-
sonal factors. 
Asecond assumption ofRotter’s theory isthathuman personality is learned. 
Thus, itfollows thatpersonality isnotsetordetermined atanyparticular ageofdevel -
opment; instead, itcanbechanged ormodified aslongaspeople arecapable oflearn -
ing.Although ouraccumulation ofearlier experiences gives ourpersonality some 
stability, wearealways responsive tochange through newexperiences. Welearn from 
pastexperiences, butthose experiences arenotabsolutely constant; theyarecolored 
byintervening experiences thatthenaffect present perceptions.
Thethird assumption ofsocial learning theory isthatpersonality has a basic 
unity, which means thatpeople’s personalities possess relative stability. People learn 
toevaluate newexperiences onthebasis ofprevious reinforcement. Thisrelatively 
consistent evaluation leads togreater stability andunity ofpersonality.
Rotter’s fourth basic hypothesis isthatmotivation is goal directed. Herejected 
thenotion thatpeople areprimarily motivated toreduce tension orseekpleasure, 
insisting thatthebestexplanation forhuman behavior liesinpeople’s expectations Final PDF to printer