Social Cognition and Social Learning Theories - Social Learning Theory by Julian Rotter (1954, 1982)

Julian Rotter’s Social Learning Theory asserts that the likelihood of a behavior’s recurrence is determined by two factors:

1. Expectancy – the individual’s belief in the probability that a specific action will lead to a particular outcome.
2. Reinforcement Value – the degree of desirability or attractiveness attached to that outcome.

• Expectancy: “Reviewing notes boosts my score to 90%.”
• Reinforcement Value: “A 90% grade earns praise and confidence.”
• Behavior: Student chooses to study consistently.
• An internal student believes effort leads directly to success and studies daily.
• An external student thinks luck or exam difficulty dictates grades and may study less.

• Rotter said behaviour depends on expectancy (belief in outcome) and reinforcement value (how much the outcome is valued).
• Expectancy is the belief that a certain action will lead to a specific result.
• Reinforcement value is how desirable or rewarding that result feels.
• Locus of control is the belief about whether outcomes depend on the self (internal) or outside forces (external).
• People with internal control are more motivated and confident; external control leads to low effort and more stress.