Michael's Social Learning Perspective

Theoretical Section Michael’s personality is best explained by the social learning perspective. His social behavior is driven by past experiences with reward and punishment (Kenrick, Neuberg, Cinaldini, 2015). Michael developed his personality watching his parents, specifically his mother and others in his environment. Being a minority and experiencing racism he came to admire Martin Luther King for his outspoken ways and for standing up for his race and speaking for equality. These are all things Michael wanted and desired in his life. Michael focuses on things or events that have happened to him in the past and these social learning experiences are what determine his social behavior today. Learning from his past experiences Michael knows

This viewpoint is based off of an individual’s social behavior caused by factors such as nationality, social class and current historical trends. The main concept of this perspective is culture, which is defined by the beliefs, customs, habits, and language shared by the people living in a particular time and place (Kenrick et al., 2015). Michael was raised Catholic because that is the predominant religion in where he lived. He was sent to a private boarding school where there were very strict rules and regulations. This environment taught Michael discipline, responsibility and respect. Michael continues to use these behavior techniques in raising his children, who also attend a private Catholic school. They are taught appropriate behavior and social norms that stem back to his Nigerian roots as well as his schooling in

He is very set in his ways and as he said in his interview, stubborn. You could argue that Michael’s tendencies are rooted in his ancestor’s predispositions, which is true, but Michael has made many changes in his life to acclimate to the American culture. The evolution perspective is based around natural selection (Kenrick et al., 2015). It says that humans pass along traits to their offspring that will help them survive. Michael’s children do not exhibit the Nigerian roots as much as Michael does. They have adapted to American culture and more specifically the Midwest.
The social cognitive perspective which focuses on our behaviors being influenced by events in the real world also did not fit Michael’s personality. Michael is pretty calm no matter what the situation. He tends to base his behaviors off of other people, rather than the situation, which goes back to the social learning perspective. People’s interpretation of a situation tend to be based off of their goals at the time (Kenrick et al., 2015). As this is true, Michael goes back to his roots and bases his behaviors off of what he has learned throughout his life.