Julian B. Rotter

Julian B. Rotter (born October 22, 1916 in Brooklyn , New York ; † January 6, 2014 in Mansfield , Connecticut ) was an American psychologist who, among other things, dealt with the development of a social learning theory and research into control beliefs Has.

Life

Rotters psychological interest developed during his school days when he read the works of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler . He spent his early years at Brooklyn College , his master's degree from the University of Iowa , and his doctorate in 1941 from Indiana University . Each of these universities had an important influence on its theory. In New York, Rotter attended a series of seminars by Alfred Adler. This convinced him that it was important to consider the social context of the behavior as it was perceived by the person. In Iowa and Indiana, Rotter was influenced by Hull- Spence's theory of behavior, as well as by Skinner's view of reinforcement for behavior control and thus for the meaning of the situation. Furthermore, Rotter's theory was shaped by Edward Tolman , who introduced the construct of expectation into psychology.

During World War II, Rotter worked as a military psychologist for the American Air Force until he took over the management of the psychological clinic at Ohio State University in 1946 . Ohio State University was one of the largest clinical psychology training centers in the United States. In addition to Rotter, George Kelly and Carl Rogers worked in the clinical department.

During these 17 years in Ohio he developed the main features of his social learning theory. The first comprehensive presentation was made in 1954.

In 1963, Rotter accepted a call to the University of Connecticut , where he was active until 1987.

Social learning theory

Main article: Social learning

Rotter's social learning theory was primarily concerned with the decisions people make when faced with a number of different courses of action. To explain such voting behavior, Rotter tried in 1954 to integrate two main currents of psychology: the learning theory approach according to Skinner and the cognitive or field-oriented approach by Tolman and Lewin . In doing so, Rotter emphasizes learned social behavior. As a consequence, the psychological situation plays a crucial role, because expectations are induced by certain situational contexts. Furthermore, Rotter also assumed that on the basis of different learning experiences, general beliefs develop that also influence behavior in a specific situation.

Rotter's social learning theory therefore emphasizes both generalized (personality traits) and specific (situational) action determinants, whereby both are viewed by him as a product of learning experiences.

Locus of control

Main article: Belief in control

Julian Rotter in 1966 his construct of locus of control presented (locus of control).

The construct location of control refers to the belief that one's own actions affect or do not affect the maintenance of an amplifier. Because of this, control beliefs are seen as one of the determinants of success expectations. It is about the conviction that you can influence the achievement of a goal through your own actions, regardless of the specific nature of the goal or the enhancer.

Measuring instrument

Also in 1966, Rotter published a questionnaire to record the (internal and external) control beliefs in adults (ROT-IE). The questionnaire consists of 23 items, each with two alternative answers that the test person must choose.

Example of an item:

• The belief that professors are unfair to their students is nonsense. ( internal belief in control )
• Most students have no idea how much grades depend on chance. ( external belief in control. )

This questionnaire has been translated into numerous languages, a German standardization is available with the LOC by Rinke and Schneewind from 1978.

meaning

Rotter himself had an enormous influence on psychology, with around 15 of his former students holding a chair in clinical psychology in the USA or Canada.

The monograph on Locus of Control published by Rotter in 1966 was the third most cited work between 1965 and 1975.

According to Haggbloom, Rotter was one of the 100 most influential psychologists of the 20th century. It is ranked 18th for the frequency of citations in scientific articles and 64th for the total frequency.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Professor Emeritus of Psychology Julian Rotter Dies , accessed January 16, 2014.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Schwertfeger (2007)
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Weiner (1994)
4. ↑ ^{a b} Ahle (2003)
5. ↑ Haggbloom, SJ et al. (2002). The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century. Review of General Psychology, 6,139-152.

Works

• Level of aspiration as a method of studying personality. II. Development and evaluation of a controlled method . In: Journal of Experimental Psychology 31, 1942, pp. 410-422.
• with JE Rafferty: The Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank manual: College form . New York: Psychological Corp. 1950.
• Social learning and clinical psychology . New York: Prentice-Hall 1954.
• Some implications of a social learning theory for the prediction of goal directed behavior from testing procedures . In: Psychological Review 67, 1960, pp. 301-316.
• Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement . Psychological Monographs, 80. (Whole No. 609). 1966
• Some implications of a social learning theory for the practice of psychotherapy . In: D. Levis (Ed.): Learning approaches to therapeutic behavior change . Chicago: Aldine Press 1970.
• Generalized expectations for interpersonal trust . In: American Psychologist 26, 1971, pp. 443-452.
• On the evaluation of methods of intervening in other people's lives . In: Clinical Psychologist 24.1, 1971.
• with JE Chance, EJ Phares: Applications of a social learning theory of personality . New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston 1972.
• Some problems and misconceptions related to the construct of internal versus external control of reinforcement . In: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 43, 1975, pp. 56-67.
• Generalized expectancies for problem solving and psychotherapy . In: Cognitive Therapy and Research 2, 1978, pp. 1-10.
• Interpersonal trust, trustworthiness and gullibility . In: American Psychologist 26, 1980, pp. 1-7.
• The psychological situation in social learning theory . In: D. Magnusson (Ed.): Toward a psychology of situations: An interactional perspective . Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum 1981.
• The development and applications of social learning theory . New York: Praeger 1982.
• Internal versus external control of reinforcement: A case history of a variable . In: American Psychologist 45, 1989, pp. 489-493.
• with MI Lah, JE Rafferty: Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank Second Edition manual . New York: Psychological Corporation 1992.

literature

• Monique Schwertfeger: Julian B. Rotter's social learning theory in comparison with Albert Bandura , GRIN 2007, ISBN 363866600X
• Bernard Weiner: motivational psychology . 3rd edition, Beltz, 1994, pp. 187-213

Web links

• Literature by and about Julian B. Rotter in the catalog of the German National Library
• http://psych.fullerton.edu/jmearns/rotter.htm (English)