Question

tonya demonstrate peraonality traits at parties with her friends that are very different from those she exhibits when she participates in class activites. using your knowledge of both the person-situation controversy and reciprocal determinism, explain why the variability of tonya's behavior in differnt situation is not surprising

Answer 1

Personality traits are the people’s characteristic patterns of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

The person-situation controversy is the influence of personality and situational factors on one’s behavior. Psychologists in the field of personality traits believe that the personality of a person relatively depends on situations. According to this theory, parties with her friends and class activities are different situations in this context. Tonya’s behavior is decided and governed by these situational factors.

Reciprocal determinism theory states that a person's behavior is regulated by personal factors and the social environment.   In Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, Reciprocal determinism is a central concept for describing behavior. Reciprocal determinism model composed of three factors that affect one’s behavior: the first one is the individual, the second is the environment, and the third is the behavior. According to this theory, Tonya’s behavior is decided and governed by her personal factors and social factors.

Personal factors may be her cognition, emotions, motivations, etc. The social environment is the physical and social setting in which Tonya lives or in which something happens or develops. In this context, the parties with her friends and class activities are the social environment. Some circumstances and environments can influence a person’s behavior. Emotions and personalities vary depending on the situations of their lives.

Based on the above two theories, the variability of Tonya's behavior in different situations is not surprising.