Jasmine C. Career Blog: Social Learning Theory

Social Learning Theory assumes that people's personalities and behavioral habits can be explained most usefully on the basis of their unique learning experiences while still acknowledging the role played by innate and developmental processes. (Mitchell & Krumboltz)

It also assumes that humans are intelligent, problem-solving who strive at all times to understand the reinforcement that surrounds them and who in turn control their environments to suit their own purposes and needs.

Social Learning Theory of Career Decision Making (SLTCDM) explains the origins of career choice.

Identifies four factors that influence our career decision making.

Genetic endowment and special abilities.

Genetic endowments are inherited qualities. (physical traits)
Special abilities are a result from interactions between genetic factors and exposure to environmental events.

Environmental Conditions and events.

Factors are outside of our control. (Cultural, geographical, social, political, and economic forces)

Instrumental and associative learning experiences.

Involve antecedents, behaviors, and consequences.
Instrumental Learning Experiences: Involves reward and punishment.
Associative Learning Experiences: Involves neutral experiences paired with a positive/negative stimulus or consequence.

Task Approach Skills.

Individuals work habits, mental set, emotional responses, cognitive processes, and problem-solving skills. (how individuals approach completing tasks.

In result of the interaction of the four factors people develop.

Self-Observation Generalizations:

Evaluation (covert/overt) of one's own performance or assessment of interests and values.

Worldview Generalization:

Observations about the environment (nature and functioning of the world).

Task Approach Skills:

Cognitive and performance abilities and emotional predispositions for coping with the environment, interpreting it in relation to self-observation generalizations, and making covert and overt predictions about future events.