What is expectancy and reinforcement value, according to Rotter? How do they influence Randall's decision to argue/fight with a schoolmate who is verbally abusive?

What will be an ideal response?


Expectancy is a belief about what will happen if we act in a certain way. Reinforcement value is a matter of preferring one reinforcer over another. For Rotter, expectancy and reinforcement value determine the strength of the behavior potential and therefore the likelihood that it will be chosen as a course of action. The respect and attention Randall gets by fighting/arguing is more important (i.e., has more reinforcement value) than being allowed to stay in school, when he is making the decision to fight or walk away from schoolmate's insults. Relatedly, the fact that Randall can predict the outcomes of each of these behavior potentials (such as being suspended from school if he gets into another fight) is expectancy.

Psychology

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