What Is Reciprocal Determinism?

Have you ever wondered why you tend to act differently depending on the situation? Or why your personality seems to shift depending on who you're with and what you're doing? Some psychologists suggest that this can be explained by something called reciprocal determinism. Simply put, it's a continuous loop showing how our thoughts, behaviors, and environments all influence one another.

This concept plays a central role in Bandura's social learning theory. Also known as triadic reciprocality, reciprocal determinism is a model composed of three interrelated factors that influence behavior:

• The individual (including how they think and feel)
• Their environment
• The behavior itself

Previous theories of learning, such as B.F. Skinner's theory of operant conditioning, argued that the environment always controlled people’s behavior. Such theories suggested that people were just passive recipients of environmental influences. 

However, according to Bandura, not only does the environment influence a person’s thinking, but their subsequent behavior influences their environment. In other words, the environment influences how a person thinks and feels, which in turn influences their behavior, which impacts the environment, and so on.  

Behavioral Factors in Reciprocal Determinism

At its core, reciprocal determinism suggests that a person's behavior doesn't just stem from inside us—it's shaped by our thoughts and the world around us, including the people we interact with in our daily lives.

For example, consider a kid who acts out because they don't like school. The teacher responds by scolding them, making them dislike school more. It's a cycle where the thoughts, behaviors, and environment all feed into one another.

Environmental Factors in Reciprocal Determinism

Behaviors don't occur in isolation. The environmental component refers to the context in which the behavior occurs.

It's more than a person's physical environment—it also includes their social environment. More specifically, it is heavily influenced by the people who are present (or absent) and the attitudes, beliefs, and ideas these people hold.

So if the child from the previous example gets yelled at by a teacher for talking in class, it not only affects them but also the classroom environment for the rest of the students, not to mention the teacher.

Personal Factors in Reciprocal Determinism

In addition to this mix of behavioral and environmental variables are the personal characteristics that we each bring to the situation. This individual component includes all the characteristics that have been rewarded in the past.

The behavior itself is something that may or may not be reinforced at any given time or situation. If the previous student knows that their teacher is more likely to reward them if they wait until the end of the school day to misbehave, they'll likely tailor their behavior as a result.

An Example of Reciprocal Determinism

Of course, the situation doesn't have to be a negative one.

Imagine a shy student who usually keeps to themselves (personal factor), walks into class on the first day of school to find that the other students are already sitting down (environmental factor). The shy student tries to slip into the back of the class to avoid becoming the center of attention (behavioral factor).

But if a classmate sitting at the front of the room boisterously greets the shy student and invites them to sit next to them, the environment has introduced a *new* reinforcing stimulus (the friendly student) that could lead to a change in this student's regular routine—as well as a change in their behavior.

Instead of feeling shy and reticent, receiving such a friendly introduction might help them feel more included and socially supported. It's an example of how positive environmental factors can have a beneficial impact on individual thoughts and behaviors.

Self-Efficacy and Reciprocal Determinism

Reciprocal determinism is also associated with self-efficacy, or a person's level of belief in their own ability to achieve their goals. Self-efficacy represents a personal factor in reciprocal determinism.

In situations where someone has low self-efficacy, such as a student in class who lacks faith in their ability to do well, modifying aspects of the environment can be helpful. For example, a teacher who offers additional supportive resources and encouragement can help foster success, which may then improve success and boost a student's sense of self-efficacy.

Applications for Reciprocal Determinism

Reciprocal determinism isn't just a theoretical concept—it also has important real-world applications. By understanding the dynamic interplay between the individual, their behavior, and their environment, psychologists are better able to explain and address issues that affect mental well-being.

Examples of how reciprocal determinism can be applied include:

• Understanding drug addiction: This model can help psychologists better understand how the connections between personal characteristics, social environments, and risky behaviors can contribute to substance use and drug addiction. By recognizing the role each factor plays, psychologists can design more effective interventions that address each element that contributes to drug use and addiction.
• Managing mental health: Mental health professionals also utilize reciprocal determinism to understand and treat conditions like anxiety and depression. For example, they might look at how a person with depression (a personal factor) might engage in social withdrawal (a behavior), which leads to social isolation (an environmental factor), which then leads to worsening symptoms of depression. Treatments often focus on breaking this cycle.
• Improving learning: Reciprocal determinism can also be used to understand how student mindset, behavior, and environment interact to affect academic success. Helping students develop a more growth-oriented mindset, for example, may contribute to behaviors like studying that also lead to positive teacher feedback.
  

Takeaways

Bandura's theory represented an important shift from the behavioral perspective to a more social-cognitive approach to understanding behavior. Remember, the behaviorists suggested that it was the environment that almost entirely shaped individual behavior.

Meanwhile, Bandura recognized the importance of the bidirectional relationship between individuals, their behaviors, and the environment.

This suggests that while people are certainly affected by the things they experience in their environment, they also have the power to exert a change on their situation and circumstances through their own choices and behaviors.