Graphic copyright © 1986 Pearson Education Inc

The model of Reciprocal Determinism considers how what we do and who we spend time with - our Behaviour - impacts upon and changes the Life Conditions in the Environment we experience and how we respond cognitively and emotionally as a Person to the environmental feedback we then receive.

If the environmental feedback is favourable, then that will have a reinforcing effect likely to lead to repetition of the behaviour. If the environmental feedback is unfavourable, then that may lead to changes in beliefs and attitudes and consequently behaviour, depending on just what sense we make of the feedback. The sense we make will clearly depend on what meta-programmes are being run by what vMEMES and what schemas are challenged.

Albert Bandura

The concept of Reciprocal Determinism was developed by Dr Albert Bandura (1977), the leading Social Learning theoretician of the mid-late 20th Century. While the concept of the Environment determining Behaviour is rooted in Behaviourism, Social Learning Theory built on Edward C Tolman's (1932) position of there being a cognitive mediator between stimulus and response (which strict Behaviourists disregarded). (Bandura later retitled his version of Social Learning Theory 'Social Cognitive Theory' to emphasis the cogntive aspects -though the name change largely failed to catch on.)

One of the great contributions Bandura made to Psychology was his studies of observational modelling - notably the famous 'Bo Bo Doll' experiments - Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1961; Bandura & Walters, 1963; Bandura, 1961 - in which children were seen to model different types of adult behaviour, depending on the consequences for the adults.

Thus, Bandura established that we learn and sometimes modify our behaviour not only what happens to us as a consequence of what we do - operant conditioning - but also by observing whether others are rewarded or punished for their behaviour - vicarious learning. In other words our environmental feedback takes in the environmental feedback that others are receiving.

Again, how we learn from the environmental feedback others receive is influenced by the internal sense we make of it and again that will be influenced via the meta-programmes our vMEMES are running and how the incoming information maps to our schemas.

Bandura was at pains to state that observational modelling is affected by how much we identify with the person(s) being rewarded or punished for their behaviour. Thus, in his experiments with young children, he found that boys tended to identify much more with a male role model than a female one.

At a more complex level, our identification with the other person(s) will be influenced by the dominating vMEMES. Thus, BLUE will be very influenced by what happens to someone in terms of them conforming (or not) to the 'one right way'. RED will tend to Self-Reference and disregard what happens to others, instead learning directly from environmental feedback to its own behaviour. However, if it perceives the other person(s) as having more power, then it is much more likely to take notice. Hence, the importance of celebrity role models - eg: footballers - to pre-teen and early teenage RED.

In 4Q/8L terms, the relationship between the Upper Left and each of the Lower Quadrants may well influence how environmental feedback is received. For example, if there is conflict between Lower Left and Lower Right, then, on the basis of default positions, BLUE dominating in the Upper Left is more likely to be receptive (at least initially) to the structural norms of the Lower Right while RED is more likely to rebel against them. On the other hand GREEN, with its emphasis on people, will have a natural tendency to start off favouring the Lower Left.

Click here to learn about Integrated SocioPsychology ‘open workshop’ programmes which incorporate Reciprocal Determinism as a key structure.