Page 24 - Advanced Biblical Counseling Student Textbook

“Many passages in Scripture point to the importance of observational learning. In Luke 6:40, Jesus
stated that ‘a student. . . who is fully trained will be like his teacher.’ John cautions us to be careful who
we emulate (3 John 11). In his daily relationship with His disciples, Jesus modeled servanthood as He
healed the sick and cared for the lowly. His most powerful lesson in this regard came not in the
preaching of a message, but in the demonstration of servanthood when He washed His disciples’ feet
(John 13). Understanding the power of role modeling, Peter told pastors that they should not be
authoritarian rulers but should be examples worthy of imitation by those under their authority (1 Peter
5:3). These and other passages exhort us not just to profess faith, but to live it and demonstrate Christ’s
power at work within us (James 2:14-26). Why? Because modeling is a valid and effective means of
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affecting the lives of others.

Human Freedom, Dignity, and Worth
“One of the impressive things about Jesus is the dignity, freedom, and value He gives to people He did
not force or cajole His disciples to follow Him. He did not manipulate them with rewards and
reinforcement. He was not focused on modifying their behavior. He gave people the freedom to make
their own decisions and afforded them the dignity of personal choice. On occasion He gave people the
freedom to walk away from him in unbelief. He wasn’t interested in commitments that came only when
the water was being turned to wine or the miracles were numerous. No, He sought disciples who would
sacrificially follow even to death with no immediate reinforcements in sight. Jesus knew that changing
behavior was insufficient. He focused on the inner person, on motives and on character. He sought to
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change the total person, not just behavior.”

Reflection: Spend some time thinking about your behavior around others. How do you show others
Jesus? What personality traits do others see in you that are Christ-like? Write a few reflection sentences
here.

This is a lot of information about personality! There are many more theories that have complicated and
interesting beliefs about how our personalities are formed and develop. We are going to look at one
more perspective on personality. This comes from a social-cognitive perspective.

The Social-Cognitive Perspective
In the view of social-cognitive psychologists, what mutual influences shape an individual’s
personality?

The social-cognitive perspective on personality proposed by Albert Bandura focuses on the interaction
of our traits with our situations. Much as nature and nurture always work together, so do individuals
and their situations.

Social-cognitive theorists believe we learn many of our behaviors either through conditioning or by
observing others and modeling our behavior after theirs. (That is the “social” part.) They also emphasize
the importance of mental processes: What we think about our situations affects our
behavior. (That is the “cognitive” part.) Instead of focusing solely on how our environment controls us,
social-cognitive theorists focus on how we and our environment interact: How do we interpret and

31 Shields & Bredfeldt, p. 178, 2001
32 Ibid.

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