ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a basic conceptual framework for understanding the processes involved in the acquisition and modification of interpersonal behavior. It explains a foundation for understanding the basic processes which, from the standpoint of contemporary theory and research concerned with human learning, are most likely to be involved in the acquisition, maintenance, and modification of socially significant behavior. Very generally, then, the kind of learning mechanism involved in cued behavior must be seen as playing a most important role in interpersonal relations, where the cues supplied by one person may have substantial effects upon the emotional experience of the other. To remain alert to the possible influence of cognitive processes in determining the manner in which any cued behavior actually affects the course of particular interpersonal integrations. The fact that persons can cue, reinforce, and prompt each others’ behavior has enormous significance for interpersonal behavior modification and for an understanding of interpersonal relations.
