Final answer:
The theory of response highlights the role of the reader's engagement with the text and how personalized meanings are constructed, as well as the broader idea that environmental interactions and cognitive processes shape individual behaviors and personalities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The theory of response advocated by Rosenblatt, Britton, and the textbook's author suggests a complex interaction between the reader and text, where meaning is constructed rather than found. In literature, this implies that there is not just one correct interpretation but multiple meanings that can emerge depending on the reader's experiences, emotions, and thought processes.
The theories by Rosenblatt and Britton, especially those related to reader-response criticism, indicate that readers engage in a transactional process with the text, creating personalized understanding and connections. Throughout the different perspectives, such as behaviorism and social-cognitive theories, there is an acknowledgment of the role of the environment and personal experiences in shaping an individual's responses, whether it be in reading literature or general behavior patterns.
For example, the view posited by Skinner suggests that our behaviors and, by extension, our personalities develop from our interactions with the environment and the consequences they produce. Bandura's social-cognitive theory adds to this by stressing the importance of cognitive processes and the reciprocal interactions between behaviors, thoughts, and the environment. In essence, the response theory in these contexts underscores the variability and the conditioned nature of our reactions to stimuli.