History
The foundations of social cognitive theory come from Edwin B. Holt and Harold Chapman Brown's 1931 work ''Animal Drive and the Learning Process, an essay toward radical empiricism.'' This book theorizes that all animal action is based on fulfilling the psychological needs of "feeling, emotion, and desire." The most notable component of this theory is that a person cannot learn to how to imitate until they are imitated. In 1941, Neal E. Miller and John Dollard presented their book with a revision of Holt's social learning and imitation theory. They argued four factors contribute to learning: drives, cues, responses, and rewards. One driver is social motivation, which includes imitativeness, the process of matching an act to an appropriate cue of where and when to perform the act. A behavior is imitated depending on whether the model receives positive or negative response consequences. Miller and Dollard argued that if one were motivated to learn a particular behavior, then that particular behavior would be learned through clear observations. By imitating these observed actions the individual observer would solidify that learned action and would be rewarded withCurrent status
Social Cognitive Theory originated in psychology, but based on an unofficial November 2013 Google Scholar search, only 2 percent of articles published on SCT are in the pure psychology field. About 20 percent of articles are from Education and 16 percent from Business. The majority of publications using SCT, 56 percent, come from the field of Applied Health Psychology. The majority of current research in Health Psychology focuses on testing SCT in behavioral change campaigns as opposed to expanding on the theory. Campaign topics include: increasing fruit and vegetable intake, increasing physical activity, HIV education, and breastfeeding. Born in 1925, Bandura spent his life influencing the world with expansions of SCT. His recent work, published May 2011, focuses on how SCT impacts areas of both health and population in relation to climate change.Bandura, A. (2011). The Social and Policy Impact of Social Cognitive Theory. In M. Mark, S. Donaldson, & B. Campbell (Eds.), Social Psychology and Evaluation. (pp. 33-70). New York, NY:Guilford Press. He proposes that these problems could be solved through television serial dramas that show models similar to viewers performing the desired behavior. On health, Bandura writes that currently there is little incentive for doctors to write prescriptions for healthy behavior, but he believes the cost of fixing health problems start to outweigh the benefits of being healthy. Bandura argues that we are on the cusp of moving from a disease model (focusing on people with problems) to a health model (focusing on people being healthy) and SCT is the theory that should be used to further a healthy society. Specifically on Population, Bandura states that population growth is a global crisis because of its correlation with depletion and degradation of our planet's resources. Bandura argues that SCT should be used to increase birth control use, reduce gender inequality through education, and to model environmental conservation to improve the state of the planet.Overview
Social cognitive theory, developed by Albert Bandura, is a learning theory based on the assumption that the environment one grows up in contributes to behavior, and the individual person (and therefore cognition) is just as important. People learn by observing others, with the environment, behavior, and cognition acting as primary factors that influence development in a reciprocal triadic relationship. Each behavior witnessed can change a person's way of thinking (cognition). Similarly, the environment one is raised in may influence later behaviors. For example, a caregiver's mindset (also cognition) determines the environment in which their children are raised.Theoretical foundations
Human agency
Social cognitive theory is proposed in an agentic perspective, which suggests that, instead of being just shaped by environments or inner forces, individuals are self-developing, self-regulating, self-reflecting and proactive. Specifically, human agency operates within three modes: * Individual Agency: A person’s own influence on the environment; * Proxy Agency: Another person’s effort on securing the individual’s interests; * Collective Agency: A group of people work together to achieve the common benefits. Human agency has four core properties: * Intentionality: Individuals’ active decision on engaging in certain activities; * Forethought: Individuals’ ability to anticipate the outcome of certain actions; * Self-reactiveness: Individuals’ ability to construct and regulate appropriate behaviors; * Self-reflectiveness: Individuals’ ability to reflect and evaluate the soundness of their cognitions and behaviors.Human capability
Evolving over time, human beings are featured with advanced neural systems, which enable individuals to acquire knowledge and skills by both direct and symbolic terms. Four primary capabilities are addressed as important foundations of social cognitive theory: symbolizing capability, self-regulation capability, self-reflective capability, and vicarious capability. # Symbolizing Capability: Symbols such as language, images, and sounds are used to convey meaning and create shared understanding among people. Symbolizing capability helps people to comprehend and interpret the messages conveyed. People are affected not only by direct experience but also indirect events. Instead of merely learning through laborious trial-and-error process, human beings are able to symbolically perceive events conveyed in messages, construct possible solutions, and evaluate the anticipated outcomes. Symbols are used as a means of communication with others. In essence, symbolizing capabilities facilitate learning and behavior modeling based on observations made in the environment, which can then be used to guide one's own behavior. # Self-regulation Capability: This capability is used to evaluate the information and messages conveyed, and decides which messages to accept or reject. Individuals can regulate their own intentions and behaviors by themselves. Self-regulation lies on both negative and positive feedback systems, in which discrepancy reduction and discrepancy production are involved. That is, individuals proactively motivate and guide their actions by setting challenging goals and then making effort to fulfill them. In doing so, individuals gain skills, resources, self-efficacy and beyond. # Self-reflective Capability: This capability allows people to reflect on their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in response to the messages they receive through mass communication. It enables people to evaluate these against their internal standards and goals, and to identify areas where they need to improve. By verifying the adequacy and soundness of their thoughts through enactive, various, social, or logical manner, individuals can generate new ideas, adjust their thoughts, and take actions accordingly. # Vicarious Capability: This capability allows people to learn from the experiences of others. This capability enables people to acquire new knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors without having to experience the consequences of those actions themselves. Vicarious capability is of great value to human beings’ cognitive development in nowadays, in which most of our information encountered in our lives derives from the mass media than trial-and-error processes.Theoretical components
Behavioral factors
Behavioral factors, in the context of this theory, highlight the significance of real-life demonstrations and interactions in shaping an individual's understanding and adaptation of social behaviors. Observing others' actions, their consequences, and the feedback they receive influences one's cognitive processes, self-regulation, and ultimately, their behavior. Social Cognitive Theory underscores the dynamic interplay between individual behavior and the surrounding social context, underscoring the power of behavioral facts in fostering personal and societal change.Modeling and observational learning
Social cognitive theory revolves around the process of knowledge acquisition or learning directly correlated to the observation of models. The models can be those of an interpersonal imitation or media sources. Effective modeling teaches general rules and strategies for dealing with different situations. Observational Learning emphasizes that individuals can learn by observing and witnessing behaviors demonstrated by others, a process commonly known as "modeling." When individuals witness a successful demonstration of a behavior, they are more likely to reproduce and execute that behavior successfully themselves According to SCT, thoughts, behaviors, and surroundings are interdependent, rather than one causing the other. It suggests that humans have the ability to develop and transform themselves. At the same time SCT also says humans have potential and this potential relies on our brain's unique abilities. These abilities include creating symbols, communicating with symbols, planning ahead, self evaluation, and awareness of ones own thoughts and feelings. To illustrate that people learn from watching others, Albert Bandura and his colleagues constructed a series of experiments using a Bobo doll. In the first experiment, children were exposed to either an aggressive or non-aggressive model of either the same sex or opposite sex as the child. There was also a control group. The aggressive models played with the Bobo doll in an aggressive manner, while the non-aggressive models played with other toys. They found that children who were exposed to the aggressive models performed more aggressive actions toward the Bobo doll afterward, and that boys were more likely to do so than girls. Following that study, Albert Bandura tested whether the same was true for models presented through media by constructing an experiment he called ''Bobo Doll Behavior: A Study of Aggression''. In this experiment Bandura exposed a group of children to a video featuring violent and aggressive actions. After the video he then placed the children in a room with a Bobo doll to see how they behaved with it. Through this experiment, Bandura discovered that children who had watched the violent video subjected the dolls to more aggressive and violent behavior, while children not exposed to the video did not. This experiment displays the social cognitive theory because it depicts how people reenact behaviors they see in the media. In this case, the children in this experiment reenacted the model of violence they directly learned from the video. Observational learning is governed by four subfunctions: attentional processes, cognitive representational processes, behavioral production processes, and motivational processes. Observations should include: * ''Attention Processes'' Observers selectively give attention to specific social behavior depending on accessibility, relevance, complexity, functional value of the behavior or some observer's personal attributes such as cognitive capability, value preference, preconceptions. * ''Cognitive Representational Processes'' Observe a behavior and subsequent consequences, then convert that observation to a symbol that can be accessed for future reenactments of the behavior. Note: When a ''positive behavior'' is shown a positive reinforcement should follow, this parallel is similar for ''negative behavior''. * ''Behavioral Production Processes'' refers to the symbolic representation of the original behavior being translated into action through reproduction of the observed behavior in seemingly appropriate contexts. During reproduction of the behavior, a person receives feedback from others and can adjust their representation for future references. * ''Motivational Process'' reenacts a behavior depending on responses and consequences the observer receives when reenacting that behavior. Modeling is not just about copying behavior, but also about learning new rules through observation. This higher level of learning can be achieved through abstract modeling, where observers extract rules governing specific behaviors and use them to generate new instances of behavior. For instance, if a teacher glares at one student who is talking out of turn, other students may suppress this behavior to avoid a similar reaction. Teachers model both material objectives and underlying curriculum of virtuous living. Teachers should also be dedicated to the building of highOutcome expectancies and reinforcements
To learn a particular behavior, people must understand what the potential outcome is if they repeat that behavior. The observer does not expect the actual rewards or punishments incurred by the model, but anticipates similar outcomes when imitating the behavior (called '' outcome expectancies''), which is why modeling impacts cognition and behavior. Reinforcements encompass both internal and external responses to an individual's behavior, influencing the probability of either sustaining or ceasing the behavior. These reinforcements may originate from within the individual or the external environment and can take the form of either positive or negative outcomes. Within the Social Cognitive Theory framework, this construct is particularly integral to understanding the reciprocal interplay between behavior and the environment. These expectancies are heavily influenced by the environment that the observer grows up in; for example, the expected consequences for a DUI in the United States of America are a fine, with possible jail time, whereas the same charge in another country might lead to the infliction of the death penalty. For example, in the case of a student, the instructions the teacher provides help students see what outcome a particular behavior leads to. It is the duty of the teacher to teach a student that when a behavior is successfully learned, the outcomes are meaningful and valuable to the students.Self-efficacy
Social cognitive theory posits that learning most likely occurs if there is a close identification between the observer and the model and if the observer also has a greatIdentification
Identification allows the observer to feel a one-to-one similarity with the model, and can thus lead to a higher chance of the observer following through with the modeled action. People are more likely to follow behaviors modeled by someone with whom they can identify. The more commonalities or emotional attachments perceived between the observer and the model, the more likely the observer learns and reenacts the modeled behavior.Applications
Mass communication
Using social cognitive theory can help understand howMedia content studies
Social cognitive theory is often applied as a theoretical framework of studies pertained to media representation regarding race, gender, age and beyond. Social cognitive theory suggested heavily repeated images presented in mass media can be potentially processed and encoded by the viewers (Bandura, 2011). Media content analytic studies examine the substratum of media messages that viewers are exposed to, which could provide an opportunity to uncover the social values attached to these media representations. Although media contents studies cannot directly test the cognitive process, findings can offer an avenue to predict potential media effects from modeling certain contents, which provides evidence and guidelines for designing subsequent empirical work.Media effects studies
Social cognitive theory is pervasively employed in studies examining attitude or behavior changes triggered by the mass media. As Bandura suggested, people can learn how to perform behaviors through media modeling. SCT has been widely applied in media studies pertained to sports, health, education and beyond. For instance, Hardin and Greer in 2009 examined the gender-typing of sports within the theoretical framework of social cognitive theory, suggesting that sports media consumption and gender-role socialization significantly related with gender perception of sports in American college students. In health communication, social cognitive theory has been applied in research related to= Gender norms
= Gender norms have been looked at across mass media from the social cognitive perspective. Utilizing the triadic causation model, researchers have looked at societal expectations, and how these binary expectation impact gender roles. Within these studies, they cite mass media as a method for implementing gender norms on society. In 1997 Harrison and Cantor utilized SCT in order to look at how images of thinness and ideal body shapes effected women in the Fiji Islands. Historically, Fiji women admired being large but in 1995 television shows like= Social media
= The ability to personalize one's own= Media violence
= Many social cognitive studies have explored the impact of violence in the media on human behavior. In SCT's infancy, violence is what Bandura focused his study around as many fictional characters in TV used violence to solve problems and address conflict. SCT has characterized four effects as a result of viewing violence in media: teaching of aggressive behaviors, weakened restraints on aggression, desensitization and habituation on human cruelty, and violence has the power to reshape viewers reality. Bandura's research has also suggested that behavior is influenced by the consequences of that behavior, such as rewards or punishments. The Bobo Doll experiment played a significant role in the development of social cognitive theory because it profoundly shaped the development of SCT. In terms of media effects, Bandura found that television violence is often portrayed in a glamorous way, making it more likely to be imitated. So, when approaching media violence with the SCT perspective that people, especially children, imitate what they see in media. Longitudinal studies such as the one conducted by Roswell Huesmann utilized SCT in order to look at repeated exposure of media violence over a long period of time. This study concluded that repeated early exposure to television violence may suggest higher levels of aggression and antisocial behavior later in life.Public health
Physical activity
AIDS
Miller's 2005 study found that choosing the proper gender, age, and ethnicity for models ensured the success of anBreastfeeding
A study by Azza Ahmed in 2009 looked to see if there would be an increase in breastfeeding by mothers of preterm infants when exposed to a breastfeeding educational program guided by SCT. Sixty mothers were randomly assigned to either participate in the program or they were given routine care. The program consisted of SCT strategies that touched on all three SCT determinants: personal – showing models performing breastfeeding correctly to improve self-efficacy, behavioral –weekly check-ins for three months reinforced participants' skills, environmental – mothers were given an observational checklist to make sure they successfully completed the behavior. The author found that mothers exposed to the program showed significant improvement in their breastfeeding skills, were more likely to exclusively breastfeed, and had fewer problems then the mothers who were not exposed to the educational program.Ahmed, A. (2009). Effect of Breastfeeding Educational Program Based of Bandura Social Cognitive Theory on Breastfeeding Outcomes among Mothers of Preterm Infants. Midwest Nursing Research Society Conference. Accessed November 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10755/160761Family planning
Television has been looked at as a methodology to provide social change.Frances Davidson (Producer), & Davidson, J. (Director). (2003). Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory: An Introduction. ideo/DVDDavidson Films. Retrieved from https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/bandura-s-social-cognitive-theory-an-introduction For example, in global television, in order to generate interests in family planning T.V. raises the status of women who are mothers. This act of modeling is to aid in boosting population and avoid decreasing birthrates.Morality
Social cognitive theory emphasizes a large difference between an individual's ability to be morally competent and morally performing. Moral competence involves having the ability to perform a moral behavior, whereas moral performance indicates actually following one's idea of moral behavior in a specific situation.Santrock, J.W. (2008). A Topical Approach to Lifespan Development (M. Ryan, Ed., 4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (Original work published 2002), pp. 26, 30, 478 Moral competencies include: * What an individual is capable of * What an individual knows * What an individual's skills are * An individual's awareness of moral rules and regulations * An individual's cognitive ability to construct behaviors As far as an individual's development is concerned, moral competence is the growth of cognitive-sensory processes; simply put, being aware of what is considered right and wrong. By comparison, moral performance is influenced by the possible rewards and incentives to act a certain way. For example, a person's moral competence might tell them that stealing is wrong and frowned upon by society; however, if the reward for stealing is a substantial sum, their moral performance might indicate a different line of thought. Therein lies the core of social cognitive theory. For the most part, social cognitive theory remains the same for various cultures. Since the concepts of moral behavior did not vary much between cultures (as crimes like murder, theft, and unwarranted violence are illegal in virtually every society), there is not much room for people to have different views on what is morally right or wrong. The main reason that social cognitive theory applies to all nations is because it does not say what is moral and immoral; it simply states that we can acknowledge these two concepts. Our actions in real-life scenarios are based on whether we believe the action is moral and whether the reward for violating our morals is significant enough, and nothing else.Limitations
Modeling and mass media
In series TV programming, according to social cognitive theory, the awarded behaviors of liked characters are supposed to be followed by viewers, while punished behaviors are supposed to be avoided by media consumers. However, in most cases, protagonists in TV shows are less likely to experience the long-term suffering and negative consequences caused by their risky behaviors, which could potentially undermine the punishments conveyed by the media, leading to a modeling of the risky behaviors. Nabi and Clark found that individuals who had not previously experienced one night stand sex showed increased expectation of doing so after exposure to media portrayals of this behavior.See also
* Social cognitionReferences
Further reading
*Bandura, Albert (1976). ''Social Learning Theory''. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. *Bandura, Albert (1985). ''Social Foundations of Thought and Action''. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. *Berg, Insoo Kim; Miller, Scott D. (1992). ''Working with the Problem Drinker: A Solution-focused Approach'' (pp. 733–735). New York: Norton. *Pajares, Frank; Prestin, Abby; Chen, Jason; Nabi, L. Robin. "Social Cognitive Theory and Media Effects". In Nabi, Robin L.; Oliver, Mary Beth, ''The SAGE Handbook of Media Processes and Effects''. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2009. 283-297. *Bandura, Albert (2001)External links