SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY
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Week Three Discussion
Social Cognitive Theory
What constructs of the Social Cognitive Theory (i.e., self-efficacy, collective efficacy, outcome expectations, knowledge, observational learning, normative beliefs, social support, barriers and opportunities, behavioral skills, intentions, reinforcement and punishment) would you use to develop an intervention to increase the number of people receiving an annual flu shot at your university (or workplace)?
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Social Cognitive Theory
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Originator
Albert Bandura, Ph.D. Bandura obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1952. In 1953, Bandura was offered a position at Stanford University.
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Approximate Year of Origin
The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) stemmed from the Social Learning Theory (SLT), which has a rich historical background dating back to the late 1800's. Albert Bandura first began publishing his work on SLT in the early 1960's. In 1986, Bandura officially launched the SCT with his book Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory.
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Circumstances that led to the development of the Theory
The SCT has its origins in the discipline of psychology, with its early foundation being laid by behavioral and social psychologists. The SLT evolved under the umbrella of behaviorism, which is a cluster of psychological theories intended to explain why people and animals behave the way that they do.
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Behaviorism
Behaviorism, introduced by John Watson in 1913, took an extremely mechanistic approach to understanding human behavior. According to Watson, behavior could be explained in terms of observable acts that could be described by stimulus-response sequences (Crosbie-Brunett and Lewis, 1993; Thomas, 1990). Also central to behaviorist study was the notion that contiguity between stimulus and response determined the likelihood that learning would occur.
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Stimulus-response pathway
- Are there some mediating factors between stimulus and response that regulate behavior?
- rewards or punishments
- Feedback
- Habit
- Freud's instinct
- Tolman's cognitions
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The ‘Social Self'
William James in 1890, whose notion of the 'social self' laid the foundation for the modern SLT tenet of the interaction between personal factors and the environment.
Kurt Lewin (1890-1947), who extended Gestaltist's field theory by initiating a shift in psychology from a focus on the individual to a focus on processes between individuals
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Adler
Alfred Adler (1870-1937) posited that a person's behavior is purposeful and motivated by a pursuit of goals.
the importance of one's perception of, and attitude toward, the environment as significant influences on behavior.
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Tolman: Cognitions
- In the 1930's, unobservable variables (or cognitions) played a mediating role between stimulus and response
- introduced the term expectancy.
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Expectation = that something will happen
Expectancy= what will happen
The Social Learning Theory (SLT)
The Social Learning Theory (SLT) was officially launched in 1941 with Miller and Dollard's publication of Social Learning and Imitation.
Their SLT incorporated the principles of learning: reinforcement, punishment, extinction, and imitation of models.
Their book was written to explain how animals and humans model observed behaviors, which then became learned through environmental reinforcements.
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This work expanded on the reciprocal relationship between environment and behavior, while incorporating the beginnings of an internal mediating variable (in this case, drives) into the model. From Miller and Dollard's work came a flood of different versions of SLT. Subsequent work in the behaviorist field changed from a focus on the development of theoretical models, to an emphasis on conducting empirical studies (Woodward, 1982).
Julian Rotter
Julian Rotter introduced the ideas of learning from generalized expectancies of reinforcement and internal/ external locus of control (self-initiated change versus change influenced by others).
According to Rotter, health outcomes could be improved by the development of a sense of personal control over one's life.
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Robert Sears
Robert Sears focused on how children internalize the values, attitudes, and behavior predominant in their culture
Parents foster Internalization.
Sears acknowledged that observational learning occurs early in life
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Walter Mischel
Mischel has developed a positive program for the study of person variables, such as competencies, encoding strategies, expectancies, incentives, and self-regulatory systems.
Focused on observational learning and modeling and emphasized the interaction of person and situation.
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Ronald Akers
Akers proposes that social behavior is shaped by a number of processes, including differential association, differential reinforcement, and cognitive definitions
Akers proposed that the same processes involved in learning and conforming behavior are involved in learning deviant behavior. His theory has been applied to a range of deviant and criminal behaviors.
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Albert Bandura
Bandura's SLT places a heavy focus on cognitive concepts.
His theory focuses on how children and adults operate cognitively on their social experiences and how these cognitions then influence behavior and development.
His theory was the first to incorporate the notion of modeling, or vicarious learning, as a form of social learning.
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Albert Bandura
Bandura introduced several other important concepts, including reciprocal determinism, self-efficacy, and the idea that there can be a significant temporal variation in time lapse between cause and effect.
In 1986, Bandura renamed his SLT, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), as better description of what he had been advocating since the 1960's (Bandura, 1986).
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Albert Bandura
Bandura's SLT is the version most commonly used in public health and psychology
Moreover, his theory is characterized by a broader and more generalized scope than other SLT versions.
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For example, Akers' SLT incorporates a narrowed focus on some of the prominent concepts from Bandura's SLT.
Tenet 1:
Response consequences (such as rewards or punishments) influence the likelihood that a person will perform a particular behavior again in a given situation.
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Note that this principle is also shared by classical behaviorists.
Tenet 2:
Humans can learn by observing others, in addition to learning by participating in an act personally. Learning by observing others is called vicarious learning.
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The concept of vicarious learning is not one that would be subscribed to by classical behaviorists.
Tenet 3:
Individuals are most likely to model behavior observed by others with whom they identify. Identification with others is a function of the degree to which a person is perceived to be similar to one's self, in addition to the degree of emotional attachment that is felt toward an individual.
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Perspectives of Predominant SLT Theorists: These three tenets are represented throughout the work of several prominent SLT theorists, including Rotter, Sears, Mischel, Akers, and Bandura.
Purpose of Theory
To understand and predict individual and group behavior
To identify methods in which behavior can be modified or changed.
Frequently used in interventions aimed at personality development, behavior pathology, and health promotion
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Bandura formulated his findings in a four-step pattern which combines a cognitive view and an operant view of learning.
Attention — the individual notices something in the environment
Retention — the individual remembers what was noticed
Reproduction — the individual produces an action that is a copy of what was noticed
Motivation — the environment delivers a consequence that changes the probability the behavior will be emitted again (reinforcement and punishment)
Bandura's work draws from both behavioral and cognitive views of learning. He believes that mind, behavior and the environment all play an important role in the learning process.
Overview of the Social Cognitive Theory
- The SCT 's strong emphasis on one's cognitions suggests that the mind is an active force that constructs one's reality, selectively encodes information, performs behavior on the basis of values and expectations, and imposes structure on its own actions
- Through feedback and reciprocity, a person's own reality is formed by the interaction of the environment and one's cognitions.
- Cognitions change over time as a function of maturation and experience (i.e. attention span, memory, ability to form symbols, reasoning skills).
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It is through an understanding of the processes involved in one's construction of reality that enables human behavior to be understood, predicted, and changed.
| Concept | Definition | Implications |
| Environment | Factors physically external to the person | Provide opportunities for social support |
| Situation | Person’s perception of the environment | Correct misperceptions & promote healthful norms |
| Behavioral capability | Knowledge & skill to perform a given behavior | Promote mastery learning through skills training |
| Expectations | Anticipatory outcomes of a behavior | Model positive outcomes of a healthful behavior |
| Expectancies | The values that the person places on a given outcome, incentive | Present outcomes of change that have functional meaning |
| Self-control | Personal regulation of goal-directed behavior or performance | Provide opportunities for self-monitoring, goal setting, problem solving, and self-reward |
| Observational Learning | Behavioral acquisition that occurs by watching the actions and outcomes of others’ behavior | Include credible role models of the targeted behavior |
| Reinforcements | Responses to a person’s behavior that increase or decrease the likelihood of reoccurrence | Promote self-initiated rewards and incentives |
| Self-efficacy | The person’s confidence in performing a particular behavior | Approach behavioral change in small steps to ensure success; seek specificity about the change sought |
| Emotional coping responses | Strategies or tactics that are used by a person to deal with emotional stimuli | Provide training in problem solving and stress management; |
| Reciprocal determinism | The dynamic interaction of the person, the behavior, and the evironment in which the behavior is performed | Consider multiple avenues to behavioral change including environmental, skill, and personal change |
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Reciprocal Determinism
- The SCT explains behavior in terms of a triadic, dynamic and reciprocal interaction of the environment, personal factors, and behavior.
- The SCT recognizes that some sources of influence are stronger than others and that they do not all occur simultaneously.
- The interaction between the three factors will differ based on the individual, the particular behavior being examined, and the specific situation in which the behavior occurs
- Thus, this model of causation as proposed by the SCT is extremely complex.
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Social Cognitive Theory: Individual’s behavior explained by the interaction and combination of:
Reciprocal determinism
Behavior
- Nature
- Frequency
- Intensity
Person
- Personality
- Characteristics
- Cognitive processes
- Self-regulation skills
Environment
- Stimuli from social or physical
- Reinforcement contingencies
Reciprocal Determinism
- The person-behavior interaction involves the bi-directional influences of one's thoughts, emotions, and biological properties and one's actions (Bandura, 1977a;1986;1989). For example, a person's expectations, beliefs, self-perceptions, goals, and intentions give shape and direction to behavior. However, the behavior that is carried out will then affect one's thoughts and emotions. The SCT also accounts for biological personal factors, such as sex, ethnicity, temperament, and genetic predisposition and the influences they have on behavior.
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Social Cognitive Theory: Individual’s behavior explained by the interaction and combination of:
Reciprocal determinism
Behavior
- Nature
- Frequency
- Intensity
Person
- Personality
- Characteristics
- Cognitive processes
- Self-regulation skills
Environment
- Stimuli from social or physical
- Reinforcement contingencies
Social Cognitive Theory: Individual’s behavior explained by the interaction and combination of:
Reciprocal determinism
Behavior
- Hostile or abusive behavior
Person
- Hostile or abusive thinking
Environment
- Environment of hostility or abuse (
Reciprocal Determinism
- A bi-directional interaction also occurs between the environment and personal characteristics (Bandura, 1977a;1986;1989). In this process, human expectations, beliefs, and cognitive competencies are developed and modified by social influences and physical structures within the environment. These social influences can convey information and activate emotional reactions through such factors as modeling, instruction, and social persuasion (Bandura, 1986).
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In addition, humans evoke different reactions from their social environment as a result of their physical characteristics, such as age, size, race, sex, physical attractiveness.
Reciprocal Determinism
- The final interaction occurs between behavior and the environment. Bandura contends that people are both products and producers of their environment (Bandura, 1977a;1986;1989). A person's behavior will determine the aspects of their environment to which they are exposed, and behavior is, in turn, modified by that environment. A person's behavior can affect the way in which they experience the environment through selective attention.
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Based on learned human preferences and competencies, humans select whom they interact with and the activities they participate in from a vast range of possibilities. Human behavior also influences their environment, such as when an aggressive person creates a hostile environment. Thus, behavior determines which of the many potential environmental influences come into play and what forms they will take. In turn, the environment partly determines which forms of one's behavior are developed and activated (Bandura, 1989).
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