4.3 Social Cognitive Theory

Define Social Cognitive Theory

A psychological perspective

Emphasizes the importance of social learning in shaping human behaviours, cognition, and motivation.

Learning can be done both directly and in directly

Direct - performing action - experiencing consequences ourselves

Indirect - Observing consequences of another person’s actions

When did Social Cognitive Theory begin

1960s as Social Learning Theory

Social Learning Theory based on?

Behaviourist Approach

Behaviourist Approach

Conditioning a response from a stimulus

Uses classical and operant conditioning to describe social learning

Classical Conditioning

Pairing a neutral stimulus with a meaningful stimulus to create a learned response

Investigated by Pavlov and his dogs

Pavlov and his dogs:

Unconditioned Stimulus (food) paired with neutral stimulus (bell ring)

Over time neutral → conditioned = conditioned response

Operant Conditioning

Involves shaping behaviour through rewards and punishments.

Social Cognitive Theory Publication Date and Who

Bandura 1977

Bandura key components of SCT

Attention, Retention, Reproduction, Motivation

Attention

People learn through observing and modelling the behaviours of others

Retention

Ability of an individual to store and retain information that has been observed and learned through attention.

Reproduction

Ability of an individual to reproduce or imitate a behaviour they observed

Motivation

The internal psychological process that influence behaviour

Which study to be used for a Social Cognitive Theory SAQ Question

Huessman et al.

Huessman et al. Year

2003

Aim

To examine the long-term relationship between TV-violence viewing and adult aggressive behaviour

Method

Longitudinal Field Study with metanalysis

Design

N/A

Sampling Strategy

Purposive; 557 children

IV

Level of exposure to media violence

DV

Young adult aggressive behaviour

Procedure 1:

Children were interviewed; favourite TV programme, viewing frequency, identification with aggressive characters, perceived realism of TV violence

Intellectual ability

Parents interviewed; demographics, aggressiveness, parenting practises, TV habits

Procedure 2: follow-up data collection

Archival data - driver’s license, criminal records

Interviews - current TV-violence viewing habits, aggressive behaviour

Interviews also conducted with other people (friends and family)

Results 1:

Childhood TV-violence exposure - significant correlation with adult violence

TV violence realism and identification with characters - significant correlation with adult aggression

Results 2: Gender-specific

Male: identification and realism = more adult aggression

Not for females

Conclusion 1:

Childhood exposure to media violence = significant long-term predictor of aggressive behaviour in young adulthood m and f

Conclusion 2

Due to observational learning (SCT)