Sociocultural Approach: Social Cognitive Theory (Learning)

Human agency

The belief that people are agent of their own behavior

parts of human agency

Includes intentionality, forethought, self-reactiveness and self-reflectiveness

Observational learning

Learning that occurs as a result of observing other people perform actions as well as the consequences of these actions

Biological support for observational learning

mirror neurons

three interacting factors of reciprocal determinism

Personal factors (physical, cognitive and emotional)

Behavior

environment

Self-efficacy

The extent to which individuals believe they can master a particular behavior

Who developed the concept of self-efficacy?

Albert Bandura

Who developed the theory of social cognitive theory

Albert Bandura

Socialization

process of becoming a member of a social group

Primary socialization

initial stage

Establishing prosocial and antisocial behavior

Socialization forces → family and school peers

Two main types of primary socialization

Gender and cultural socialization

Secondary socialization

Influences adherence or deviance from norms directly

Socialization forces → larger community, media

Group socialization

peer group,not parental figures, the influence personality

What behavior did Sheridan et al., 2011 study

prosocial behavior

listening, following directions, problem-solving and knowing when to tell

Direct Learning (Classical Behaviorism)

Behavior → consequence (good or bad) → learning

Why did Bandura criticize behaviorist theories?

too simple to explain socialization

indirect learning

Individual observes another's actions and the consequences

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

implications of indirect learning

It is not necessary to demonstrate the behavior for learning to occur

Our learning depends on available models- people whose behavior we observe

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

attention

focusing awareness on a narrowed range of stimuli or events

retention

The observer must be able to remember the behaviour.

motivation

Learners must want to replicate the behaviour that they have observed.

Aim of Bandura, Ross and Ross, 1963

investigate the impact of viewing an aggressive model in person, on TV and in a cartoon character

Aim of Bandura, 1965

If children view an individual being rewarded for aggressive behavior, the rate of modeling would increase

Aim of Charlton et al 2002

investigate whether children in St. Helena would exhibit more aggressive behavior after the introduction of television in 1995

method of Charlton et al., 2002

Field Study

According to researchers, why didn't aggression increase after TV was introduced in St. Helena?

May learn behavior but not show it because social and cultural factors play a role in what is acceptable (expressed)

Aim of Perry, Perry and Rasmussen, 1986

explore the links between aggression and two cognitive factors that might influence children's decisions about whether to behave aggressively

What two cognitive factors studied in Perry, Perry and Rasmussen, 1986

Self-efficacy and Beliefs about consequences

Aim of Williams and Williams, 2010

study reciprocal determinism in mathematics across cultures