Social Cognitive Theory (HL IB Psychology)

Social Cognitive Theory

What is social cognitive theory?

• Social cognitive theory (SCT) was developed by Bandura (1986) as a broader explanation of social learning theory (SLT: learning which takes place in a social context)

• SLT is based on observational learning which can be broken down into its constituent parts of: Attention-Retention

• Reproduction-Motivation i.e. ARRM

  • Attention = noticing the behaviour;

  • Retention = remembering the behaviour;

  • Reproduction = imitating the behaviour;

  • Motivation = the desire to repeat the behaviour

• SLT states that observational learning is dependent on the behaviour of key role models in a child’s life, particularly parents but also other significant people such as teachers, older siblings, celebrities

• SCT builds on SLT by including cognition as a key component of behaviour which makes it more sophisticated than SLT as it acknowledges that individuals can exert some control over their actions

• A key component of SCT is self-efficacy which is based on the idea that an individual has autonomy over their actions and that a person’s destiny is not wholly dependent on their environment i.e. I have the power to control what happens to me and how I feel about the world

• A key concept of SCT is reciprocal determinism, which states that interactions between the individual (their natural talents, skills and personality), their social environment and the behaviour itself work together holistically to determine behavioural outcomes

  • An example of reciprocal determinism would be that of a keen violinist: the social environment must be in place (access to violin lessons and a skilled teacher) for the desired behavioural outcome (to be a world-renowned violinist) to be realised but this is also only possible with self-efficacy (the belief that, with practice, the outcome can be achieved)

• SCT also involves the role of vicarious reinforcement - i.e. as with the above example, a child watches a talented violinist playing on TV and hears the audience applaud and is motivated to achieve this outcome for themselves

Which research studies investigate social cognitive theory?

• Bandura, Ross & Ross (1961) – observational learning in children is demonstrated via the imitation of adult role models

• Dijkstra & DeVries (2001) – self-efficacy is a key factor in quitting smoking

Bandura, Ross & Ross (1961) and Dijkstra & DeVries are available as separate Key Studies – just navigate the Individual & the Group section of this topic to find them (Two Key Studies of Social Cognitive Theory)