2. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

Introduction:

Social Cognitive Theory: Behavior is learned from the environment through processes of modeling and reinforcement.

Two types of learners:

·      Enactive learners: Children learn through actions they take.

·      Vicarious learners: Children learn by observing others.

Explanation of four cognitive factors

·      Attention: the extent to which we are exposed the behavior

·      Retention: how well the behavior is remembered

·      Motivation: the will to perform the behavior

·      Potential: the ability to perform the behavior that model has just demonstrated

Explanation of influence factors: Many factors, such as reinforcement, identification of the model, and self-efficacy that may influence people to decide whether to imitate or to learn the behavior.

 

Body:

Bandura’s study

Aim: to determine whether children would learn aggressive behavior by imitating an adult model

Procedure:
IV: whether children saw the model who act aggressive actions on bobo doll.
DV: children’s aggressive behavior

·      experiment group: watched either the male or female group act aggressively (yelling at and bashing) or passively (assembling) to the bobo doll.

·      control group: watched no model.

led to the room filled with toys (they have no access to these toys)→led to another room with bobo doll.
Result:

·      Children who saw an aggressive model shows higher level of aggressiveness than children who didn’t saw the model.

·      Children like to follow the activities of the model with same gender.

Linkback:

·      Children imitate the behavior modeled by adults.

·      Children are more likely to imitate same gender model, as they are more motivated (identified with same gender & self-efficacy (if he can do it, so can I))

Evaluation-strength:

·      Causal relationship (control over extraneous variable. IV whether let children watch model’s aggressive behavior, DV children’s aggressive behavior)

Evaluation-limitation:

·      Sample size bias (only students – less independent)

·      Low ecological validity.

 

Charlton et al (Counterargument)

Aim: to investigate the effect of the introduction of television on aggression in children

procedure: Natural experiment with observation and interview. Observe the introduction of television to a remote place.

Result: No increase in children’s antisocial behavior.

Linkback: television does not lead to violence – there are a set of factors that play an important role in whether a children will imitate what they see. 

Evaluation-strength:

·      High ecological validity (natural experiment)

Evaluation-limitation:

·      low internal validity (natural experiment-presence of extraneous variables)

 

Conclusion:

Theory evaluation-strength:

·      Testable/Empirical evidence: Bandura under lab setting.

·      High heuristic validity (can be used to explain a variety of human behavior)

·      Predictive power (some variables that increase the likelihood that we would imitate the behavior)

Theory evaluation-limitation:

·      Construct validity (what is motivation in SCT)

·      Unbiased (cultural bias-different way to learn behavior)