CHAPTER 17

BANDURA'S SOCIAL- COGNITIVE THEORY

Assumptions of the Social-cognitive Approach

• Behavior occurs as the result of a complex interplay between inner processes (cognitions, motivations, personality factors) and environmental influences.

– triadic reciprocal determinism - belief that cognition, behavior, and the environment operate interactively as determinants of one another.

– assume that we represent external events symbolically

• verbal representation - word that signifies an object in the environment. For example, the word cat is a verbal representation of a purring quadruped that exists in the environment.

• imaginal representation - image conjured up by a person that resembles an object in the environment.

Assumptions of the Social-cognitive Approach (cont.)

– assume that most of our behavior is not controlled by immediate external reinforcement.

• much of our behavior is controlled by anticipated outcomes - person’s expectancy that the performance of certain behaviors will secure certain reinforcers, and modeling, type of learning in which individuals learn new behavior by observing others.

Modeling Theory

• Whether or not the person imitates observed behavior of a model depends on three factors.

– characteristics of the observer.

– characteristics of the model.

– rewards and punishments associated with the model's behavior.

• vicarious reinforcement - willingness to imitate the behavior of a model after observing that the model was reinforced for the behavior.

Aggression and Violence in Films, Television, and Video Games

• Factors Facilitating the Occurrence of Violence and Aggression

– observers who watch models being rewarded for certain behaviors tend to repeat them, whereas observers who watch models being punished for their actions tend not to repeat those actions.

– observers are more likely to imitate aggressive models who receive no punishment for their behavior.

• even when models are punished for their actions, observers can and will imitate them if given strong incentives.

Aggression and Violence in Films, Television, and Video Games (cont.)

• Factors… (cont.)

– observers will imitate even a disliked model who has been rewarded for his aggression if they believe his actions are exciting and fun.

– observers will imitate aggressive behavior performed by models if the aggression is justified.

– observers are more apt to behave aggressively if they are low on impulse control.

Aggression and Violence in Films, Television, and Video Games (cont.)

• Factors… (cont.)

– observers behave more aggressively if they identify with the aggressor.

– observers are more apt to be aggressive if they can dehumanize the victim, or when the injuries suffered by the victim are minimized or sanitized.

Aggression and Violence in Films, Television, and Video Games (cont.)

• Recommendations to Reduce Violence in the Media

– media executives need to be encouraged by members of the public to create more constructive shows and video games.

– parents need to limit their children=s exposure to media violence by monitoring the content of programs in advance, modeling nonaggressive behavior for their children, and rewarding nonviolent behavior.

Role of Efficacy Expectations in Determining Behavior

• Efficacy Expectations - individuals’ convictions or beliefs that they can execute the behaviors required to produce certain response consequences.

• Efficacy Expectations Depend on Four Factors:

– performance accomplishments.

– vicarious experiences.

– verbal persuasion.

– emotional arousal.

• Research on Efficacy Expectations

– academic development and achievement

– career choices and job performance

– physical and mental health

Personality Development

• Important Factors

– children learn and develop via rewards provided by their caretakers; learn what not to do by being disciplined (not physically punished) for their wrong actions

– children learn through watching successful parents

• multiple models - learning more difficult when models are performing behaviors that conflict with one another.

– children eventually learn to apply self-reinforcers and self- punishers to their own behavior.

Therapeutic Assessment Techniques

• No Use of Traditional Techniques (free association, dream analysis, transference)

• Heavy Reliance on Experimentation to Assess Personality Functioning and Change.

– modeling used to reduce or eliminate undesirable behavior and to teach new, more desirable behavior.

• guided participation modeling - procedure in which models first show study participants how to successfully tolerate increasingly threatening interactions with dreaded objects, and then guide the participants through these threatening activities until they are finally able to master their fears.

Therapeutic Assessment Techniques (cont.)

• Heavy Reliance… (cont.)

– eliminate fears by raising efficacy expectations.

– self-modeling - type of learning in which individuals watch themselves behave in a situationally-appropriate manner via videotape and then show the same behaviors later on.

Evaluative Comments

• Comprehensiveness - broad in scope.

• Precision and Testability - precise and testable.

• Parsimony - parsimonious.

• Empirical Validity - strong empirical support.

• Heuristic Value - high heuristic value, proving stimulating to researchers in clinical psychology, social psychology, health psychology, and vocational counseling.

• Applied Value - strong applied value, especially in the areas of education and psychopathology.