Cognitive Units

Social Cognitive Theory

Social & cognitive emphasis Active person

– Behavior guided by cognitive representations of events & their consequences

Reciprocal determinism (sit<->behavior)– Inner & external causes fuse -> behavior– People choose, represent, construct situations– Behavior distinctive to situation

• Situation-specific behaviors ~personality

Reciprocal Determinism

Social Cognitive Structures

Expectancies-beliefs– Behavior of self & others & consequences

• Lying to a friend -> hurt feelings

• Studying results in good grades

– Guides behavioral choice & characteristics• Situation specific

• Individual differences

– If…Then expectancies• Situation A…Behavior 1 Situation B…Behavior 2

• Situation A…Behavior 2 Situation B…Behavior 1

Social Cognitive Structures

Goals– Prioritize, guide behaviors towards desired end– Impacts effort and persistence– Fluidly organized hierarchically

Skills– Cognitive– Situation specific

• Individual differences in goals & skills

Social Cognitive Motivation

Behavior maintained by cognitive expectancies of consequences– Internal standards for own behavior– Self-reinforcement– People are proactive & self-regulating

Motivation depends on valued goals & expectancies regarding outcomes

Social Cognitive Motivation

Expectancy-Value Theory Behavior = Value * Expectancy

– Value = desirability of behavior to individual– Expectancy of success

• Skills to attain goal (self-efficacy)

• Optimistic belief in goal attainment

– V = high E = high B(p) = high – V = high E = low B(p) = low

Reaction Paper 5: Social Cognitive Theory

Pick/describe one of your past behaviors that you do not understand well. This should be something you did but are not entirely sure why.

Analyze this behavior in social cognitive terms. What were your goals, standards and expectations? Was your self-efficacy for the behavior & desired outcome high or low?

Does this analysis help you understand why you did what you did? Explain.

Social Cognitive Motivation

Individual differences develop via modeling– Standards & goals

• Modeled ala behavior - Bandura’s Bobo Doll studies

– Self-reinforcement/punishment• W > M on empathy• Correlates w/ social skills, pro-social behavior, E, A• Interacts w/ environmental constraints-> learning

– Positive emotional learning (nurturing parents)

– Negative emotional learning (abusive parents)

Social Cognitive Motivation

Individual differences in control expectancies– Locus of Control: Stable, continuous, people differ

• My beh -> outcomes v other factor -> outcome

• Internal vs external

Predicts:– Academic performance– Coping efforts– Personality

Observational Learning

1. Attention– Model

– Behavior

– Observer 2. Retention

– Imagery

– Language

– Mental rehearsal

3. Production– Capacity

– Prior experience 4. Performance

– Consequences

4 Necessary Steps

Observational Learning

Acquisition ~ learning Not influenced by rewards to model Not always performed

Performance ~ doing it Impacted by rewards to model & actor

Acquisition does not always lead to performance

Observational Learning Bobo Doll Model

– Rewarded

– Punished

– Impacts actor

Actor– Rewards to actor nullifies

impacts of punishment to model

Modeling & media violence

Acquisition– Specific acts (MURDER SIMULATORS)

• Columbine, Power Rangers

Behavior– Vicarious reinforcement

• ARNOLD kills 100 people in his movies as the hero

• Disinhibites aggression – Expectation of rewards

Modeling & media violence

Desensitizes to aggression– Watching violence reduces physiological R to

future aggression Increases aggressive content accessibility

– Tactics, schemas, scripts– Encounter difficulties & easily call up

aggressive thoughts, plans

Media Violence & Cognition

Activity 6: Modeling Violence In groups of 3-5 address the following issues:

– Video games, movies, TV all regularly show graphic violence w/ few or no consequences to the actors. Some have argued this has contributed to the recent violence in schools

– Imagine you are a board of psychologist w/ expertise on social cognitive theory being asked by a concerned group of parents about these issues. They want to know if media violence will make their children develop into violent adults. Are they raising a cohort of future killers?

– Using your knowledge of social cognitive theory provide your best advice to the parents being sure to address the following questions:

Activity 6: Modeling Violence

Will their children automatically perform the behaviors they learn from TV and movies? Explain.

Is it OK for them to allow their kids to watch some violent media or should they keep their kids away from ALL media violence for as long as possible?

Given that kids will inevitably be exposed to violent media what can the parents do to reduce the change that their kids will mimic violence?

PLEASE TURN THIS IN AT THE END OF CLASS

Social Cognitive Theory

Strengths Good science Important DVs Theoretical

development Positive view of

person

Weaknesses Not unified theory Neglects key areas Fails to capture Hot

aspects of personality Fails to capture

individual differences