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
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