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Social Cognitive Theory
Proposed by Bandura (1961); proposes that people learn behavior, emotions, and attitudes by observing and imitating the behaviors of others.
- observational learning can be direct (via instructions) or indirect (observations)
- SCT also emphasizes that observational learning is largely influenced by reciprocal determinism... the idea that behavior, personal factors, and environmental factors are all equal, interlocking determinates with each other.
- Four factors are important for observational learning to occur: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation
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Attention
Observers must pay attention to the behaviors being conducted by the modele
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Retention
observers must be able to remember the observed behavior
- social learning is not immediate, so there needs to be a memory to refer to
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Reproduction
observers must be able to physically and/or mentally replicate the behavior; affected by self-efficacy
- self-efficacy: and individual's belief/ confidence in their ability to successfully reproduce an observed behavior
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Motivation
observers must have outcome expectancies to want to replicate the behavior; affected by reinforcements
- positive reinforcements increase motivation to repeat
- negative reinforcements decrease motivation to repeat
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Study Used
Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1961): Bobo Doll Experiment