Social Cognitive Theory

Social Cognitive Theory(aka) Social Learning Theory

& (the Process of) Observational Learning

Dr Barbara SpearsGoogle Images

From drooling dogs & pecking pigeons to complex human behaviourAdequacy of behaviourist perspectives to explain:

Reading? Problem solving? Friendliness? Aggression?

Social Cognitive Theory:Social, Cognitive AND Behavioural factors play important roles in

learning.

Looking Back......BehaviourismEmphasis on experimental methodsFocus on variables we can:

ObserveMeasureManipulate ( Drooling dogs, & pecking pigeons)

CC: Respondent: PavlovAutonomic; involuntary, reflexive

Contiguous learning: stimulus : response

OC: Operant: Watson/Thorndike/SkinnerABC

Environmental experiences and behaviour

Neglects: Influence of social and cognitive factors

Social and Cognitive factors in learning?Social Factors? Cognitive Factors?Students observing their

parents’ achievement behaviour

What social factors have been important in your learning?

Students’ expectations for success

What cognitive factors have been important in your learning?

Moving ForwardsAlbert Bandura

When students learn, they cognitively “represent” or “transform” experiences

Observational Learning: Cognitive processing

Of information

Displayed by models

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJNNtsJmZb4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=688uHz6QYkQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmzDLzqQ-A0

Allegra, 4, plays dress-up, Malibu, California.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnGmjrdN-gU

Lily, aged 6"Britney’s a role model.

She’s fashionable, and she has movements that I like. Britney, Christina Aguilera, Destiny’s Child: They’re role models ’cause they like action and movement so much".

Lily, then 5, shops at Rachel London's Garden, where Britney Spears has some of her clothes designed. Los Angeles, California http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jppUkWGKgls

Albert BanduraSocial Learning TheorySocial Learning in children

how children learn through observationCan learn new behaviourCan facilitate learner’s response

repertoireCan inhibit or dis-inhibit responses

Bobo Doll Study (1965)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZXOp5Po

pIA

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/soccog/soclrn.html

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/soccog/soclrn.html

Other studies....

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.25

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Video Games and Violence?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB6vTkvi9to

http://ithp.org/articles/violentvideogames.html

http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2003/10/anderson.aspx

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9183385/Violent-video-games-are-fuelling-rise-in-aggressive-behaviour.html

Google Images

Comparison Effect Sizes......

Observational Learning/ ModellingPROCESS of Learning In Social Settings

Acquiring skills, strategies and beliefs by observing othersInvolves imitation

But not limited to itNot an exact copy:

But a general “form” applied http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp8G7IZ29MY&feature=fvw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5URas0d1B7g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcIDIPh1HGY

the functioning of OC in a social context

Behaviour changes without first being rewarded for approximations to the behaviour (shaped)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjpBa_4tXmM

Four Fundamentals of the (Observational, Social Cognitive) Learning Process: To Learn:Attention

= pay attention first : attend to the model

Retention Remember what you have paid attention to: code in memory

Imagery and language Store what we have seen as mental images/verbal descriptions

(Re)Production Translate images into behaviour Have to have the ability to reproduce

(Reinforcement and) Motivation Only perform when motivated

Past reinforcement Promised reinforcement (incentives) Vicarious reinforcement (seeing others)

Comparison : OC & OLOC: views

reinforcement is a direct cause of learning (ABC)

OL: viewsreinforcement as motivation, not learninglearning occurs: form a representation of the behaviour in

memory, & reproduce it

Modellingthe process of

observingthen imitating

Direct: simple imitation

Symbolic:books; TV; films

Synthesized: copying portions of behaviour for different purposes

Abstract: inferring a system of rules

DeterminantsReinforcements and punishments:

received by both model and observerBoth appropriate and inappropriate

behaviour can be modelledPro-social models have pro-social effectsConsistency is vital regardless

To Whom do we Pay Attention? Perceived SimilaritySimilar models

more effective than different

Several models

Same-sex

Peers

Alison, 17 years old"Close to a hundred percent of my close friends have been on some kind of prescription drug for depression or ADD or something like that. Dexedrine, Adderall, Paxil, Wellbutrin, Depakote, Neurontin, Effexor, Prozac".

Joyce, 15, Elysia, 14, and Alison, then 14, at their friend's sixteenth birthday party, Arlington, Virginia.

To Whom Do we Pay Attention? Perceived CompetenceInteraction with perceptions of similarity to

impact a model’s effectiveness

More competent is likely to be imitated than less competent

Competence?OlympiansFootball playersSoap StarsWho in the Class????

(Re)production &Motivation : Acquisition and Performance

We may all know more than we show

While learning may have occurred, it may not be demonstrated (Re/Produced)until the situation is right (Motivated)

May acquire new skill/behaviour: but may not perform it until motivated

Bandura Believes:Traditional behavioural views are

accurate, but incomplete

Social Learning TheoryExtended behavioural explanationsRecognised mental/psychological factors

Social COGNITIVE TheoryLinks:

the functioning of OC; in a social setting; with the role of cognition in processing

information

Social Cognitive TheoryEmphasises internal processes:

thoughts are always influencing actions and actions are always influencing thoughts

(Bandura, 1986)Children:

Think about what they do;about what we want them to dothose thoughts affect what they actually

do.

Reciprocal DeterminismHuman behaviour can be explained in terms of the reciprocal influences of Person/Cognitive Environmental Behavioural factors

Internal and External factors are important Interact and influence others Interaction of forces = reciprocal determinism

Environmental

Cognitive

Behaviour

3 key aspectsThat contribute to the interactive processes

in his ideas about human behaviour and cognitive functioning:

1 Observation: Vicarious Conditioning2 Language: Symbolic Processes3 Self talk: Self regulation

Vicarious ConditioningObservation of the consequences of actions

influences the motivation to enact the behaviour

Others are rewarded or punishedwe modify our behaviouras if we had received the consequences

Teaching and the Classroom?All aspects of the classroom have an impact on

learning: Internal (cognitive and personal); observation

and modelling; vicarious learning.Social Cognitive Theory can be used for:Teaching new behaviours/attitudesEncouraging existing behavioursChanging inhibitionsDirecting AttentionArousing Emotions

Cognitive Behaviour ApproachesConfucius:“If you give a man a fish...you feed him for a

day...If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime...”

Cognitive Behaviour Approaches: Emphasise getting students to

MonitorManageRegulate their own behaviour

Self-Regulation (Model from Santrock, 2008, p 251)

Self Evaluation

and Monitoring

Goal Setting and Strategic

Planning

Putting a plan into Action

and Monitoring it

Monitoring outcomes and

refining strategies

Self-Efficacy“The belief in one’s capabilities to organise

and execute the sources of action required to manage prospective situations”

(Bandura, 1986) Bandura & Schunk (1981) and Schunk (1984) self- efficacy judgments are thought to affect

achievement by influencing an individual'schoice of activities, task avoidance, effort expenditure, and goal persistence.

Sef-EfficacyHenk and Melnick (1995) four basic factors to predict how students

estimate their capabilities as a reader: performance

past success, amount of effort, need for assistance, patterns of progress, task difficulty, task persistence, and belief in the effectiveness of instruction,

observational comparison, social feedback and physiological states.

SummaryStrengths Bandura extended behavioural theories:

Internal (cognitive & personal)External (environmental or contextual) factors

influence learningLearner makes an active contribution to behaviour

changeFocus on the role of observation and imitation

heightened awareness of the impact of such media as TV, video, e-games

Vicarious learning can have both positive and negative impacts on behaviour

SummaryLimitationsThe conditions under which vicarious

learning occurs have been questioned:Why do children imitate the behaviours of

some and not others?How can you be sure that desirable behaviours

modelled have impact, whilst undesirable behaviours are ignored and forgotten?

Links  http://teachnet.edb.utexas.edu/~lynda_abbott/Social.html   http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Bandura/bobo.htm