Social Cognitive Theory

1
Social Cognitive Theory

• Terry Falcomata
• Jason Stricker

2
Historical Perspective

• Dewey (1899) - 1
• Hull - 2
• Dollard and Miller (1950)
• Sears (Iowa Bandura)
• Skinner
• Rotter - 4
• Bandura
• Mischel - 5
• Cervone - 6

3
Social Learning Theory

• Social Learning Theory3 Tenets
• Consequences influence behavior
• Humans can learn by observing others
• Individuals are more likely to model behavior
  observed in people they identify with.

4
Definition of Social Cognitive Theory

• A family of interrelated theories that
• Address the role of socially acquired beliefs and
  skills in personality functioning
• Personality is construed as a complex system of
  cognitive and affective processes
• An extension of social learning theory, coined by
  Bandura placing more emphasis on cognitive
  concepts.

5
Definition of Social Cognitive Theory Cont.

• Dispositions (behavior)
• Surface level tendencies are explained by
  reference to an underlying system of psych.
  Processes.
• Understood as emergent properties of underlying
  cognitive and affective system

6
Human Nature

• Human behavior viewed as a triadic, dynamic, and
  reciprocal interaction of personal factors,
  behavior, and the environment.
• Humans are viewed as an organized system of
  multiple processes (cognitions and emotions)
  mutually influencing one another.
• Humans have endowed plasticity. Plasticity
  dependent on specialized neurophysiological
  structures that have evolved over time (Bandura,
  1999).
• Patterns of human behavior organized by
  individual experience, rather than being provided
  ready made by inborn programming.

7
Triadic Reciprocal Causation
ENVIRONMENT
COGNITIVE PROCESSING
BEHAVIOR
8
Human Capabilities

• Symbolizing
• Utilize visual experiences and cognitive models
• Forethought
• Plan actions and anticipate consequences of
  actions

9
Human Capabilities

• Observational
• Learn by observing the performance of referent
  and credible peers
• Self-regulatory
• Set internal standards and evaluate the
  discrepancies between the standard and
  performance (self-control)
• Self-Reflective
• Reflect on performance, and predict likelihood of
  future success given the context (self-efficacy)

10
Self-Efficacy

• Humans confidence in the ability to mobilize the
  motivation, cognitive resources, and course of
  action to successfully execute a specific task in
  a given context.
• Expectations about success determine the need for
  coping behaviors related to the amount of effort
  required to complete the task.

11
Dimensions of Self-Efficacy

• Magnitude
• The belief that one can successfully complete a
  task at a given level difficulty and complexity
• Strength
• The level of certainty with which an individual
  believes the task will be successfully performed
  given the magnitude of self-efficacy
• Generality
• The belief that similar strategies will be
  effective in similar contextual arrangements

12
Choice vs. Determinism

• Triadic Reciprocal Causation
• Internal factors such as cognitive, affective,
  biological events, behavioral patterns, and
  environmental events operate as interacting
  determinants that operate on one another
  bi-directionally
• Environment may not be able to be controlled but,
  have leeway in how they construe it and react to
  it. (Bandura, 1997a)

13
Triadic Reciprocal Causation
ENVIRONMENT
COGNITIVE PROCESSING
BEHAVIOR
14
Definition of Personality

• Interconnected system of beliefs, aims, and
  capabilities
• They develop and function in reciprocal
  interaction with environment
• Give rise to coherent patterns of conduct and
  experience that distinguish individuals From each
  other
• Patterns include
• Average tendencies and variability in action
  across contexts
• Common patterns of coherence and unique
  tendencies that chara. Idiosyncratic individuals

15
Theory of Personality

• Reciprocal Determinism
• Individual and social setting interact in a
  reciprocal system
• Personality viewed as a complex social system
• Individual and social-cultural interactions
  produce patterns of behavior
• Transactions are unit of measurement
• Interactions between an individuals emotions,
  cognitions, and the environment

16
Healthy Personality

• Healthy personality develops through high
  self-efficacy (i.e., confidence to use resources
  to achieve goals).
• Goals are generated during contextual experience.
  
• Healthy personalities are able to process
  information.
• Information is then used to achieve goals.
• Adaptiveness is in goal setting and achieving.
• Setting goals creates incentives that motivate
  and guide behavior.
• Standards for behavior are set, behaviors are
  evaluated against standards, strategic choices
  are made based on situation specific goal
  achievement.

17
Unhealthy Personality

• Maladaptiveness can only be examined through a
  study of the interaction between the person and
  situations.
• Dysfunction only manifests with the behavior in
  terms of the social context within which it
  occurs
• Indicate a lack of ability to adapt to various
  and specific situations

18
Unhealthy Personality cont.

• Efforts to understand adjustment difficulties are
  better studied within a context of behavioral,
  cog., or emotional responding rather than
  underlying mental illness
• Psychological dysfunction consists of behavioral,
  cognitive, and affective responses that are
  ineffective and inefficient.
• Behavior, cognition, and emotion, are
  interactive. One problem in one will result in
  problems in others, and change in one will result
  in change in others.

19
Assessment of Personality

• Self-Efficacy Scales
• The Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ)
• Locus of Control Scales
• e.g., Multidimensional Locus of Control Scale
• Expectancy Scales
• Probability that a particular behavior will lead
  to a particular reinforcer

20
Guidelines for Intervention

• Cognitive Behavior Therapy
• Observational Learning
• Resource/Risk Communication
• Behavioral Skills Training

21
Assets

• Emphasize Research
• Observational learning (Bandura)
• Integrate theories of motivation and cognition
• Focuses on uniquely human behaviors
• Theory is flexible (allows for integration of
  contemporary issues)
• Addition of cognitive aspect to classic learning
  theory has made it applicable to humans
• Theory has led to behavior therapy techniques
• Includes situational factors in the analysis of
  human behavior

22
Limitations

• Doesnt account for developmental change
• Loose collection of constructs that are not
  comprehensively organized (self-efficacy,
  observational learning, self-regulation)
• Reconceptualizing the work of others (nothing
  new)

23
Case Study

• Graduate Student---John
• Goes to the health clinic because he is
  experiencing insomnia and panic attacks around
  finals
• Self-efficacy scale reveals high desire for
  success and low expectation of goal achievement
• Locus of control measures reveal external and
  uncontrollable attributions for performance
• His distress about academic failure has led to
  concerns about disappointing his family

24
Case Study-Intervention

• Cognitive Behavior Therapy examining irrational
  beliefs and cognitive distortions
• Resource Communication (academic accommodations,
  tutors, etc.)