Chapter 4: Social Cognitive Theory Flashcards
socialisation
Process of becoming a member of a social group
primary vs secondary socialisation
Primary - parents, close friends (primary as in first point of contact)
Secondary - media, community, extended family
gender socialisation
connecting behaviour and or other things with gender due to being taught that by their parents etc
group socialisation
socialised by a peer groups
social cognitive theory
an attempt to explain how we learn from others. Directly by trial error, indirectly by observing others. Based on behaviourism.
Consists of 4 components:
- Attention
- Retention
- Reproduction
- Motivation
social learning theory
based on classical and operant conditioning (early stages of social cognitive theory.
classical condition
tying a biologically potent stimulus with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. Pavlov’s dogs)
reciprocal determinism
a model of the mutual influence of three sets of factors; personal, behavioural and environmental - they all affect each other. Proposed by Bandura in 2005, who was unsatisfied with the behaviourist explanation - he did not feel that the complex process of socialisation occurred through trial and error.
For example: being in a bad mood will affect how others treat you, so the personal has an impact on behaviour and environment.
agentic approach to learning
rather than saying that the mind is a blackbox, it proposes that we should also investigate what happens in the mind, called the mediational process.
vicarious learning (indirect/observational learning)
learning by looking at others and their trial and error processes as well as reinforcements experience by others (vicarious reinforcement).
Bandura’s Bobo Doll experiment (Bandura, Ross and ross (1961))
A: testing the social cognitive theory in regards to aggression.
M: Matched pairs design (depending on aggressiveness)
P: Three groups. One was exposed to aggressive handling of Bobo, one to nonaggression, and one control. There was either a male or a female model. Every group was equally split with boys and girls, and the children rated on aggressiveness beforehand.
R: Results support the hypothesis that the exposure of children to aggressive models would increase aggressiveness. Boys were more likely to exhibit physical aggression, girls verbal aggression.
C: Confirms theory of observational learning. Does however rely on how much attention the child pays to the model, as well as what role the model plays in the child’s life.
E: Misinterpretation of results? Does the Bobo doll truly have any other purpose than being beaten?
The study is limited in that it has a low ecological validity and it is also not longitudinal. Ethical consideration: teaching children violent behavior.
Later, in 1963, Bandura investigated the influence of media on violent behavior in children.
Retention
remembering an observed behaviour in order to repeat it
Self-efficacy (mastery, vicarious experiences, social persuasion and emotional/physical states)
The belief that you can follow through with observed behaviour reproduce it. This belief can be reinforced by the four things mentioned in brackets on the other side.
Motivation
Do you believe that an action will lead to positive reinforcement? If so, you are motivated.
Mihalic & Elliot (1997)
Males and females who experience higher rates of violence as a child will exhibit more violent marital behaviour, which is explained by social cognitive theory; they observe and reproduce behaviour their parents exhibit