🧠 SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY (SCT)
📌 Key terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) | A learning theory proposed by Albert Bandura suggesting that people learn behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions through observation, imitation, and modeling. |
| Observational Learning | Learning by watching the actions of others and the consequences of those actions. |
| Modeling | Demonstrating or imitating a behavior shown by another person (model). |
| Vicarious Reinforcement | When an individual learns by observing the rewards or punishments of others. |
| Self-Efficacy | One’s belief in their ability to perform a specific behavior successfully. |
| Reciprocal Determinism | The idea that behavior, personal factors (cognitive), and environment all influence each other. |
| Retention | Remembering the observed behavior for later imitation. |
| Motivation | The desire to reproduce observed behavior, often influenced by anticipated outcomes or identification with the model. |
📌 Notes
Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) expands upon the earlier Social Learning Theory (SLT), emphasizing that learning occurs in a social context and involves reciprocal interactions between behavior, personal cognition, and environment.
Albert Bandura (1986) proposed that humans learn indirectly — by observing others, mentally processing information, and then deciding whether to imitate.
This model explains how behaviors like aggression, empathy, or gender roles are acquired without direct reinforcement, purely through social observation.
Mechanisms of SCT
- Attention
- To learn through observation, individuals must pay attention to the model.
- Factors increasing attention: model’s attractiveness, authority, or similarity to observer.
- Example: A child notices an admired teacher’s calm reaction under stress.
- Retention
- Observed behaviors are stored in memory as mental representations.
- Visualization and verbal coding (mental rehearsal) help with later reproduction.
- Reproduction
- The ability to perform the behavior depends on physical and cognitive capabilities.
- Example: A child may observe a gymnast but cannot yet reproduce the moves.
- Motivation
- Individuals imitate behaviors they believe will lead to positive outcomes (rewards, approval).
- Vicarious reinforcement (observing someone else being rewarded) increases motivation.
- Self-Efficacy
- Belief in one’s own capability to perform the behavior successfully.
- High self-efficacy leads to persistence; low self-efficacy reduces imitation likelihood.
📌 Key Studies
“Bobo Doll Experiment”
Aim:
To investigate whether children learn aggression through observation of adult models.
Procedure:
- 72 children (aged 3–6) divided into three groups:
- Observed an aggressive model
- Observed a non-aggressive model
- Control (no model)
- After observation, children were allowed to play with toys, including a Bobo doll.
Findings:
- Children who observed the aggressive model showed more aggressive behaviors.
- Boys imitated physical aggression more, girls imitated verbal aggression more.
- Aggression was higher if the model was of the same sex.
Conclusion:
- Behavior can be learned through observation and imitation, even without direct reinforcement.
- Identification with the model strengthens learning.
Evaluation:
✅ High control → cause-and-effect inference.
⚠️ Low ecological validity (lab setting, toys).
⚠️ Ethical concerns — exposing children to aggression.
✅ Groundbreaking study → strong empirical support for SCT.
🔬 Key Study 2: Perry, Perry & Rasmussen (1986)
“Gender, Aggression, and Self-Efficacy”
Aim:
To investigate gender differences in aggression and perceptions of self-efficacy.
Procedure:
- Sample: Elementary school children.
- Questionnaires measured beliefs about aggression, reinforcement, and self-efficacy in controlling aggression.
Findings:
- Boys were more likely to believe that aggression leads to positive outcomes.
- Higher self-efficacy correlated with greater likelihood of imitating aggressive models.
Conclusion:
- Supports SCT — aggression is learned via observation, and self-efficacy influences whether the behavior is reproduced.
Evaluation:
✅ Real-world application of SCT (gender role learning).
⚠️ Correlational → no causation.
✅ Good external validity; aligns with Bandura’s core principles.
🔍Tok link
Knowledge question: “To what extent do we learn who we are from observing others?”
SCT explores how knowledge and behavior are socially constructed.
Raises epistemological questions: Is imitation a form of understanding or replication?
Can moral or cultural behavior be learned without personal experience?
🌐 Real-World Connection
Explains how children learn violence, gender norms, and social skills through media and family.
Forms the basis for media regulation, anti-bullying programs, and positive role model campaigns.
Used in health psychology: modeling healthy eating, safe sex practices, or quitting smoking.
Education: Teachers model curiosity, empathy, and perseverance.
❤️ CAS Link
- Design a peer-mentoring project where older students model good study habits.
- Volunteer for a youth teaching initiative — reflect on how modeling affects learning.
- Participate in theatre workshops exploring role modeling and social learning.
🧠 IA Guidance
An IA can test observational learning or vicarious reinforcement.
Example: Participants observe one model rewarded vs. unrewarded for a behavior, then measure imitation.
Keep ethical standards — avoid harm or deception and ensure debriefing.
🧠 Examiner Tips
- Always define SCT clearly: Learning via observation and imitation within a social context.
- Mention Bandura’s 4 processes (attention, retention, reproduction, motivation).
- For top marks, connect SCT to self-efficacy and reciprocal determinism.
- Use Bandura (1961) as your primary study and one modern application (e.g., Perry et al. or Charlton, 2002).
- Evaluate issues of ecological validity and ethics.