Social Cognitive Theory

Albert
Bandura

Later on, Bandura

focused on cognitive
factors such as
beliefs, selfperceptions, and
expectations, his
theory is now called
Social Cognitive
Theory.

Social Cognitive Theory

His early work on
learning was
grounded in the
behavioral
principles of
reinforcement and
punishment, but he
added a focus on
learning from
observing
others.
This was labeled

Social Cognitive
Theory expands
social learning
theory to include
cognitive factors.

The Bobo Doll Study

Preschool children saw a

film of a model kicking
and punching an
inflatable Bobo doll

Group 1: saw the model

rewarded for the
aggression

Group 2: saw the model

punished

The Bobo Doll Study

When they were moved to a
room with the Bobo doll
Children who had seen the
punching and kicking
reinforced on the film were
the most aggressive towards
the doll
Those who saw the attacks
punished were the least
aggressive
But when children were
promised rewards for

The Bobo Doll

Thus incentives can affect performance.

Even though learning may have occurred,
it may not be demonstrated until the
situation is appropriate or there are
incentives to perform

Social Cognitive Theory

Enactive
Learning

is learning by
doing and
experiencing
the
consequences
of your actions.

Vicarious Learning/
Observational learning
is learning by observing
others.
if people can learn by
watching, they must be
focusing their attention,
constructing images,
remembering, analyzing,
and making decisions that
affect learning.

Students observe an
expert ( usually the
teacher) model the
performance.
2. Students get external
support through
coaching or tutoring
( including hints,
feedback, models , and
reminders).
3. Students receive
conceptual scaffolding,
which is then gradually
faded as the students
becomes more
competent and proficient
1.

Cognitive
Apprenticeships
A relationship
in which a less
experienced
learner
acquires
knowledge and
skills under the
guidance of an
expert
E.g., mentoring
, cross-age
grouping,

Cognitive
Apprenticeships
4. Students continually articulate their
knowledge-putting into words their
understanding of the processes and
content being learned.
5. Students reflect on their progress,
comparing their problem-solving to an
experts performance and to their earlier
performances.
6. Students are required to explore new ways
to apply what they are learning.

Elements of Observational
Learning
Attention
In order to learn through observation, we have
to pay attention.
. In teaching, you will have to ensure students
attention to the critical features of the
lesson by making clear presentations and
highlighting important points.
2. Retention
. In order to imitate the behavior of a model, you
have to remember it.
. This involves mentally representing the models
actions in some way ( as verbal steps or as
visual images, or both)
1.
.

Elements of Observational
Learning
3. Production
Once we know how a behavior should look and
remember the elements or steps, we still may
not perform it smoothly.
In the production phase, practice makes the
behavior smoother and more expert.
4. Motivation and Reinforcement
We may acquire a new skill or behavior through
observation, but we may not perform that
behavior until there is some motivation or
incentive to do so.

Forms of Reinforcement
1.

2.

3.
.
.

The observer may reproduce the behaviors

of the model and receive direct
reinforcement
Vicarious Reinforcement : the observer
may simply see others reinforced for a
particular behavior and then increase his
or her production of that behavior.
Self-Reinforcement :controlling your
own reinforcers.
This reinforcement is important for
both students and teachers.
We want our students to improve not

Social Cognitive Theory

Social part
Emphasis on the
role of other
people serving as
models and
teachers

Cognitive part
It includes
thinking, believing,
expecting,
anticipating, selfregulating, and
making
comparisons and
judgments.

Social Cognitive Theory

It is a dynamic system that explains human
adaptation, learning , and motivation.
It addresses hoe people develop social,
emotional, cognitive, and behavioural
capabilities, how people regulate their own
lives, and what motivates them

Triarchic Reciprocal
Causality

An explanation of behaviour that emphasises

the mutual effects of the individual and the
environment on each other

It is the dynamic interplay between three

kinds of influences:
Personal : beliefs, expectations, attitudes,
and knowledge
Physical & Social environment :
resources, consequences of actions, other
people, models ,teachers, and physical
settings

Triarchic Reciprocal
Causality

Self- efficacy
Bandura

suggests that predictions

about possible outcomes of
behaviour are critical for learning
because they affect goals, efforts,
persistence, strategies, and
resilience.

Will I succeed?
Will I be liked or laughed at?
Will I be more accepted by teachers

Self- efficacy
Our

beliefs about our personal

competence or effectiveness in a
given area.
It is future oriented

Self fficacy, Self-concept, and

SELF CONCEPT
Self-esteem

SELF EFFICACY
It is future oriented
It focuses on our ability
to successfully
accomplish a particular
task with no need for
comparisons-Weather I
can do it.
Strong predictors of
behaviour
Context specific i.e. It
varies, depending on the
subject or task (e.g., my
efficacy for singing is

It is a more global
construct that contain
many perceptions about
the self, including selfefficacy
It is developed as a
result of external &
internal comparisons,
using other people or
other aspects of the self
as frames of reference
Weak predictive power

SELF ESTEEM and

Self fficacy, Self-concept,
It is concerned with
Self-esteem
judgments of selfworth
SELF EFFICACY
It is concerned with
judgments of
personal
competence
It is possible to feel
highly efficacious in
one area and still
not have a high
level of self-esteem
or vice versa

E.g, I have a very

low self-efficacy for
singing, but my
self-esteem is not
affected, probably
because my life
does not require
singing.

Sources of self-efficacy
Mastery experiences : past successes
and failures in similar situations, as
perceived by the individual. To increase
efficacy, the success must be attributed to
the ability, effort, choices, and strategies of
the individual-not to luck or extensive help
from others.
Vicarious experiences :Seeing other
people like you succeed on a task or reach
a goal that is similar to the one you face.
Social persuasion : Encouragement,
informational feedback, useful guidance

Outcomes of observational
learning
DIRECTING ATTENTION : by directing attention
we learn about actions and objects involved in
the actions.
ENCOURAGING EXISTING BEHAVIOUR :
observing the behaviour of others tells us which
of our already-learned behaviours to use e.g.,
what kind of language is appropriate
STRENGTHENING OR WEAKENING
INHIBITIONS : if class members witness one
student breaking a class rule and getting away
with it, they may learn that undesirable
consequences do not always follow rule

Outcomes of observational
learning
TEACHING NEW BEHAVIOUR : Modeling
can be used in the classroom to teach a
range of behaviours ( pronouncing
vocabulary words, teaching new ways of
thinking-by thinking out loud, etc)
AROUSING EMOTION : People may
develop emotional reactions to situations
they have never experienced personally
( e.g., a child who watches a friend fall from
a swing and break an arm may become
fearful of swings).

Incorporating observational
learning into teaching
Model behaviours and attitudes you want
your students to learn
-show enthusiasm for the subject you teach
-model good problem solving-think out loud as you
work through a difficult problem
Use peers as models
-in group work, pair students who do well with
those who are having difficulties
-ask a well liked student to be friendly to an
isolated, fearful student
Make sure students see that positive
behaviours lead to reinforcement for
others