Social cognitive theory facts for kids

Social cognitive theory helps us understand how our thoughts, actions, personal feelings, and surroundings all work together. They influence what we want to do and how we behave. This idea was created by Albert Bandura. He developed it because he felt other theories, like behaviorism, didn't fully explain human actions. Bandura's main focus was on something called self-efficacy. This is about believing in your own ability to finish tasks or reach goals successfully.

Who is Albert Bandura?

Albert Bandura (born December 4, 1925) was a famous psychologist. He did important work on how people learn from others. His ideas were first called "social learning theory." Later, this name was changed to "social cognitive theory."

Bandura's theory says that human behavior comes from three things working together. These are a person's thoughts and feelings, their actions, and their environment. These three parts constantly influence each other. This theory also highlights how much we learn by watching others. Bandura believed that people can learn just by observing. They don't always have to copy what they see. He also came up with the idea of self-efficacy. Bandura is well-known for his 1961 Bobo doll experiment. This study showed how children learn aggressive behavior by watching adults.

How Does Social Cognitive Theory Work?

Social cognitive theory explains how we function by looking at three main parts. These parts are our behavior, our personal factors (like thoughts and feelings), and our environment. They all affect each other in a back-and-forth way. Bandura thought that people can learn by watching others. They don't even need to copy the behavior.

When we watch others, we learn from their actions. We also learn from the good or bad things that happen to them. This way of learning helps explain why people act so differently around the world. It also shows why people within the same culture can be so different. Social cognitive theory reminds us that learning happens when we see something new. Then we add that new information to what we already know.

How Do We Influence Ourselves?

Social cognitive theory suggests that people are not just controlled by their surroundings. We are also not just driven by our personality traits. Instead, we help shape our own motivation, behavior, and growth. This happens through a network of influences that work together.

How Behavior, Person, and Environment Interact

Social cognitive theory explains behavior as a three-way interaction. This interaction is between the environment, personal factors, and behavior itself. It doesn't mean one factor is always stronger than the others. Also, they don't all happen at the exact same time. Bandura said that how these three factors interact changes. It depends on the person, the behavior, and the specific situation.

• Person-Behavior Interaction: Your thoughts, feelings, and even your body affect your actions. What you expect, believe, and your goals guide your behavior. In return, your actions can change your thoughts and feelings. This theory also includes biological factors. Things like your age, gender, or natural personality can influence your behavior.

• Environment-Person Interaction: Your beliefs and thinking skills grow and change because of social influences. They also change because of the physical places around you. Other people can give you information. They can also cause emotional reactions through showing you how to do things. People also get different reactions from their environment. This is because of their physical traits, like their age or how they look.

• Behavior-Environment Interaction: Bandura believed that people are both shaped by their environment and also shape it. Your behavior decides which parts of your environment you experience. Then, your environment changes your behavior. For example, what you choose to pay attention to can affect how you experience your surroundings. This is called selective attention. It means we choose who we interact with and what activities we do. The environment also helps decide which of your behaviors will develop and be used.

Learning from Others

Learning by watching others is called "social learning." It happens in four steps. These steps help a person turn what they see into something they can do themselves. Bandura said that a "model" can be a real person. It can also be something symbolic, like a book, a picture, or instructions. The four steps are:

• Attention: You need to pay attention to what the model is doing.
• Retention: You need to remember what you saw.
• Behavior Production: You need to be able to do the behavior yourself.
• Motivation: You need a reason or desire to perform the behavior.

Each of these steps helps you either get information about events or decide to use that information to guide your actions.

What is Self-Efficacy?

Psychologists use the term self-efficacy to describe how much you believe in your own ability. It's about believing you can successfully complete certain tasks. People with higher self-efficacy feel more confident in their skills. They are often better at making decisions. They also recover quickly from setbacks. Plus, they tend to stick with their interests and activities more strongly. According to Bandura, there are four main ways to build self-efficacy:

• Mastery experiences: This is the best way to build strong self-efficacy. When you successfully finish a task, it makes you feel more capable. But failing a challenge can make your self-efficacy weaker.

• Social modeling: This means watching other people successfully complete a task. Seeing others who are similar to you succeed helps you believe you can also master similar activities.

• Social persuasion: This is when others convince you that you have the skills to succeed. Someone saying "You can do it!" can boost your confidence.

• Psychological responses: Your mood, emotions, and physical reactions can affect how you feel about your abilities. Feeling calm and positive can increase self-efficacy.

Other Ways to Build Confidence

Research shows that comparing your performance to others can also affect your self-efficacy. This is especially true when you compare yourself to friends or siblings. Schools are also a big source of self-efficacy. Schools often grade students by comparing their work to the group's performance. However, this type of grading can cause problems for students who struggle. It can make them feel less capable.

How Mass Media Influences Us

Television shows and the internet can show us different ideas about people and society. Social cognitive theory says that we learn by watching how other people behave. In studies about mass media, this theory helps explain how media can influence our actions. Bandura suggested that TV can change what viewers believe about reality. It's not just about how much TV people watch. It's more about the content of the shows. If you see the world only as TV shows portray it, you might get some wrong ideas. New behaviors and their possible results can be shown, watched, and copied because of TV or the internet.

For example, one study suggested that watching TV was linked to young people starting to smoke. This was because TV rarely showed the bad effects of smoking. Another study thought that women's magazines might make women want to be thin. This is because these magazines often link being thin to good things. This makes women want to diet. There are also studies that use social cognitive theory to explain how mass media might affect ideas about race and gender.

Setting Goals for Motivation

Social cognitive theory suggests that goals affect how we think and feel about our performance. This is because goals show us what we need to do to succeed. People create goals to guide and motivate them toward what they want to achieve. Bandura found that goals become powerful motivators. They work through how we judge ourselves and how confident we feel. Setting goals can improve your well-being and achievements in many ways.

Goals are very motivating. They give you a sense of direction and purpose. They also help build your self-efficacy. When you successfully reach a goal, it increases your belief in your own abilities. Bandura linked this to an increase in interest in what you are doing. It also increases your satisfaction. Being motivated by goals gives you a constant source of self-efficacy, interest, and satisfaction. People without these goals often feel unmotivated and unsure about their skills.