The purpose of applying human behavior theory to everyday situations and cases is to determine why people do what they do; specifically, what motivates a person to behave in a specific manner. The aim of this paper is to apply a particular theory to an individual case to determine distinctive outcomes. The case in question encompasses a family unit which includes the father, Kenneth Jarvis, the mother, Jean Jarvis, and two small children, Marie and Joanne Jarvis. The teachers of Marie, 8 years old, and Joanne, 7 years old, noticed continued out of character behavior exhibited by the girls which prompted school officials to approach Mrs. Jarvis. A representative from the school visited the home and spoke with Mrs. Jarvis regarding …show more content…
Jarvis. The second issue that needs to be taken into consideration is that Mrs. Jarvis admitted to knowing about the abuse; however, due to years of being physically abused by Mr. Jarvis herself she was terrified to take action. The effects of Mr. Jarvis’s actions onto her must also be addressed as well as the aftermath of Mr. Jarvis’s sentencing. Prior to the arrest, the girls’ behavior was described as an ongoing “sadness and shrinking timidity.” Mrs. Jarvis whether consciously or unconsciously was complicit in covering up her husband’s actions when she told her children that they must never talk about “such dirty things.” This can be seen by the remark Joanne made to her teacher when asked if anything was wrong; “I mustn’t talk about [things] because I mustn’t talk about dirty things.” Post Mr. Jarvis’s arrest, Mrs. Jarvis’s changed her appearance, moved the children to a new home away from their school and friends and has not really spoken to the girls about how they feel about what they have experienced. She believes it is best for the children “not to dwell on those things.” Mrs. Jarvis’s on going behavior of pretending nothing is or has happened needs to be …show more content…
The theory is founded on the model of a triadic reciprocal causation in which evaluating behavioral change depends on the constant influence of personal factors, behavior and the environment (Bandura, 1999). The five basic human capabilities which are recognized as the core concepts within SCT are symbolizing, forethought, vicarious learning, self-regulation, and self-reflection (Bandura, 2001). The most central concept of SCT is self-efficacy, “the belief that one has the power to produce change by one’s actions” (Bandura, 1999, p. 28). The value of SCT within the framework of this case is the applications of forethought, self-regulation and self-reflection for Mrs. Jarvis and the application of positive vicarious learning for Marie and Joanne. The concept of self-efficacy is valuable to all three