Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory

Social Cognitive Theory Social cognitive theory is seen as a bridge between behaviorist theories (classical and operant conditioning) and cognitive learning theories; because it encompasses behavior, but also deals with attention, memory, and motivation. In the 1960s, Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory theorizes people learn from one another through observation, imitation, and modeling. People learn by observing each other’s behaviors and the outcomes and consequences that result from their modeled behaviors. A great deal of human learning occurs when we watch and interact with other people (Ormrod 111). In social cognitive theory, there is a belief of reciprocal determinism. In reciprocal determinism the environment, the cognitive thought of the individual, and behavior all have a reciprocal relationship in learning (see Figure 1.5). Behaviors do not necessarily change when …show more content…
Learners are more likely to engage in behaviors they believe they will be able to complete successfully. Self-efficacy affects several aspects of individual’s behavior: choices of activities, goals, effort and persistence, and learning and achievement. People will choose activities and tasks where they think they will succeed and avoid those they believe they might fail. With goals, people set higher goals for themselves when they have a high self-efficacy. With effort and persistence, people with high self-efficacy, are more likely to exert effort when they work on tasks, and even persevere more often when they start to struggle. Low self-efficacy means individuals will give up more quickly and put less effort into a task when faced with difficulty. People with high self-efficacy also have more effective study skills and are better able to delay gratification when their immediate efforts don’t pay off (Ormrod