Media Effects: Chapter 4

Front 1

Social Cognitive Theory

Back 1

This provides a framework that allows us to analyze the human conditions (or mental functions) that produce certain brain behaviors. This theory explains human thought and actions as a process of triadic reciprocal causation.

Front 2

(1) Behavior

(2) Personal characteristics such as cognitive and biological qualities.

(3) Environmental factors or events.

Back 2

What is the triadic reciprocal causation? What are the three factors?

Front 3

Symbolizing Capacity

Back 3

Human communication is based upon a system of shared uderstanding of symbols (language) allows storing, processing, and transforming experiences into cognitive models that guide future actions and decisions.

Front 4

Self-regulatory Capacity

Back 4

Includes the concepts of motivation and evaluation. People have the ability to motivate themselves to achieve certain goals. They tend to eveluate their own behavior and respond accordingly.

Behavior is self-directed and self-regulated.

Front 5

Self-reflective Capacity

Back 5

This capacity involves the process of thought verification. It is the ability of a person to perform a self-check to make sure his or her thinking is correct.

Bandura identified four different self-reflective "modes" used in thought verification: the enactive, vicarious, social, and logical modes.

Front 6

Enactive, vicarious, social, and logical modes.

Back 6

What are the 4 self-reflective modes?

Front 7

Enactive Mode

Back 7

In this mode, a person assesses the agreement between thoughts and the results of actions.

Front 8

Vicarious Mode

Back 8

In this mode, observation of another's experiences and the outcomes of those experiences serve to confirm or refute the veracity of thoughts.

Front 9

Social Verification

Back 9

A person compares his or her beliefs with what others believe, and from that comparison, determines if his or her thinking is correct.

Front 10

Logical Mode

Back 10

This mode involves verification by using previously aquired rules of inference.

Front 11

Vicarious Capacity

Back 11

This human characteristic which is the ability to learn without direct experience, emphasizes the potential contributions of mass media messages--for better or worse

Positive: learn beneficial things.

Negative: learn anti-social behaviors.

Front 12

Observational Learning.

Back 12

A person observes other people's actions and the consequences of those actions, and learns from what has been observed.

Front 13

Modeling

Back 13

Phenomenon of behavior reenactment.

Front 14

Attention

Back 14

A person must pay attention to any behavior and perceive it accuratelyin order to model it successfully.

Front 15

Retention

Back 15

Modeled behavior must be remembered or retained in order to be used again. The permanent memory stores the information by means of symbolic representations that subsequently can be converted into actions.

Front 16

Motor Reproduction

Back 16

At first, this may be difficult and even faulty, as the beginner has to "think through" all the various steps involved in making a successful action.

Front 17

Motivation

Back 17

Overcome challenges and maintain intent to model behavior.

Front 18

1. Positive outcome experienced

2. Observation of other's successful behavior.

3. Affirmation of personal standards of behavior.

Back 18

What are the 3 incentives to motivate.

Front 19

Abstract Modeling

Back 19

New situations generate new bahaviors based upon the rules of behavior learned previously. These behaviors are themselves learned and stored in memory for future adaptation in other situations.

Personal standards aquired to elevate self and others.

Boosts critical thinking, communication skills, and creativity.

Front 20

Inhibitory Effects

Back 20

These effects occur whenever new information or the observation of new behavior restrains a person from acting in a previously learned way.

Front 21

Disinhibitory Effects

Back 21

These effects lift previously learned internal restraints on certain behaviors.

Front 22

Disinhibitory Devices

Back 22

People who engage in reprehensible behavior often use cognitive techniques to justify their actions to themselves. There are 8 such cognitive techniques or devices: moral justification, exonerative comparison, eupemistic labeling, displacement of resposibility, diffusion of responsibility, distortion of consequences of action, dehumanization, and attribution of blame.

Front 23

Moral Justification

Back 23

Occurs whenever a person believes his or her otherwise culpable actions are serving some moral, noble, or higher purpose and are therefore justified.

Front 24

Exonerative Comparison

Back 24

Involves seeing one's own bad actions serving the greater good of society.

Front 25

Euphemistic Labeling

Back 25

Camoflaging reprehensible conduct, but may even make the conduct respectable or at least acceptable.

Front 26

Displacement of Responsibility

Back 26

Occurs when someone in authority directs a person to act in a certain reprehensible way, and the authority figure accepts responsibility for their actions.

Front 27

Diffusion of Responsibility

Back 27

A transgressor acts within a group and therefore does not feel personally responsible for the subsequent act.

Front 28

Disregard or Distortion of the Consequnces of Action

Back 28

Refers to situations in which a person performs an act without thinking about the harm that act may cause, or with the belief that the act will cause only minimal harm.

Front 29

Dehumanization

Back 29

Occurs whenever a person is divested of human qualities and considered no better than a beast.

Front 30

Attribution of Blame

Back 30

Victims "provoke" negative behavior.

Front 31

Social Prompting

Back 31

Implies that a person is offered an inducement (an incentive) to act a particular way thay had already been learned.

Front 32

Diffusion of Innovations

Back 32

1. Person learns of innovation.

2. Person adopts innovation or performs new behavior.

3. Interaction in social network encourages new behavior or confirms decision to adapt behavior.

Front 33

Intervening Variables

Back 33

Variables that strengthen and serve as catalysts for the cause-effect phenomenon when they are present. These variables are:

1. The perceived meaning of the communication.

2. The percieved justifiability of the witnessed aggression.

3. The extent to which audiences identify with the characters.

4. The perceived reality of the mediated communication.

5. The stimulus of prior experiences.

Front 34

General Affective Aggression Model

Back 34

This explains priming as a three-step process.

Step one: arousal is increased when exposure to mediated violence primes hostile thoughts and anger.

Step two: a primary or automatic appraisal is made in the mind of the viewer.

Third step: a secondary appraisal is made in which the viewer thinks more carefully about reactions to the prime.