Social Cognitive Theory Components

The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) was created by Albert Bandura, a professor at Stanford University, beginning in the 1960s and perfected and published in 1986. Born out of the Social Learning Theory (SLT), SCT addresses the behaviors of animals and what drives them to behave in certain ways. In studying SCT, Bandura and his colleagues realized an important factor had been left out of the theory; the factor was how people use the observations of others in the process of learning.

Learning

• Social Cognitive Theory is based on the idea that people learn vicariously, through the activities and behaviors of others. Say, for example, someone is an alcoholic and trying to become sober. He or she is more likely to understand why he or she should quit from someone who was previously an alcoholic. Observing others who have experienced an event similar to one they would knowingly or unknowingly like to experience themselves is crucial to successful achieve the experience.

Cognitive Process

• Learning through observation is not the only component in Social Cognitive Theory. Bandura stated that there is also the element of a mental process involved in learning to be successful in the stated learned behavior. A cognitive process is what people use to construct their own view of reality and how they perceive and cope with the world around them. Through interactions with another person who has experienced something similar, the alcoholic, for example, is able to process this information as a reality because it is present in the world around him.

Self-Efficacy

• To follow through with a learned activity or experience, a person must believe in himself or herself and feel as though he or she possesses the capacity to go through with the activity. With the alcoholic, having the wherewithal to actually stop drinking is as important as retaining this behavior change.

Self Regulation

• Once a behavior has been learned, the person must use self-regulation to ensure he or she continues this behavior when confronted with external factors. Self-regulation concerns how the person fights off suspected threats to a learned behavior. The abovementioned alcoholic is confronted with a situation in which others are drinking and having a good time. Self-regulation would ensure he does not join in and start drinking as well.

Issues with Social Cognitive Theory

• In theory, Social Cognitive Theory can work to change negative behaviors that potentially yield unhealthy or unwanted outcomes. In practice, however, people attempting to use this theory may run into issues when trying to understand the complex nature of its components.