COGNITIVE SOCIAL LEARNING CONCEPTS

Social Cognitive Theories (SCT) integrates a large number of discrete ideas, concepts, and sub-processes into an overall framework for understanding human functioning. Five of the central concepts are described below. For a more complete explanation of SCT, readers are directed to works by Bandura and to the relevant chapters within textbooks on learning.

Observational Learning/Modeling. From its inception one core premise within SCT has been that people learn through observation. This process is also described as vicarious learning or modeling because learning is a result of watching the behavior and consequences of models in the environment. Although observational learning is dependent upon the availability of models, who or what can serve this role is defined broadly. Live demonstrations of a behavior or skill by a teacher or classmate, of course, typify the notion of modeling. Verbal or written descriptions, video or audio recordings, and other less direct forms of performance are also considered forms of modeling.

There also distinctions among different types of models. Mastery models are proficient when demonstrating a skills, whereas coping models struggle, make mistakes, and only eventually show proficiency. Abstract modeling occurs when the skill or knowledge being learned is conveyed only indirectly, and cognitive modeling occurs when a model verbalizes her thoughts while demonstrating a cognitive process or skill.

According to SCT, observational learning of novel behaviors or skills is dependent on four inter-related processes involving attention, retention, production, and motivation. Attentional processes are critical because students must attend to a model and the relevant aspects of behavior in order to learn. Retention refers to the processes necessary for reducing and transforming what is observed into a symbolic form that can be stored for later use. Production processes are necessary when students draw on their stored codes and make an effort to perform what they have observed. Finally, motivational processes are key for understanding why students engage in the prior sub-processes, including whether they ever attempt to use or recreate the new skills they have observed. Each of these processes, furthermore, are affected by factors such as the developmental level of the learner and characteristics of the model and modeled behavior.

Beyond new learning, modeling is also important for understanding when or why previously learned behaviors are exhibited. Students' may inhibit their engagement in a behavior if they observe a model suffer consequences they would prefer to avoid. For instance, if a teacher glares at one student who is talking out of turn, other students may suppress this behavior to avoid a similar reaction. In a related fashion, students may disinhibit or engage in a behavior they had initially suppressed when they fail to see any negative consequences accrue to a model. For example, students may refrain from shouting out answers unless they are called upon only until they see others do so without repercussions. Finally, through a process labeled response facilitation, models can simply prompt others to behave in known ways.

Outcome Expectations. Outcome expectations reflect individuals' beliefs about what consequences are most likely to ensue if particular behaviors are performed. For instance, children may believe that if they get a hit during a baseball game the crowd will cheer, they will feel good and will be admired by their teammates. These beliefs are formed enactively through students' own past experiences and vicariously through the observation of others. Outcome expectations are important in SCT because they shape the decisions people make about what actions to take and which behaviors to suppress. The frequency of a behavior should increase when the outcomes expected are valued, whereas behaviors associated with unfavorable or irrelevant outcomes will be avoided.

Perceived Self-efficacy. Self-efficacy also has emerged as a prominent and influential concept within SCT. Self-efficacy reflects individuals' beliefs about whether they can achieve a given level of successful at a particular task (Bandura, 1997). Students with greater self-efficacy are more confident in their abilities to be successful when compared to their peers with lower self-efficacy. Self-efficacy has proven useful for understanding students' motivation and achievement in academic contexts. Higher levels of perceived self-efficacy have been associated with greater choice, persistence, and with more effective strategy use (Pajares, 1996).

Consistent with the tenets of SCT, self-efficacy is viewed as a product of individuals' own past performances, the observation and verbal persuasion of others in the environment, and individuals' on-going physiological state (Bandura, 1997). Rather than directly affecting their self-efficacy, however, these sources of information are weighed and filtered through a process known as cognitive appraisal. For instance, a prior failure may not be detrimental to self-efficacy if students believe there was some no-longer relevant reason for the poor performance (e.g., prior sickness). Interventions based on SCT and designed to increase self-efficacy in school-aged children have proven effective (Pajares, 1996).

Goal Setting. Goal setting is another central process within SCT (Bandura, 1986; Schunk, 1990). Goals reflect cognitive representations of anticipated, desired, or preferred outcomes. Hence, goals exemplify the agency view within SCT that people not only learn, they use forethought to envision the future, identify desired outcomes, and generate plans of action. Goals are also closely related to other important processes within SCT. For instance, models can provide goals in the form of specific behavioral outcomes or more general standards for acceptable levels of performance. Goals also are intricately related to students' outcome expectations and their perceived self-efficacy. Goals are a function of the outcomes students expect from engaging in particular behaviors and the confidence they have for completing those behaviors successfully. Finally, goals are an important prerequisite for self-regulation because they provide objectives that students are trying to achieve and benchmarks against which to judge progress.

Self-regulation. Research on self-regulation or, when applied to academic contexts, self-regulated learning, blossomed in the 1980s and continued into the early 2000s to expand. Explanations for students' management or control of their own learning behaviors have arisen from within many distinct theoretical perspectives (Zimmerman & Schunk, 2001). Many of the most common models, however, have strong roots in SCT. SCT models of self-regulation assume that self-regulation is dependent on goal setting, in that students are thought to manage their thoughts and actions in order to reach particular outcomes (Schunk, 2001; Zimmerman, 2000). SCT views of self-regulation initially emphasized three sub-processes (Bandura, 1986; 1991). Self-observation reflects students' ability to monitor or keep track of their own behaviors and outcomes. Self-judgment is the process through which students' evaluate whether their actions are effective and allow them to make progress toward their goals. Finally, self-reaction occurs when students' respond to the evaluations they have made by modifying their behavior, rewarding it, or discontinuing it.

Self-regulation is a prominent and increasing aspect of SCT that exemplifies the underlying assumptions regarding agency and the influence of personal factors on behavior and the environment. As noted above, self-regulation is also dependent on other processes within SCT, including goal setting and self-efficacy. Unless students have goals and feel efficacious about reaching them, they may not activate the processes needed for self-regulation. Modeling can also affect students' self-regulated learning. The skills needed to manage one's behavior, as well the beliefs and attitudes that serve to motivate self-regulation, can be obtained through modeling.

Reference;

Heider, D. (n.d.).Social Cognitive Theory, Retrieved on 30 April 2013, Web: www.education.com.