🚴🏼‍♀️Educational Psychology Unit 4 – Social Cognitive Theory & Self-Efficacy

What's Social Cognitive Theory all about?

• Developed by Albert Bandura in the 1960s and 1970s
• Emphasizes the importance of observing, modeling, and imitating behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others
• Suggests that learning occurs in a social context with a dynamic and reciprocal interaction of the person, environment, and behavior
• Highlights the role of cognitive processes in learning, such as attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation
• Proposes that individuals are active agents in their own learning and development
• Introduces the concept of reciprocal determinism, which suggests that personal factors, environmental influences, and behavior continually interact and influence each other
• Recognizes the importance of self-regulation and self-reflection in learning and behavior change

Key players and their big ideas

• Albert Bandura: Developed Social Cognitive Theory and introduced concepts such as observational learning, self-efficacy, and reciprocal determinism
• Julian Rotter: Developed the concept of locus of control, which influenced Bandura's ideas about self-efficacy
  • Locus of control refers to the extent to which individuals believe they have control over events in their lives (internal vs. external)
• Walter Mischel: Conducted the famous "marshmallow test" experiment, demonstrating the importance of self-regulation and delay of gratification in learning and success
• Lev Vygotsky: Developed the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which emphasizes the role of social interaction and scaffolding in learning
  • ZPD refers to the difference between what a learner can do without help and what they can do with guidance and encouragement from a skilled partner
• Carol Dweck: Developed the concept of growth mindset, which aligns with Bandura's ideas about the role of self-efficacy in learning and motivation

How we learn from watching others

• Observational learning, also known as modeling, is a key component of Social Cognitive Theory
• Involves observing and imitating the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others
• Occurs through four processes: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation
  • Attention: Observing and selectively attending to the model's behavior
  • Retention: Remembering and mentally rehearsing the observed behavior
  • Reproduction: Performing the observed behavior
  • Motivation: Having the desire or incentive to perform the behavior
• Vicarious reinforcement: Observing others being rewarded or punished for their behaviors can influence the observer's likelihood of imitating those behaviors
• Symbolic modeling: Learning can occur through observing models in media, such as television, movies, or social media

Self-efficacy: Believing in yourself

• Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in their ability to successfully perform a task or achieve a goal
• Influences the choices people make, the effort they put forth, their perseverance in the face of obstacles, and their emotional reactions to challenges
• Plays a crucial role in motivation, as people with high self-efficacy are more likely to set challenging goals, persist in the face of setbacks, and attribute failures to lack of effort rather than lack of ability
• Can be developed through four main sources: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological and emotional states
  • Mastery experiences: Successful experiences that build confidence and self-efficacy
  • Vicarious experiences: Observing others similar to oneself succeed through perseverance
  • Verbal persuasion: Receiving encouragement and support from others
  • Physiological and emotional states: Interpreting physical and emotional reactions to challenges as signs of capability or vulnerability

Factors that shape our self-efficacy

• Mastery experiences: Successful experiences that build confidence and self-efficacy
  • Provide authentic evidence of one's ability to succeed
  • Overcoming obstacles through perseverance strengthens self-efficacy
• Vicarious experiences: Observing others similar to oneself succeed through perseverance
  • Seeing others succeed can raise observers' beliefs in their own abilities
  • Models who are perceived as similar to the observer have a greater impact on self-efficacy
• Verbal persuasion: Receiving encouragement and support from others
  • Positive feedback and encouragement can boost self-efficacy
  • Credibility, trustworthiness, and expertise of the persuader influence the impact of verbal persuasion
• Physiological and emotional states: Interpreting physical and emotional reactions to challenges as signs of capability or vulnerability
  • Positive mood and physical well-being can enhance self-efficacy
  • Stress reactions and tension can be interpreted as signs of vulnerability, lowering self-efficacy
• Attributions: How individuals interpret their successes and failures
  • Attributing success to ability and effort enhances self-efficacy
  • Attributing failure to lack of effort rather than lack of ability preserves self-efficacy

Real-world applications in education

• Modeling and demonstrating effective learning strategies and problem-solving techniques
• Providing opportunities for mastery experiences through appropriately challenging tasks and scaffolding
• Encouraging peer modeling and collaborative learning to promote vicarious learning experiences
• Offering specific, constructive feedback and verbal encouragement to boost self-efficacy
• Creating a supportive and inclusive classroom environment that fosters positive emotional states
• Teaching students to set realistic, achievable goals and to attribute success to effort and perseverance
• Incorporating self-reflection and self-assessment activities to promote self-regulation and metacognition
• Designing learning experiences that are relevant, engaging, and connected to students' interests and experiences

Critiques and limitations

• Overemphasis on the role of individual cognition and agency, potentially underestimating the impact of structural and systemic factors on learning and behavior
• Limited attention to the role of emotions and unconscious processes in learning and motivation
• Potential for oversimplifying the complexity of human behavior and development
• Difficulty in operationalizing and measuring constructs such as self-efficacy and reciprocal determinism
• Limited cross-cultural generalizability, as the theory was developed primarily based on research in Western, individualistic cultures
• Potential for promoting a "blame the victim" mentality, as the theory emphasizes personal agency and responsibility for learning and behavior change
• Limited consideration of the role of power dynamics and social inequities in shaping learning opportunities and outcomes

Connecting the dots: SCT and other psych theories

• Behaviorism: Social Cognitive Theory builds upon behaviorist principles of reinforcement and punishment but emphasizes the role of cognitive processes and observational learning
• Cognitive psychology: Social Cognitive Theory shares an emphasis on mental processes such as attention, memory, and problem-solving but adds a social dimension to learning and motivation
• Sociocultural theory: Both theories emphasize the role of social interaction and cultural context in learning and development, but Social Cognitive Theory places greater emphasis on individual agency and self-regulation
• Self-determination theory: Both theories emphasize the role of intrinsic motivation and autonomy in learning and well-being, but Social Cognitive Theory also highlights the importance of self-efficacy and social influences on motivation
• Attribution theory: Both theories are concerned with how individuals interpret and explain their successes and failures, and how these attributions influence motivation and behavior
• Growth mindset theory: Aligns with Social Cognitive Theory's emphasis on the role of self-efficacy and attributions in learning and motivation, as a growth mindset is characterized by a belief in the malleability of abilities and the importance of effort and perseverance