Interaction Between Social and Cognitive - Essay Example

Chapter questions The interaction between social and cognitive in the social cognitive theory is reciprocal determinism. This is a result of the self-efficacy concept and establishes interdependence between a person’s cognitive ability and the social environment. A person’s self-efficacy in an action influences the actions of others in the social environment and the actions in the social environment affect a person’s cognitive ability to actions (Edberg, p. 53). Some of the factors that determine the speed of adoption in diffusion theory are “relative advantage, compatibility, compatibility, trialability, observability, impact on social relations, reversibility, communicability, time, risk and uncertainty, commitment and modifiability” (Edberg, p. 59). Relative advantage defines the measure of effectiveness and efficiency of a proposed innovation with respect to the old technology.

A significant relative advantage will therefore motivate a faster adoption of the theory. Complexibility refers to the level of ease of applying a proposed technology. While a complex technology may delay implementation due to a lack of implementation resources and determination of certainty over the technology, a less complex technology can be immediately implemented (Edberg, p. 59). Triability however defines the ability to test the technology, practically, before its adoption. Where such practical tests are possible, decisions can be made on whether to adopt the technology or not.

In cases where such tests are not possible, alternative approaches must be devised and this may delay adoption of the proposed technology. The impacts that technology can have on society are also important in determining how fast it can be implemented. This is because social responsibility measures must first be put in place before the implementation of the technology. The other factors can also either speed up or delay implementation (Edberg, p. 59).