Social Cognitive Theory SelfEfficacy - Essay Example

A step further rewarding or punishing the model for hitting the bobo doll elicited similar reactions on the children. Where the model was rewarded the children who viewed the tape felt inclined to do the same in order to also be rewarded. In the case of punishment the children refrained from imitating the model in fear of punishment. Following this experiment it is clear that personality is imitated and is alterable when reinforcements are placed. This essay therefore discusses this theory in line with related theories and how useful they can actually be in developmental learning.

The social/cognitive theory is the brain child of Albert Bandura and has recently become highly influential as a theory of " learning and development." For Bandura, even though he believed in the basic concepts of traditional learning theory, the concept of direct reinforcement could not form the basis for all types of learning. .His theory gives the theory of learning a social aspect arguing that research and observation of behaviours plays a central role in this understanding. According to Bandura, children learn and observe from other people's behaviours.

He gives an example where some children observed an adult acting violently toward a Bobo doll. Later on they treated the doll violently as well and this showed how cognition affects learning development.For Bandura there is a trilogy of observational behaviourology for childrenLearning through a live model (actual demonstration). Learning through the verbal instructional model (descriptions of behaviour). Learning through a symbolic model(for example the examples and stereotypes set in the media)Secondly there is a concept of, Intrinsic Reinforcement within Bandura's account where he has noted that the external, environment is not the only factor to influence learning and behaviour.

The concept of intrinsic reinforcement brings with it feelings of internal reward, ( pride, satisfaction, or accomplishment.)So the Social Cognitive theory emphasises upon internal thoughts and how these internal cognitions aid in the understanding of cognitive developmental theories and behaviours. For Bandura this is not the a mere social/behavioural leaning theory but a Social Cognitive theory where he shows that mere learning does not affect behaviour.We learn through observations and experiences.

It can arguably lead to a change in behaviour but not the same kind of learning that is reinforced by observation .In his explanation of the "modelling process" he goes on to explain that not all behaviours are learned properly and this depends on the type of model behaviour the child is looking up to. For him the road to effective learning involves certain requirements in the effective observational learning and modelling procedureThe learner needs to have an effective attention span and distractions are not good for learning at all.

For this the learning material needs to be interesting.Retaining information is very important. The learner should be able to retrieve the information learned at the right place and time. After absorbing information,