Bandura's social cognitive theory: behavior and change enhancement punishmentStrengths and WeaknessesEnd Point: Philosophical UnderpinningsReferencesPeople establish social connections that greatly influence human health. Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory (SCT) explains that personal factors, environmental influences, and interaction with others can influence human behavior. The theory suggests that the interaction between humans and the environment leads to behavioral change in individuals. There are some important elements in this theory that concern people's attitudes towards their health. These are observational learning, reinforcement, self-control, and self-efficacy. We will analyze social cognitive theory in this essay because it helps people by informing, guiding, and motivating them to change habits that promote healthy behaviors and helps reduce habits that compromise health. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Albert Bandura is considered the father of social cognitive theory. The young Bandura was always fascinated by psychology, which led him to earn a degree in psychology from the University of British Columbia. Subsequently, he received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Iowa. His interest in human behavior led him to experiment, with a group of psychologists and social scientists, on children. The study is known as the Bobo doll experiment. They learned that children imitate the behaviors they observe. With this experiment he moved away from Pavlo's theory that people acquire new behaviors only through conditioned stimuli, positive or negative reinforcement or punishment. After this discovery, Bandura renamed social learning theory to social cognitive theory. Bandura explains SCT as a cognitive process that occurs through observation. Social cognitive theory highlights the importance of observation and cognitive factors in learning, understanding, and predicting behavior. Elements of Bandura's sociocognitive theory Bandura's sociocognitive theory is composed of three elements and they are personal cognitive factors, socioenvironmental factors and behavioral factors. Personal Cognitive FactorsIn In the 1970s, when psychologists began to realize that influencing cognition is crucial to human behavior, social cognitive theory was developed. Personal cognitive factors are a person's ability to process information and apply that knowledge to analyze their experiences. Four main elements build personal cognitive factors. They are self-efficacy, collective efficacy, outcome expectancy and knowledge. However, self-efficacy is the main element in SCT theory. Self-Efficacy Self-efficacy is an internal mental process of a person's confidence in their abilities to perform a behavior. For example, self-regulation helps build strategies to increase awareness of one's actions. Based on the goal people set, self-monitoring allows people to progress and achieve goals. Low self-efficacy can lead people to be pessimistic and less likely to maintain a good habit. On the other hand, peoplewith high efficacy they have high self-esteem and are more likely to have confidence in their abilities. People with high self-esteem are likely to work to improve their abilities through different experiences. As Bandura's SCT theory explains, a person's self-efficacy is formed through his or her personal or vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and emotional arousal. When people want to start a new task, they look at their past behaviors to see if they completed it. For example, a person who has managed to lose weight on a diet in the past is more likely to stick to it again. Positive personal experiences help build morale to form new goals. People also make decisions by observing others. Furthermore, social persuasion can have direct effects on people's lives. For example, if teens see their role models avoiding drugs, they will be more likely to stick with it. The final thing that helps form self-efficacy is a person's emotional state. Negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, or depression can lead to lower self-esteem which can impair a person's ability to successfully perform a task. Collective efficacy and outcome expectations We all function individually and collectively, at home, at school, at work. or in a social gathering. People's behavior is influenced by social conditions that they may not be able to control. But the ability to work toward common goals or the willingness to act for the greater good is known as collective efficacy. It motivates individuals to collaborate with others and increase social cohesion. Schools, neighborhood organizations or unions can help people build a sense of unity. With collaborations, individuals can change many health outcomes. People have expectations about what their health outcomes should be before engaging in activities. Bandura describes outcome expectations as the result of an individual's action. For example, a person runs with a group of friends for thirty minutes every day expecting to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. This person expects a positive outcome for his health while working in a group. Self-evaluation of outcome expectations and knowledgeBandura describes self-evaluation of outcome expectations as a behavior that a person has with his own internal standards such as self-satisfaction and self-esteem. People tend to do things that satisfy them. For example, a person does excise duty to clear his mind. People should be aware of the behavior they are about to adopt. Knowledge means understanding the health risks and benefits of choosing different health practices. Bandura emphasizes that knowledge alone is not enough to bring about changes in people's behavior, skills are also needed. For example, a person knows that smoking is bad for health. However, that person is unable to quit because he or she may not know how to quit smoking. Health professionals can provide the information and tools necessary to implement this behavior. Additionally, healthcare providers can help the patient understand that his or her actions will lead to a certain outcome. Socio-environmental factors Socio-environmental factors are aspects that encourage or discourage an individual's health habits. Learning through observation of role models or through cultural beliefs determines these factors. A person can learn new things by observing the behavior of others and the consequences of their behavior. Cultural beliefs or norms influence howwhich one behaves. When people receive social encouragement and accessibility, these resources help them adopt healthy behaviors. However, obstacles and barriers make things complicated to achieve the goal. Observational Learning and Normative Beliefs Observational learning is when a person learns by observing others and the consequences of that behavior. While people can learn good habits by observing others, bad habits can also be learned. Before changing any health habits, it is important to evaluate your intentions. A person's intentions can be determined by what they believe is the norm. People may prevent themselves from performing a task that may not be socially approved. On the other hand, people may engage in negative behavior because the social norm around them approves of the behavior. For example, a teenager might start vaping because their peers think it makes them look "cool" and they might be part of a popular vaping group at school. Social support, barriers and opportunities Social support is an important part of being human. By creating social support it is possible to make changes in health behavior. Interpersonal relationships promote individual well-being and help people overcome difficult times. For example, if someone is diagnosed with skin cancer and feels stressed, a friend can provide information about skin cancer treatment that would make them feel at ease. Even with the social support people receive, health behavior change can be difficult due to the barriers people face. SCT theory explains that barriers can be cognitive and environmental. Beliefs about obstacles can interfere with task performance. For example, thinking about the health-related cost of colorectal cancer screening may prevent someone from doing so. Behavioral Factors The ability of people to successfully achieve a goal is associated with the development of the necessary skill as Bandura calls it behavioral ability. People can create short-term and long-term intentions to achieve their goals. Making changes to complex behaviors often requires learning new behavioral skills. To perform a particular task, people should have the ability and know how to perform the task. For example, a person may know that proper wound care is important for healing, but does not know how to change the dressing. Healthcare providers can demonstrate to patients how to change the dressing and ask patients to teach them as well. Before carrying out a task, it is important to establish a goal that can be achieved. Assessing an individual's readiness can help professionals understand whether the patient will be willing to change behavior. Bandura describes that you need to be able to participate in planning your future and create an internal standard for how to achieve that goal. Reinforcement and PunishmentBoth reinforcement and punishment can be positive and negative. An example of positive reinforcement is that a child eats fruits and vegetables for dinner, as a reward he can watch his favorite cartoon for half an hour after dinner. The child may associate the consumption of vegetables with television. He will most likely eat more vegetables thinking about the reward he will receive. On the other hand, punishment can bring positive results. For example, if a child does poorly in school because of screen time, parents can punish the child and get the cell phone back. Reinforcement and punishment can both strengthen and weaken healthy behavior. Points ofstrengths and weaknesses Albert Bandra's social cognitive theory is one of the most studied theories in psychology. Health care providers use this theory as a foundational concept to create health behavior interventions for their patients. Studies show that people use this SCT theory in managing diseases, such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Social cognitive theory is widely used by experienced nurses as it can help patients make behavioral changes on a personal and group level. Health promotion, health practices, and environmental change strategies can help manage many chronic diseases and mental health disorders. This model promotes health among young people as many bad habits start from childhood. Bandura's model encourages preventing bad habits from starting before they start. Additionally, practitioners in the field of sports and exercise medicine prefer the SCT model to assist their patients. One of the strengths of this theory is that it provides practical guidelines for application, as well as intervention instructions and policies. Social cognitive theory primarily emphasizes individual behavior change. Environmental influences are often overlooked when studying individuals. Therefore, the designed interventions do not adequately address an individual's problem. One criticism of SCT theory is that researchers can influence outcome expectations. For example, during research, researchers may provide only a few options to choose from as incentives. Based on people's different personalities, the incentives they choose may have different results. Additionally, researchers often use interview questions to find self-efficacy in people. While self-reporting is a great way to learn details about a person, it can also be inadequately reported. Bennett et al., conducted a study to evaluate the relationship between depression and medication compliance. The outcome of the study was determined by participants' self-reported responses. The researchers found that the responses indicated a lack of understanding and dishonesty. Even with limitations, SCT theory is one of the most influential theories used in human behavior change. Final Point: Philosophical Foundations When developing a theory, it is crucial to consider the theorist's point of view. A philosophical position affects how theory will be constructed. Based on Bandura's SCT theory, it follows the paradigm of constructivism. From a constructivist position, the type of ontology followed by this theory is relativism. Relativism means that multiple realities exist at the individual level. A person's reality can be changed based on his social environment. Constructivists believe that people can construct knowledge as they interact with the world and possibly have multiple truths considered correct. Anything that is not objective does not exist in the real world. Their epistemology is that during experimentation a researcher and his participants interact with each other to construct the results. The constructivist believes that these interactions between the researcher and participants can create meaningful results and are essential to research, as Bandura did in developing SCT. Furthermore, researchers believe that the interaction between the researcher and participants helps to find in-depth meaning of the experiment. The researchers and participants agree with the result of the experiment. The position of constructivists is often supported by qualitative methods in their research. The qualitative method aims at a holistic approach to.

Topic > Bandura's social cognitive theory: behavior and change enhancement punishmentStrengths and WeaknessesEnd Point: Philosophical UnderpinningsReferencesPeople establish social connections that greatly influence human health. Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory (SCT) explains that personal factors, environmental influences, and interaction with others can influence human behavior. The theory suggests that the interaction between humans and the environment leads to behavioral change in individuals. There are some important elements in this theory that concern people's attitudes towards their health. These are observational learning, reinforcement, self-control, and self-efficacy. We will analyze social cognitive theory in this essay because it helps people by informing, guiding, and motivating them to change habits that promote healthy behaviors and helps reduce habits that compromise health. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Albert Bandura is considered the father of social cognitive theory. The young Bandura was always fascinated by psychology, which led him to earn a degree in psychology from the University of British Columbia. Subsequently, he received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Iowa. His interest in human behavior led him to experiment, with a group of psychologists and social scientists, on children. The study is known as the Bobo doll experiment. They learned that children imitate the behaviors they observe. With this experiment he moved away from Pavlo's theory that people acquire new behaviors only through conditioned stimuli, positive or negative reinforcement or punishment. After this discovery, Bandura renamed social learning theory to social cognitive theory. Bandura explains SCT as a cognitive process that occurs through observation. Social cognitive theory highlights the importance of observation and cognitive factors in learning, understanding, and predicting behavior. Elements of Bandura's sociocognitive theory Bandura's sociocognitive theory is composed of three elements and they are personal cognitive factors, socioenvironmental factors and behavioral factors. Personal Cognitive FactorsIn In the 1970s, when psychologists began to realize that influencing cognition is crucial to human behavior, social cognitive theory was developed. Personal cognitive factors are a person's ability to process information and apply that knowledge to analyze their experiences. Four main elements build personal cognitive factors. They are self-efficacy, collective efficacy, outcome expectancy and knowledge. However, self-efficacy is the main element in SCT theory. Self-Efficacy Self-efficacy is an internal mental process of a person's confidence in their abilities to perform a behavior. For example, self-regulation helps build strategies to increase awareness of one's actions. Based on the goal people set, self-monitoring allows people to progress and achieve goals. Low self-efficacy can lead people to be pessimistic and less likely to maintain a good habit. On the other hand, peoplewith high efficacy they have high self-esteem and are more likely to have confidence in their abilities. People with high self-esteem are likely to work to improve their abilities through different experiences. As Bandura's SCT theory explains, a person's self-efficacy is formed through his or her personal or vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and emotional arousal. When people want to start a new task, they look at their past behaviors to see if they completed it. For example, a person who has managed to lose weight on a diet in the past is more likely to stick to it again. Positive personal experiences help build morale to form new goals. People also make decisions by observing others. Furthermore, social persuasion can have direct effects on people's lives. For example, if teens see their role models avoiding drugs, they will be more likely to stick with it. The final thing that helps form self-efficacy is a person's emotional state. Negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, or depression can lead to lower self-esteem which can impair a person's ability to successfully perform a task. Collective efficacy and outcome expectations We all function individually and collectively, at home, at school, at work. or in a social gathering. People's behavior is influenced by social conditions that they may not be able to control. But the ability to work toward common goals or the willingness to act for the greater good is known as collective efficacy. It motivates individuals to collaborate with others and increase social cohesion. Schools, neighborhood organizations or unions can help people build a sense of unity. With collaborations, individuals can change many health outcomes. People have expectations about what their health outcomes should be before engaging in activities. Bandura describes outcome expectations as the result of an individual's action. For example, a person runs with a group of friends for thirty minutes every day expecting to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. This person expects a positive outcome for his health while working in a group. Self-evaluation of outcome expectations and knowledgeBandura describes self-evaluation of outcome expectations as a behavior that a person has with his own internal standards such as self-satisfaction and self-esteem. People tend to do things that satisfy them. For example, a person does excise duty to clear his mind. People should be aware of the behavior they are about to adopt. Knowledge means understanding the health risks and benefits of choosing different health practices. Bandura emphasizes that knowledge alone is not enough to bring about changes in people's behavior, skills are also needed. For example, a person knows that smoking is bad for health. However, that person is unable to quit because he or she may not know how to quit smoking. Health professionals can provide the information and tools necessary to implement this behavior. Additionally, healthcare providers can help the patient understand that his or her actions will lead to a certain outcome. Socio-environmental factors Socio-environmental factors are aspects that encourage or discourage an individual's health habits. Learning through observation of role models or through cultural beliefs determines these factors. A person can learn new things by observing the behavior of others and the consequences of their behavior. Cultural beliefs or norms influence howwhich one behaves. When people receive social encouragement and accessibility, these resources help them adopt healthy behaviors. However, obstacles and barriers make things complicated to achieve the goal. Observational Learning and Normative Beliefs Observational learning is when a person learns by observing others and the consequences of that behavior. While people can learn good habits by observing others, bad habits can also be learned. Before changing any health habits, it is important to evaluate your intentions. A person's intentions can be determined by what they believe is the norm. People may prevent themselves from performing a task that may not be socially approved. On the other hand, people may engage in negative behavior because the social norm around them approves of the behavior. For example, a teenager might start vaping because their peers think it makes them look "cool" and they might be part of a popular vaping group at school. Social support, barriers and opportunities Social support is an important part of being human. By creating social support it is possible to make changes in health behavior. Interpersonal relationships promote individual well-being and help people overcome difficult times. For example, if someone is diagnosed with skin cancer and feels stressed, a friend can provide information about skin cancer treatment that would make them feel at ease. Even with the social support people receive, health behavior change can be difficult due to the barriers people face. SCT theory explains that barriers can be cognitive and environmental. Beliefs about obstacles can interfere with task performance. For example, thinking about the health-related cost of colorectal cancer screening may prevent someone from doing so. Behavioral Factors The ability of people to successfully achieve a goal is associated with the development of the necessary skill as Bandura calls it behavioral ability. People can create short-term and long-term intentions to achieve their goals. Making changes to complex behaviors often requires learning new behavioral skills. To perform a particular task, people should have the ability and know how to perform the task. For example, a person may know that proper wound care is important for healing, but does not know how to change the dressing. Healthcare providers can demonstrate to patients how to change the dressing and ask patients to teach them as well. Before carrying out a task, it is important to establish a goal that can be achieved. Assessing an individual's readiness can help professionals understand whether the patient will be willing to change behavior. Bandura describes that you need to be able to participate in planning your future and create an internal standard for how to achieve that goal. Reinforcement and PunishmentBoth reinforcement and punishment can be positive and negative. An example of positive reinforcement is that a child eats fruits and vegetables for dinner, as a reward he can watch his favorite cartoon for half an hour after dinner. The child may associate the consumption of vegetables with television. He will most likely eat more vegetables thinking about the reward he will receive. On the other hand, punishment can bring positive results. For example, if a child does poorly in school because of screen time, parents can punish the child and get the cell phone back. Reinforcement and punishment can both strengthen and weaken healthy behavior. Points ofstrengths and weaknesses Albert Bandra's social cognitive theory is one of the most studied theories in psychology. Health care providers use this theory as a foundational concept to create health behavior interventions for their patients. Studies show that people use this SCT theory in managing diseases, such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Social cognitive theory is widely used by experienced nurses as it can help patients make behavioral changes on a personal and group level. Health promotion, health practices, and environmental change strategies can help manage many chronic diseases and mental health disorders. This model promotes health among young people as many bad habits start from childhood. Bandura's model encourages preventing bad habits from starting before they start. Additionally, practitioners in the field of sports and exercise medicine prefer the SCT model to assist their patients. One of the strengths of this theory is that it provides practical guidelines for application, as well as intervention instructions and policies. Social cognitive theory primarily emphasizes individual behavior change. Environmental influences are often overlooked when studying individuals. Therefore, the designed interventions do not adequately address an individual's problem. One criticism of SCT theory is that researchers can influence outcome expectations. For example, during research, researchers may provide only a few options to choose from as incentives. Based on people's different personalities, the incentives they choose may have different results. Additionally, researchers often use interview questions to find self-efficacy in people. While self-reporting is a great way to learn details about a person, it can also be inadequately reported. Bennett et al., conducted a study to evaluate the relationship between depression and medication compliance. The outcome of the study was determined by participants' self-reported responses. The researchers found that the responses indicated a lack of understanding and dishonesty. Even with limitations, SCT theory is one of the most influential theories used in human behavior change. Final Point: Philosophical Foundations When developing a theory, it is crucial to consider the theorist's point of view. A philosophical position affects how theory will be constructed. Based on Bandura's SCT theory, it follows the paradigm of constructivism. From a constructivist position, the type of ontology followed by this theory is relativism. Relativism means that multiple realities exist at the individual level. A person's reality can be changed based on his social environment. Constructivists believe that people can construct knowledge as they interact with the world and possibly have multiple truths considered correct. Anything that is not objective does not exist in the real world. Their epistemology is that during experimentation a researcher and his participants interact with each other to construct the results. The constructivist believes that these interactions between the researcher and participants can create meaningful results and are essential to research, as Bandura did in developing SCT. Furthermore, researchers believe that the interaction between the researcher and participants helps to find in-depth meaning of the experiment. The researchers and participants agree with the result of the experiment. The position of constructivists is often supported by qualitative methods in their research. The qualitative method aims at a holistic approach to.