 Social cognitive theory is acquiring symbolic representations through observation.  Learning through imitation of observed behaviour.

 Originated from Albert Bandura  Bandura believed in “reciprocal determinism” that is the world and a persons behaviour cause each other.  Behaviourism states that one’s environment causes one’s behaviour. Bandura who was studying adolescent aggression, found this too simplistic, and so in addition he suggested that behaviour causes environment as well.  Bandura soon considered personality as an interaction between three components : the environment, behaviour, and one’s psychological process.

 Bandura believed that there were four main stages of imitation involved in his Social Cognitive Theory : - Close contact - Imitation of Superiors - Understanding of Concepts - Role Model Behaviour

 Attention Retention Reproduction Motivation  Attention – in order to learn through observation, we have to pay attention.  Retention- to imitate the behaviour or model, we have to remember it.  Reproduction – once we know how a behaviour should look and remember the elements or steps, we still may not perform it smoothly.  Motivation – we may acquire a new skill or behaviour through observation, but we may not perform that behaviour until there is some motivation or incentive to do so.

 In a famous and influential experiment, known as the Bobo Doll Experiment, Albert Bandura and his colleagues were able to demonstrate one of the ways in which children learn aggression.  Two experiment involved exposing children to two different adult models ; an aggressive model and non-aggressive one.  After witnessing the adult’s behaviour, the children would then be placed in a room without the model and were observed to see if they would imitate the behaviour they had witnessed earlier.

 The participants for the experiment were 36 boys and 36 girls enrolled at the Stanford University Nursery School. The children ranged in age between 3 and almost 6 years, and the average participant age was 4 years 4 months.  There were a total of eight experimental group. Out of these participants 24 were assigned to a control group that received no treatment. The rest of the children were then divided into two groups of 24 participant each. One of the experimental group was then exposed to aggressive models, while the other 24 children were expose to non-aggressive models.

 Finally, these groups were divided again into groups of boys and girls. Each of these groups was then divided so that half of the participants were exposed to a same-sex adult model and the other half was exposed to an opposite-sex adult model.  Before conducting the experiment, Bandura also assessed the children’s existing level of aggression. Groups were then matched equally so that they had an average level of aggression.

 Children exposed to the violent model tended to imitate the exact behavior they had observed when the adult was no longer present.  Bandura and his colleagues had also predicted that children in the non- aggressive group would behave less aggressively than those in the control group.  The researchers were also correct in their prediction that boys would behave more aggressively than girls. Boys engaged in more than twice as many acts of aggression than the girls.

 Boys who observed an adult male behaving violently were more influenced than those who had observed a female model behaviour aggressively.  Interestingly, the experimenters found in the same-sex aggressive groups, boys were more likely to imitate physical acts of violence while girls were more likely to imitate verbal aggression.

 Bandura and his colleagues believed that the experiment demonstrates how specific behaviours can be learned through observation and imitation.  In a follow-up study conducted in 1965, Bandura found that children were more likely to imitate aggressive behaviour if the adult model was rewarded for his or her actions.  They were far less likely to imitate if they saw the adult model being punished or reprimanded for their hostile behaviour.

 Several studies involving television commercials and videos containing violent scenes have supported this theory of modeling.  Albert Bandura believed television was a source of behaviour modeling.

 A teacher can incorporate this theory in teaching children how to appropriately have a conversation.  Often children do not understand that a conversation is a two way street. They need to learn that you must be patient and listen to others every now and then. A teacher can show a child this by telling children that there is no talking when teacher is talking, or that you must raise your hand when you have something to say.  Through classroom interaction with the teacher and other students a child will learn : - To stay on topic - Make appropriate comments during the conversation - Understand how to initiate, maintain, and end a conversation.

 There can be many forms of non-verbal communication in the classroom.  Students can learn from their teachers and peers that certain symbols mean certain things. For example : thumbs up means “ good job”, and holding two fingers up in the air may be the teacher symbols for “quiet”.  Students learn that stress, intonation, body movements, personal space issues, and eye- contact are all part on non-verbal communication.

 Teachers can apply this theory using technology by having students watch interactive videos. For example, shows like Dora the Explorer, Blues Clues and Elmo are great with involving their viewers in their lessons and adventures. They do this by creating a problem and then asking a question on how to solve it, and then pause for a few seconds so that the children watching their show can answer themselves before they say the answer.  Another way teachers can involve technology is by having children watch a step by step how to video. For example, they can observe how to create a paper flower and then after watching the video create one themselves using the information that was provided for them on the video.

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