Social Cognitive Theory
- Social cognitive theory posits that an individual's behavior is primarily learned through his or her observation of others as well as through interaction with his or her environment. Through observing the behavior of others, one is able to construct models of appropriate behavior in one's mind and to form expectations and judgments about the likely outcomes of reproducing that behavior oneself. This means that behavior is largely learned and that one has the ability to reflect upon the behavior of oneself and others to determine appropriate behavior. It also means that if one's behavior is antisocial, one has the ability to reflect upon one's own behavior and to take a stand on that behavior, thus changing one's self-perception and altering one's own behavior. This is called self-efficacy.
- Because of the complex structure of social cognitive theory, it is often difficult to implement in total. Thus, one often finds that only the most easily implemented aspects of the theory, such as self-efficacy, are actually institutionalized in practice.
- Because social cognitive theory posits a dynamic interaction between the environment and the individual, it supposes that one is largely determined by one's situation and that changes in that situation will thus change behavior. However, it has been argued that for many people, behavior is much more consistent regardless of situation and that simple changes in environment do not always lead to changes in behavior.
- It has been argued that because social cognitive theory places so much emphasis on cognitive abilities such as modeling and forming expectations, it ignores biological or hormonal determinants. Some psychologists argue that biological or hormonal processes can largely shape the way people reason and make decisions regardless of past experiences or cognition.
- It has been argued that social cognitive theory ignores innate genetic differences and differences in learning ability. For instance, it has been argued that some people may be innately better at learning some skills than others. Additionally, some people with learning deficiencies may not be as good at observing and modeling behavior. Social cognitive theory has been criticized for ignoring these differences.