Social cognitive theory
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I am studying social cognitive theory. I need to learn about the strengths and limitations of social cognitive theory and explain what it does to an individual's behavior.
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An overview of social cognitve theory is provided in this solution.
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Social cognitive theory is a theory that focuses on the effects that others have on behavior. It is a form of learning theory. It generally can be defined by the following principles:
People learn by observing others. (Vicarious learning)
Although learning can modify behavior, people do not always apply what they have learned. One's choice is based on perceived or actual consequences of behavior.
People are more likely to follow the behaviors modeled by someone with whom they can identify.
The degree of self-efficacy(the fundamental belief in one's ability to achieve a goal) that a learner has directly afffects his/her ability to learn. If a person believes that he/she can learn new behaviors he/she will more likely be able to learn them.
According to social cognitive theory personalities are shaped by beliefs and habits of thought acquired through each individual's unique experience in the social environment. These learned habits and beliefs are likely to become so ingrained and automatic that they exert influence without us even realizing it. Social cognitve theorists believe that the unconscious ...
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