SocialScienceDraftSarahShannon.docx

1 Social Cognitive Theory Sarah Shannon Craven Community College ENG-112 Professor Foley November 28 th 2023

2 Abstract As humans grow and mature from early childhood there are key factors that contribute to the development of personality. The environment in which one develops and socialization is an important mechanism that helps drive thought, motivation, and action. Parents help shape growing minds and begin to teach social standards. Experiences from school and peer relationships inspire goals, confidence in ability, and personal development. Evolving and maturing through adulthood comes with endless challenges and responsibilities, building character through experience and influence. Inner thoughts along with social connections and environmental changes contribute to the development of what type of person one becomes and how they make an impact on the world.

3 The Social Cognitive Theory When viewing society today it is readily shown that people influence and are influenced by the environment they live in. Television, music, books, and interpersonal relationships impact our thoughts, motivations, and actions. Influence stimulates motivation which more often leads to action. Social Cognitive Theory integrates individual experiences, actions of others, and environmental elements that influence daily life choices and who people become. How do environments affect children and their personality development? Are people the sum of their experiences? What or who motivates daily habits and choices as we grow and mature? The social cognitive theory is a continual process that can be perceived as a contributing factor in personality development from childhood to adulthood.

4 Literature Review The Social Cognitive Theory is a theory that is used in many ways, like in applied behavior analysis (ABA) or the education system. This theory was created by Albert Bandura in 1986. It was first known as the Social Learning Theory in the 1960s and later evolved into Social Cognitive Theory. Changing 'learning' to cognitive' gave a broader explanation of the workings of the mind and brain beyond the learning aspect. Albert Bandura is most known for his Bobo doll studies, observational learning, self-efficacy (belief in one's ability), and social learning theory. He earned his Ph.D. in psychology in 1952 from the University of British Columbia and went on to work at Stanford University until retirement. His social learning theory focused on learning through observation, and that people mostly learn from modeling or imitation. His most famous experiment was the Bobo doll study in 1961. Bandura made a movie that showed an adult acting aggressively and yelling at the Bobo doll. Afterward, a group of children between the ages of 3-6 were shown the video and then brought into a room with the same doll. The group who witnessed aggressive behavior towards the doll had acted out against the doll as well when presented with it. The results emphasized Bandura's suggestion that behavior wasn't always led by reinforcement or punishment like behaviorists before had hypothesized. BF Skinner had suggested that behavior came only from a stimulus-response cycle. Bandura's theory dives deeper into the human psyche and looks into the complexity of the mind, instead of viewing humans like laboratory mice. This theory was first known as the Social Learning Theory (SLT) and suggested people imitate the world and people around them, like 'monkey see, monkey do.' Albert Bandura and Richard Walters based their theory on the perspective of Neal Miller and John Dollard in 1941,

5 who asserted that patterns of behavior were made from social or biological drives affected by conditioning and reinforcement. Bandura believed that while the biological side is important, people learn more through first observing and then imitating. A person doesn't just respond to stimuli they interpret it, make judgments, perceive it, and then produce a favorable response. In 2018 a study was done to find the correlation between early childhood environments and whether it led them to be considerate people with knowledge-sharing abilities. Learning to share as a child is one of the first steps to thinking outside of one's self, this study suggests that this kind of altruism affects people as grow into working, contributing adults. The study emphasizes how parenting and social exposure influence a child's personal development and foundation of what kind of behaviors they will display later in life. The theory was tested using a combination of surveys regarding parenting styles, socialization goals, and children's knowledge- sharing behavior. The subjects of the surveys were asked to share demographics such as gender, age, year of education, current employment status, work experience, and educational background. The results of the study concluded that the majority of children raised in an environment that encourages sacrifice or sharing for the greater good will encourage selfless behavior later on in adulthood. Further research is suggested on how the different parenting styles may also differ in the way this behavior is shaped in children, and that testing this in the form of a survey may show a bias. For a child to grow and mature healthily, parents and the environment they raise their children are crucial aspects of their future development. Children are dependent on parental guidance and a nourishing environment to learn self-regulation and socialization skills that benefit them later in life. “Cooperative, motivated, and responsible children are a result of the authoritative parenting style, while the uncooperative, immature, irresponsible child is elicited by

6 the uninvolved parenting style. Environmental and behavioral genetic patterns also play a role in children's cognitive development (Lanjekar et al. 2022).” The tone and words spoken to children by their parents become their inner dialogue with themselves and can establish the way they interact with the world around them. In 2019, researcher Dr. Christina Bethell shared the results of a study conducted on just over 6,000 adults at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Bell was attempting to relate Positive Childhood Experiences (PCE) with positive emotional health in adults. For the kids with high Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), they were curious as to what helps build resiliency to help them thrive in those difficult environments. Individuals with high ACE scores showed increased mental health diagnoses, lower high school graduation rates, and more negative outcomes. When surveying the individuals on PCE’s Dr. Bethell focused on general questions, like were you able to discuss your feelings with our family, or whether they felt safe and protected by an adult in their home. These questions were not only applicable to anyone despite race or social status, but they focused on the impact of the experiences on the individual whether negative or positive. Results from the survey found lower rates of mental health issues later as well as higher rates of healthy and supportive relationships as an adult.

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