SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY

The major premise of social cognitive theory is that human action is caused by three mutually
interacting factors: (1) behavior, (2) cognitive and other personal factors, and (3) the person’s
external environment. These factors do not influence each other simultaneously or with equal
strength; they also don’t influence each other instantly. Time must pass for each of the three
factors to exert influence and to receive influence in return. The three factors influence each
other bidirectionally, so people are both producers and products of their own environment.
Social cognitive theory represents a break from the behaviorist approach, which posits
that environment causes behavior. Behaviorists ignore human functioning because they assume
that it is caused by external stimuli.

“reciprocal determinism”- process that suggested that not only does the environment cause
behavior, but behavior also helps shape the environment.

Bandura later added his third factor, a person’s psychological processes, or cognitions, to the
other two factors (environment and behavior) that reciprocally determine human action.
Three aspects of the theory are particularly relevant for organizations: the development of
people’s (1) cognitive, social, and behavioral competencies through modeling; (2) beliefs about
their capabilities so that they will use their knowledge, skills, and abilities effectively; and (3)
motivation through goal systems (Bandura, 1988).
According to the theory, people are not just onlookers of their own human body as it
wades through environmental events. Instead, people are agents of themselves and of their
own experiences.
The core features of personal agency are:
1. Intentionality- refers to proactive commitment to bringing about a future course of action.
Forethought means having a future time perspective in which the individual anticipates the
likely consequences of his or her prospective actions.
2. Self-reactiveness- is the deliberate ability to make choices and plans, shape appropriate
courses of action, and motivate and regulate their implementation.
3. Self-reflectiveness- refers to self-examination of one’s own functioning, or metacognitive
ability.
 According to the theory, people can learn vicariously through observation of the
competencies of others (Bandura, 1997; Wood & Bandura, 1989). Observational learning
comprises four constituent processes: attentional, retention, production, and motivational
(Bandura, 1986). Attentional process activities include selecting behaviors to observe,
accurately perceiving those behaviors, and extracting information about those behaviors.
Retention process activities include remembering, storing, and actively rehearsing the self-
performance of behaviors retained. Production process activities include performing the newly
modeled behaviors and getting feedback about the success or failure of those actions.
Motivational process activities include positive incentives to perform the newly learned
behaviors, such as past reinforcement, promised reinforcement, external incentives, vicarious
incentives, and self-incentives. There are also negative motivations to perform, such as past
punishment, threats or promised punishment, and vicarious punishment. Positive
reinforcements tend to work better than negative reinforcements (which can often backfire on
the punisher).
The theory distinguishes between merely acquiring information and actively performing
the new behaviors, because people do not enact everything that they learn. People often enact
newly modeled behaviors without immediate rewards, but they may not continue to perform
those behaviors in the future without reinforcement to do so (Bandura, 1986). Most of what is
modeled is concrete in nature, rather than abstract, as much of what is learned must be
performed in a specific way. However, it is possible to learn abstract rules that can then be
applied and evaluated in a variety of situations.
There is a difference between possessing skills and being able to use them. Successfully
using skills requires a strong belief in one’s capabilities to exert control over events in order to
accomplish desired goals. Two people with the same level of skill may perform differently if
their self-beliefs of efficacy enhance or impair their motivation to perform.
People’s self-efficacy beliefs can influence their lives in many ways (Bandura, 1988). For
example, self-efficacy beliefs are themselves critical determinants of how well people seek out
and acquire new skills and abilities. Further, people with high self-efficacy tend to focus on
(visualize) how to master tasks, whereas those with low self-efficacy tend to focus on what can
go wrong. People’s self-efficacy beliefs determine how much effort they will exert and for how
long they will exert it toward overcoming obstacles and accomplishing behaviors. The stronger
their beliefs, the greater and more persistent their efforts will be. People who evaluate
themselves highly tend to have higher levels of self-esteem compared to those who evaluate
themselves poorly.
The theory also emphasizes human capacities for self-direction and self-motivation. People
tend to be self-directing. They adopt internal performance standards, they monitor their own
behavior (self-observe), and they arrange incentives for themselves (self-react) to sustain their
efforts until they accomplish their goals. Through a process of self-evaluation, people keep their
behavior in line with their standards, and through a process of self-reward, people give
themselves positive (praise, pride, a treat) or negative (shame, guilt, embarrassment)
reinforcement. People who perform desired behaviors and reward themselves tend to perform
better than those who perform behaviors but do not reward themselves. Excessive self-
punishment can lead to overcompensation, inactivity (apathy, boredom, and depression), and
escape (substance abuse, technological or virtual obsessive fantasy, and even suicide)
(Baumeister, 1990; Chatard & Selimbegovic, 2011).
Social cognitive theory examines how people can take charge and control over their own
life. People can take an active role—be an agent of change—in their self-development,
adaptation, and self-renewal (Bandura, 1989). The theory distinguishes among three different
modes of agency:
1. Direct personal agency means to take control and accomplish what one wants, and includes
making the best of fortuitous or unfortunate situations.
2. Proxy agency means to get those who have access to resources, power, influence, or
expertise to wield it on one’s behavior.
3. Collective agency means to work with others to accomplish desired objectives.

Please give your criticism on this theory. Thank you.