Reflective Essay

Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory

PBE MODEL

Reciprocal determinism is a model composed of three factors that influence behavior: the
individual (including how they think and feel), their environment, and the behavior itself.
According to Bandura, not only does the environment influence a person’s thinking, but their
subsequent behavior influences their environment. In other words, the environment influences
how a person thinks and feels, which in turn influences their behavior, which impacts the
environment, and so on.  

According to the concept of reciprocal determinism, a person's behavior is influenced through

cognitive processes and environmental factors such as social stimuli. For example, say a child
acts out because they don't like school. This results in the teacher reprimanding the child, which
may cause the child to act out even more.

The environmental component refers to the context in which the behavior occurs. More than a
person's physical environment, this includes their social environment as well. Specifically, what
people are present (or absent) and the attitudes, beliefs, and ideas these people hold. So if the
child from the previous example gets yelled at by a teacher for talking in class, it not only has an
effect on them but on the classroom environment for the rest of the students, not to mention the
teacher.

The individual component includes all the characteristics that have been rewarded in the past.
Personality and cognitive factors play an important part in how a person behaves, including all of
the individual's expectations, beliefs, and unique personality characteristics. The behavior itself
is something that may or may not be reinforced at any given time or situation. If the previous
student knows that their teacher is more likely to reward them if they wait the end of the school
day to misbehave, they'll likely tailor their behavior.
In my experience, I can say that I can relate to the PBE Model. Since when I was in a stage of
infancy, early childhood, play age and school age my mom used to pick my dress, cook for me
and especially she always decides for me. As I grew up, I used to depend on my mother because
I know that she knows what’s best for me. Up to now, I am in a stage of adolescence and I think
I can’t decide for myself and I realized that the person behind me really affects my life. Also my
personality affects my behavior, I grew up with a lot of fear in my life, this fear really affects my
life because it stopped me from achieving big things. Up to now, I have this fear of how others will
judge me for the way I act which results in locking me in my comfort zone forever. Lastly,
environment affects my life.