Social Cognitive Approach

Jacqueline Eccles and Allan Wigfield

Eccles is a educational psychologist and the Wigfield is an author who writes books about
distinguished Professor of education at the education.
University of California.

Both agree that social theories of motivation are

integrations of behavioral and cognitive
approaches. They believe that explanations of
motivation can be characterized in a formula of
expectancy x value theories. Meaning that
motivation is seen as the product of the
individual's expectation of reaching a goal and
the value of that goal to the individual. Eccles
and Wigfield added the element of cost to the
equation. This includes how much energy is
required, risks involved, and other options to
explore.
Expectancy times value theories
Motivation is seen as the product of two main
forces: the individual's expectation of reaching a
goal and the value of that goal to him or her.
Example: If I believe I have a good chance of
making the basketball team, and if making the
team is very important to me, then my
motivation should be strong.
If either factor is zero (I believe I don’t have a
chance to make the team, or i couldn’t care less
about playing),then my motivation will be zero.
Social Cognitive Theory and Bandura’s Elements of Observational Learning

● SCT developed from Social Learning Theory

● Learning by observing, imitation, and modeling
● 4 stages of social cognitive theory
○ Self-observation
○ Self-evaluation
○ Self-reaction
○ Self-efficacy
● 4 stages of observational learning
● Eamples:
○ An infant learning to make facial expressions
○ Not being late after seeing an employee fired for it