The Social Cognitive Theory & The Social Norms Theory

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The Social Cognitive Theory

The social-cognitive or learning theory is the premise that individuals’ behaviors are influenced by observational factors, such as outside, personal, and behavioral factors. Additionally, the social cognitive theory operates on the idea that an individual will observe another person’s behaviors (the model), and based on the consequences or the outcome of the action (positive or negative), the individual will start to emulate that behavior. The social cognitive theory operates based on six key components: attention, retention, reproduction (trial), motivation, performance, and self-efficacy. The idea of attention is based on the individual’s action of observing the models’ behavior, like a child observing the way their mother eats vegetables. The retention phase is the individuals’ ability to remember the models’ actions and behavior; therefore, the child retains the memory of how their mother smiles or looks happy each time she eats a vegetable. The third phase is reproduction, which is the person’s ability to replicate the observed behavior; therefore, every time the child eats a vegetable, they will smile or express happiness (Schiavo, 2014).

There is motivation, which is the internal impulse to perform the action, which in this case, because the mother is happy doing the action, the child wants to feel that happiness, so they imitate the action. Then there is performance, which is the individual’s ability to perform the action regularly. In this case, the child will develop a healthy relationship with vegetables and regularly ask for or eat vegetables. Lastly, there is self-efficacy, which is the ability to perform and maintain the action confidentially, in this case, the child compares happiness to eating vegetables, which will contribute to a healthy growing child (Schiavo, 2014). A limitation of this theory is its focus on environmental, behavior, and personal factors, but not on genetic or biological factors. This is because genetics or biological factors can sometimes depict how a person’s cognitive ability will develop and how they will behave. However, a strength of this theory is that although the premise behind the theory is broad, the six components can effectively shape an individual’s behavior to implement healthy behavior change.

The Social Norms Theory

The social norms theory emphasizes that behavior is molded based on society’s expectations and guidelines. Additionally, social norm theory varies based on cultural factors. Also, it focuses on the idea that people will readily conform to a specific behavior if they see it as beneficial or if a lot of people are emulating the same behavior happiness (Schiavo, 2014). A limitation to the social norm theory is that certain phrases, symbols, signs, and actions are not universally translated to meaning the same thing. For example, a thumbs up in America and many other countries’ cultures or society means a good job or refers to something positive. However, a thumbs up in other countries such as Russia and Australia represent something negative and offensive (Tipton, 2008). This type of situation is vital knowledge to have in terms of international communication. A strength of the social norm theory is that because it is culturally and socially oriented, various positive behaviors are molded, such as values and morality. For example, in my culture, also known as societal norms, it is disrespectful to walk past anyone, including strangers and especially elders, without saying a greeting. Whereas, throughout my life of going to various countries and learning about other societal norms, it is normal to walk pass strangers without greeting.

Reference

Schiavo, R. (2014). Health communication: From theory to practice (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Tipton, F. (2008). “Thumbs-up is a rude gesture in Australia”: The presentation of culture in international business textbooks. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 4(1), 7-24. DOI: 10.1108/17422040810849730

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