The social cognitive theory as used in philosophy holds that knowledge can be acquired through behavior observations within contexts of social interaction, experiences, and the wide-ranging influences that individuals exist in. In extensive research, Albert Bandura, the developer of the social learning theory, noted that individuals observe models that perform a behavior and the consequences accompanying the behavior to guide their actions ( Bandura, 2014 ). It is important to note that a model in Bandura’s case refers to the individual being observed. Bandura indicates that by observing models, individuals can remember a sequence of events adopted by the models before triggering subsequent behaviors. Observing models can also prompt a viewer to engage in the actionable conduct of a past learned behavior. Bandura’s writings affirm the classical and operant conditioning behaviorist learning theories but emphasize their significance by adding that mediation processes occur between stimuli and responses and that behavior is directed from observational learning. In this regard, this paper evaluates the development of Albert Bandura Social Cognitive Theory model, the key concepts underpinned therein, and the real-world application of the model on social media behaviorism towards popular trends.
Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura Social Learning Theory follows the inspiration that forms human behavior right from the early cognition stages in human life. As individuals learn to speak and use tools from childhood, the model indicates that their behaviors suit appropriately the social situations they have been nurtured in. Social learning theory is also referred to as observational learning. The theory focuses on the rewards and punishments that may result from behavior and the vicarious reinforcements that develop in exemplifying future behavior. Bandura uses the Bobo doll experiment to illustrate social learning theory ( Bandura, 2014 ). In the experiment, children watched a film where adults engaged in aggressive hitting, punching, and kicking of an inflatable toy referred to as Bobo doll. Divided into four groups, the first group watched a film where adults were rewarded for the aggressive behavior, the second group watched a film where adults were punished for the aggressive behavior, and the third group watched a film that had no consequences on the adult behavior. The fourth group was, therefore, a control group meaning they watched no films. As a result, when the children were put in a room with Bobo doll, those who saw adults being rewarded for the aggressive behavior demonstrated similar behavior. Those who saw the adults being punished for bad behavior were less likely aggressive to the Bobo doll. As such, this experiment revealed the strong influence that human behavior has on children through their formative years to absolute development. In essence, when children pay attention to models, they encode their behavior. In other words, children copy the behavior they observe to replicate them in future scenarios. Also, due to gender differences and the societal position on behavioral matters, children are likely to imitate behaviors from people they perceive to be similar or close to them. Consequentially, ideal situations present social learning theory models that duplicate gender influences on behavior similarities.
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Reinforcement
According to Bandura’s model, reinforcement plays a vital role in the formation of behavior ( Bandura, 2014 ). Reinforcement can be internally-driven or externally-driven. While external reinforcement refers to instances where children get approval from parents for demonstrating a particular behavior, internal reinforcement develops from self-approval, where a person feels happy about being able to show a specified behavior. Additionally, positive or negative reinforcement might have minimal impact on an individual given that the typified behavior had minimal satisfaction on the individual’s needs. Nonetheless, it should be noted that any form of reinforcement fosters a change in a person’s behavior.
Mediation Process
Bandura further expounds the mediation process that intervenes between the traditional learning theory and the cognitive approaches of learning. He states that humans are active information processors who think about behavior and the relative consequences derived from those behaviors. Cognitive learning indicates that an observation process makes sense only when subjected to cognitive scrutiny ( Bandura, 2014 ). This, therefore, means that the mediation processes are crucial in determining whether new responses to behavior are necessary. It also implies that individuals do not automatically observe behavior or model and imitate it. Indeed, such behavior is put through a thoughtful consideration process to determine the rationale of replication. This connection intercuts between stimuli and responses. Bandura suggests four mediation processes in the social learning theory: Attention, retention, production, and motivation ( Bandura, 2014 ). On attention, learners are required to be devoted and committed on the behavior to learn. In a classroom, for instance, the teacher will enquire if children noticed how someone demonstrated a particular behavior such as kindness. A learner should as well be able to retain learned aspects of behavior for easy remembrance. Consequently, when behavior is retained in an observers mind, they should be able to reproduce that behavior. This is the production point whereby the ability for production triggers the motivation of acting. Ultimately, motivation develops when an observer values the rewards associated with a particular behavior from a model.
Cognition and Social Learning
Understanding Bandura’s model requires the grasp of cognition and social learning concepts. Cognition, therefore, relates to social learning through expectations. This means that when people observe a specific model and behave in the same way, they expect the nature of the behavior will lead to a reward or punishment in the same manner they observed from the model. Insightful learning in cognition and social learning sensitizes that other than undergoing the processes of trial and error learning underscored by incremental learning, people can benefit immediately through observation of failures or successes of others. ( Bandura, 2014 ). Another notable concept in Bandura’s theory is the combination of vicarious learning and enactive learning. Vicarious learning refers to learning that takes place through imitation of others while enactive learning is where individuals learn by doing. The most efficient learning procedure, which is usually practiced in schools, is a combination of vicarious and enactive learning. This is, for instance, where students are taught something in school, and they later test their understanding through replicating an experiment or applying methodologies learned.
Social Learning Theory and Social Media
In the advent of social media interactions and human experiences, there is the widespread application of observational learning, particularly, Bandura's social learning theory. This phenomenon exists amidst the vast global internet connectivity that has eased communication from person to person, country to country, and from one continent to another. Statistics also reveal that social media use is common among teenagers, who are considered to be in the formative years and early adulthood ( Deaton, 2015 ). In these stages, individuals try different things as they see on social media to acquire specific attributes or be able to demonstrate proficiency in a skill. The synthesis of social media and social learning theory can be understood through knowledge acquisition in the context of attention, memory, and motivation. This means that what people pay attention to in social media is likely to trigger a memory stimulus, hence, guiding the individuals to replicate the desired behavior. Indeed, this is enabled through fostered motivation that coincides with memory created from social media experiences.
Social learning theory within the media realms cannot be overlooked with most adolescents accessing the internet and speedy broadband right in their grasp. Initially, learning was demonstrated through real engagement of teachers and learners and universal visual gadgets such as the television. In particular, traditional methodologies filtered most content deemed unsuitable for human learning. However, social media avails immediate content that users can sift through to concentrate on their preferable content. This has significantly affected how people perceive information and the haste involved in replicating behaviorisms of varying types. Ultimately, understanding how social learning theory applies to real-world social media trends will require creating a reference for a risky trend.
“ Kylie Jenner Lips Challenge”
For instance, “Kylie Jenner lips challenge” was a risky trend in 2015, where participants used a small-sized cup to suction out lips to resemble those of Kylie Jenner, a model and television personality. While the challenge triggered impersonating desires among a variety of adolescents, it also went wrong for some. The challenge connects to observation learning through the creation of hysterical desire of being a part of a trending issue. This is better understood from the fear of missing out that is pervasive among staunch users of the social media. Paying attention to such a challenge invokes feelings of desire or smear. Where a social media user desires to demonstrate the behavior, they are likely going to relate with the action and preserve memories of it. However, this desire is backed up by the reward or consequence observed in participating in the challenge. Although absurd, social media participation has rewards such as the creation of fame. Participants of the “Kylie Jenner lip challenge,” for instance, might have sought to find out who can best replicate Jenner’s real lips without regard for the hazards they were causing to themselves. Perceiving this satisfaction is what spurs memory and the motivation to act on it. Apart from the motivation that leads to participating in a social media activity, there is the self–imposed satisfaction of being involved in the activity.
Entertainment Education
Engaging in entertainment-education can as well shape the formation of human behaviors ( Dweck, 2013 ). This can be demonstrated through the exposure of persons to social media programs that nurture positive human growth. The socially desired behavior can impact viewers or social media users in a positive way. This follows a reinforcement of such behaviors, which is essentially crucial to the formulation of long-standing characters. The characters formed as a result of the general exposure to social media behaviorism may develop in three different ways. First, characters that support a value are influential in shaping positive role models. Secondly, characters that reject values contribute to negative role modeling, and finally, individuals who are skeptic about values may project indecision about the value, which indicates that there will be no action taken to exercise the behavior further. The rewards and punishments reinforce these disparate social behaviors.
Rewards and Punishments
Rewards and punishments can be essentially intense in the scope of social media use. Rewards explain the gratification that comes with imitating a personality or developing prowess on particular attributes gotten from social media platforms. Positive attributes are nurtured up to the adult age, which shapes individuals’ future in significant ways ( Akers, 2017 ). In addition, mentorship develops from such orientations and later contributes to inculcating similar behaviorisms. On the other hand, social media provides leeway to bad fame. Bad fame can stem from things that have gone wrong within a socializing event. Indeed, social media fastens the spread of bad publicity as seen with viral clips and trends observed in the media today. Bad reputation, as seen today in the social media circles, has made people develop depression. Notably, depression associated with social media develops due to an extreme desire of being people they are not. Depression could also emerge as a result of comparing oneself’s life to those seen in the social media platforms. Social learning theory thus provides salient intelligence on how people advance behavior formation ( Peters et al., 2013 ). However, understanding those desires can be elusive without an informed decision of replicating them, primarily, through social media exposure.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Albert Bandura’s social learning theory stems from the concept of understanding human behavior through observation. The theory indicates that the mediation that takes place between a stimulus and a response is what designs the reaction expected from the observing individual. According to Bobo doll experiment, Bandura indicates that children are mostly in the best behavior in their formative years where any exposure to human behavior affects their character. Social learning theory connects with social media in the present day to shape users behavior. Through the process of attention, retention, production, and motivation, social media users can desire to develop characteristics similar to their adorable models. This has in positive ways contributed to talent acquisition or growth of person to person mentorships. Similarly, the desire to exemplify behavior or outlooks seen on the internet can be fatal or result in infamous labeling.
References
Akers, R. (2017). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance . Routledge.
Bandura, A. (2014). Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. In Handbook of moral behavior and development (pp. 69-128). Psychology Press.
Deaton, S. (2015). Social Learning Theory in the Age of Social Media: Implications for Educational Practitioners. Journal of Educational Technology , 12 (1), 1-6.
Dweck, C. S. (2013). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development . Psychology Press
Johnson, A., Sakamoto, W., & Director, S. S. (2017). Social Learning Theory. Retrieved, 25, 1-2.
Peters, K., Chen, Y., Kaplan, A. M., Ognibeni, B., & Pauwels, K. (2013). Social media metrics—A framework and guidelines for managing social media. Journal of interactive marketing , 27 (4), 281-298.
