SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY ESSAY 2022

Running head: SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY
SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY1
Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) was introduced in the context of Social Learning
Theory (SLT) in the 1960s by Albert Bandura. It reflects certain learning factors that occurs
in the course of social context provided with reciprocal as well as dynamic interaction of the
environment, person and behaviour. The unique features that is established through the
process in the social influence that functions over the internal as well as external social
reinforcement (Wood and Bandura 1989). The Social Cognitive Theory surfaces in the
paradigm of retaining a behaviour consistently along with the considering the dynamics of
social environment in which individual practices the behaviour. The theory performs in
accordance with the past experiences of an individual. This is because the past experiences
are associated with the influence of expectations, reinforcement and expectancies. The
objective of the Social Cognitive Theory is to elaborate or provide thorough explanation
regarding how people regulate the behaviour through their control and reinforcement to
achieve the behaviour that was targeted to be maintained over time (Wood and Bandura
1989).
The essay focuses on to deliver an in depth explanation of the Social Cognitive
Theory provided with direct application to an organization that is associated with one of the
referred case studies. With the help of the information used in the case study, the paper
further provides a clear interpretation, evaluation and application. Through the entire
analysis, the essay brings forth how factors impact on conduct. In addition, it significantly
delivers how the model of Social Cognitive Theory related to change and learning. The entire
paper is based on the factors from Bandura’s model of Social Cognitive Theory is association
with the case study, “Staff dealing with hotel branding”.
Human behaviour varies with the capabilities that works in accordance with the
psychological factors that undergo through the experimental conditions. Following to the
experimental conditions and the factors that are reflected in the dynamics of an individual’s

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY2
psychological view, it is observed that the behaviour is required to enhance and sustain them
in accordance with the shifts of experimental condition. Thereby, it is to mention that human
development encompasses variant types and patterns of changes provided with the diversified
social practices. In association with the idea, the personal factor encompasses the biological
properties of the organism. As it is understood that the biological properties are interlinked
with physical structure as well as the neural and sensory system, the personal factors are
involved or reflected through the course of action that is identified as one’s behavioural
pattern (Wood and Bandura 1989). To be precise, it is the sensory and neural system that
structures the human development and it behavioural patterns followed by the past
experiences and understanding of the explorations. Analysis of the personal factors are
exercised at given time and place (Wood and Bandura 1989). This needs of analysis not just
in the context of personal sphere but also in the context of social sphere that projects out the
wide spectrum of life paths. Human behaviour has often been elaborated in the context of
one- sided determinism (Bandura 1991). In such view of unidirectional causation, behaviour
is reflected as being constructed and regulated by the influences of the environmental factors
or by internal dispositions. As a matter of fact, Social Cognitive Theory favours a model of
causation that involves the triadic reciprocal determinism (Wood and Bandura 1989). In the
model of reciprocal causation, the personal factors, behavioural factors and environmental
factors all function as communicating determinants that communicate each other as
bidirectionally. However, there are several limitations of Social Cognitive Theory in the
arena where the personal, environmental and behavioural factor lies. As per the theory, the
environmental changes is assumed to be resulting significant changes in the person (Bandura
1991). This idea not necessarily stands to be true in every cases. The Social Cognitive Theory
is majorly focused on the processes of learning and following such it disregards the hormonal
and biological predispositions that may influences the certain human behavioural patterns