1. By: Vicky Boisvert, Matt Diaz, Molly
Driscoll, and Kelsey Finn

2. What Is Social Cognitive Theory?
• Social Cognitive Theory is acquiring symbolic
representations through observation
• Learning through imitation of observed behavior

3. Who Is Associated With Social Cognitive
Theory?
• Originated from Albert Bandura
• Bandura believed in “reciprocal determinism,” that is
the world and a persons behavior cause each other
• Behaviorism states that one’s environment causes one’s
behavior. Bandura, who was studying adolescent
aggression, found this too simplistic, and so in addition
he suggested that behavior causes environment as well.
• Bandura soon considered personality as an interaction
between three components: the environment,
behavior, and one’s psychological processes.

4. Four Main Stages of Imitation
• Bandura believed that there were four main
stages of imitation involved in his Social
Cognitive Theory:
- Close Contact
- Imitation of Superiors
- Understanding of Concepts
- Role Model Behavior

5. Necessary Conditions for Effective
Modeling
• Attention- various factors increase or decrease the
amount of attention paid. Includes distinctiveness,
affective valence, prevalence, complexity, functional
value. One’s characteristics determine the amount of
attention they’ll pay to certain subjects.
• Retention- remembering what you paid attention to.
Includes symbolic coding, mental images, motor skills.
• Reproduction- reproducing the image. Including
physical capabilities, and self-observation of
reproduction.
• Motivation- having a good reason to imitate. Includes
motives such as past, promised, and vicarious.

6. Video of Bobo The Doll Experiment
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHHdovKHDNU&fe
ature=player_detailpage
• In this video Bandura further explains how children
learn behavior by observing.

7. How Can A Teacher Use This Theory In
The Classroom?
• A teacher can incorporate this theory in teaching children how to
appropriately have a conversation
• Often children do not understand that a conversation is a two way
street. They need to learn that you must be patient and listen to
others every now and then. A teacher can show a child this by
telling children that there is no talking when the teacher is talking,
or that you must raise your hand when you have something to say.
• Through classroom interaction with the teacher and other
students a child will learn:
-To stay on topic
-Make appropriate comments during the conversation
-Understand how to initiate, maintain, and end a
conversation.

8. How Can A Teacher Use This Theory In
The Classroom? (Continued)
• There can be many forms of non-verbal communication
in the classroom.
• Students can learn from their teachers and peers that
certain symbols mean certain things. For example:
thumbs up means “good job,” and holding two fingers
up in the air may be the teachers symbol for “quiet.”
• Students learn that stress, intonation, body
movements, personal space issues, and eye-contact are
all part of non-verbal communication.

9. How Can Technology Be Used In This
Theory?
• Teachers can apply this theory using technology by having
students watch interactive videos. For example, shows like Dora
the Explorer, Blues Clues, and Elmo are great with involving their
viewers in their lessons and adventures. They do this by creating a
problem and then asking a question on how to solve it, and then
pause for a few seconds so that the children watching their show
can answer themselves before they say the answer.
• Another way teachers can involve technology is by having children
watch a step by step how to video. For example, they can observe
how to create a paper flower and then after watching the video
create one themselves using the information that was provided for
them on the video.

10. Our Opinion
• We agree with Bandura, that Social Cognitive
Theory is a way in which children learn how to
behave.
• By observing what our elders do or our peers,
we tend to imitate them.
• For this reason, when children are young we try
not to expose them to people who may say or
do inappropriate things around them because
they may pick up on them and repeat them.

11. Credits:
• http://www.istockphoto.com/microsoftclipartimages.php?xc=MP9004393
75
• http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/bandura.html
• http://www.education.com/reference/article/social-cognitive-theory/
• http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/sociallearni
ng.htm
• Teachers Discovering Computers: Integrating Technology in a Connected
World (7th Ed.), Shelly, Cashman, Gunter, and Gunter (2012).