Social Cognitive Theory

In the most basic turns, the social cognitive theory refers to the view that one learns by watching the behavior of others. With mass media becoming more and more relevant in today’s society, understanding how symbolic communication influences human thought, affect, and action is essential (Bandura, 2002, p. 265). In this transactional view, personal factors such as cognitive, affective, and biological events, behavioral patterns, and environmental events, work simultaneously and operate as interacting determinants that influence each other (Bandura, 2002, pg. 266). The theory has been applied in varied and diverse areas of life, including one’s career choice, organizational behavior, athletics, and even mental and physical health (Pajares,
Therefore, a major concern is with video and computer games, and recent content analyses reveal that almost nine out of ten video games contain some form of violent content (ChildrenNow, 2001.) With findings like this, conclusions have been made that video games encourage sexism, violence and racism by conditioning children to view the real world the same way that the video game portrays it. This has ultimately led to the argument that children become more aggressive after playing such games. (e.g., Koop, 1982; Zimbardo, 1982) The social cognitive theory is based on the understanding that someone’s behavior is not only influenced by his or her environment, but personal reasoning, social interaction, and circumstantial factors all work together to generate specific behavior, resulting arguments such as aggressive video games causing violent
Bandura's social cognitive theory suggests that children learn through observation, so it would seem to mean that children would learn aggressive behavior through observation of violence in media. But this also means that if children observe positive behaviors in media, they should demonstrate those behaviors as well. The theory states that when children see certain behavior being modeled, they will accept it and use it (Denler, Wolters, & Benzon, 2013). This is why there needs to be an emphasis put on positive media for children and young adults. The Foundation for a Better Life creates public service campaigns demonstrating acts of kindness, loyalty, honestly, courtesy, devotion, and dozens of other values on billboards and commercials. “We believe that people are basically good and often benefit from a simple reminder. We offer these messages in an effort to promote good values, good role models and a better life,” is a statement made by the foundation when asked why the campaign is being done. I believe all messages in the media, good or bad, violent or gentle, affect those who view them- whether that’s the intention or