Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of the mind as an information processor. It concerns the way we take in information from the outside world, how we make sense of that information. Show Cognitive psychologists try to build up cognitive models of the information processing that goes on inside people’s minds, including perception, attention, language, memory, thinking, and consciousness. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) started as the Social Learning Theory (SLT) in the 1960s by Albert Bandura. It developed into the SCT in 1986 and posits that learning occurs in a social context with a dynamic and reciprocal interaction of the person, environment, and behavior. The unique feature of SCT is the emphasis on social influence and its emphasis on external and internal social reinforcement. SCT considers the unique way in which individuals acquire and maintain behavior, while also considering the social environment in which individuals perform the behavior. The theory takes into account a person's past experiences, which factor into whether behavioral action will occur. These past experiences influences reinforcements, expectations, and expectancies, all of which shape whether a person will engage in a specific behavior and the reasons why a person engages in that behavior. Many theories of behavior used in health promotion do not consider maintenance of behavior, but rather focus on initiating behavior. This is unfortunate as maintenance of behavior, and not just initiation of behavior, is the true goal in public health. The goal of SCT is to explain how people regulate their behavior through control and reinforcement to achieve goal-directed behavior that can be maintained over time. The first five constructs were developed as part of the SLT; the construct of self-efficacy was added when the theory evolved into SCT.
Limitation of Social Cognitive TheoryThere are several limitations of SCT, which should be considered when using this theory in public health. Limitations of the model include the following:
Social Cognitive Theory considers many levels of the social ecological model in addressing behavior change of individuals. SCT has been widely used in health promotion given the emphasis on the individual and the environment, the latter of which has become a major point of focus in recent years for health promotion activities. As with other theories, applicability of all the constructs of SCT to one public health problem may be difficult especially in developing focused public health programs. What does the cognitive learning theory emphasize?Cognitive learning theory focuses on the internal processes surrounding information and memory. Jean Piaget founded cognitive psychology in the 1930s as a reaction to the prevalent behaviorist school of psychology. According to Piaget, a schema is the basic unit of knowledge, and schemata build up over a lifetime.
What does cognitive psychology emphasize?Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology dedicated to studying how people think. The cognitive perspective in psychology focuses on how the interactions of thinking, emotion, creativity, and problem-solving abilities affect how and why you think the way you do.
What does the cognitive theory say?The assumption of cognitive theory is that thoughts are the primary determinants of emotions and behavior. Information processing is a common description of this mental process. Theorists compare the way the human mind functions to a computer.
What does social cognitive theory emphasize?Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) describes the influence of individual experiences, the actions of others, and environmental factors on individual health behaviors.
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