What is Social Cognitive Theory? Definition and meaning

Social Cognitive Theory

Definition: Social Cognitive Theory is a framework by Albert Bandara for understanding how individuals acquire and maintain behavioral patterns, while also considering the social environment in which they perform these behaviors. It is used to address how people are motivated and can motivate others, how they perform, how they go about learning new skills, and how they self-regulate.

SCT evolved from Bandura's earlier work on Social Learning Theory.

SCT states that when people observe a model performing a behaviour and the consequences of that behaviour, they remember the sequence of events and use this information to guide subsequent behaviours.

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