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Cognitive Theory

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Cognitive Theorist Paper
There are many psychologist out there who have their theories when it comes to learning and cognition. Each one has their own thoughts and sometimes they build off one another. One of the well-known people out there is Albert Bandura. One of the theories that he is well known for is Observational Learning Theory. He also has a modeling process that address how people can learn. His theory also takes a role in today’s world and how television, radio and media plays a role in our learning in everyday life.
Albert Bandura’s theory was about social learning. “Social cognitive theory states that people learn from role models who behavior they wish to emulate” (Smith, 2002). So, this basically states that people learn from the people they can identify with more. Young children really pick this up when they watch their parents or adults that are in their environments. Often, children will act this out in other environments as well. One of this studies proved that this worked well. One of Bandura’s well known study is the Bobo Study. To sum this study up they put some kids in a spot where they watched adults strike and kick the Bobo dolls around. Later on the children who saw this acted out the same violent actions. This showed that 88% of the kids followed these behaviors, as well 40% of children did this after eight months of watching this behavior. This directs us to Observational learning.
There are three basic concepts to this observational learning. The three main points would be Live Model, Verbal Instructional Modeling, and finally Symbolic Modeling (Sincero, 2015). Living model includes an actual person that is doing or performing a certain behavior. Verbal Instruction Models simply involves telling of detail and description of a certain behavior. Then we have Symbolic Model. This is where they have either a real or a fictional character demonstrating the behavior though a book, movie, television or online media. There is more to Albert Bandura’s model.
This point in the modeling process Albert Bandura was basically pointing out that not just because someone observers a certain behavior that they will be learned nor learning can necessarily result to behavior change. Bandura says there is four important steps to make sure someone really learns something. The steps that are involved is Attention, Retention, Reproduction, and finally Motivation. Why are these steps important? Starting off with attention. Attention is needed to learn, you must first pay attention in order to learn. Then there is Retention. If someone does not retain the information, they will have to go back and relearn what they have learned. Reproduction, someone needs to do the behavior over and over in order to ensure they are doing the behavior correctly. Finally there is motivation. Motivation is important because someone needs a reason to keep performing this certain behavior. How is this seen in our everyday life in watching television or radio or the media?
Teen pregnancy was once something that was not heard of much it was very much frowned upon. However in the last five to ten years it has been on the rise. We hear on the radio and the TV about how it can be prevented, but this does not always work. About six year ago MTV produced a show called 16 and Pregnant then the showed continued following the young girl’s years after the baby came, called Teen Mom. The girls on these shows become popular and role models to other young women, how have these girls taken their lives on TV and helped bring awareness to teen about safe sex and prevent early pregnancy? MTV has taken the concept of how people learn from watching people, they put these girls and the fathers on tv and showed other young teens how unhappy and miserable it was to be a teen mom and father. They showed the truth of how things really are, and how babies do not fix problems as young moms might then they would. Not only are they teaching about prevent pregnancy, they are also teaching young people about how if they mess up, they can step up be a parent, and also live on to achieve their goals in life. They use television and the media like Facebook to teach this to other people.
In conclusion, we seen that Bandura’s theory was a great theory on how people learn from watching other in their environment. His model also shows us that people don’t always learn by watching that they must achieve the four steps to insure that learning of a behavior has happened. In today’s work this learning and theory is proven from how television and media has taken character and famous people to teach other people in everyday life how behaviors can be learned or even change your world when it’s a lack of learning behavior.

References
Sincero, S. (2015). Social Learning Theory. Retrieved from https://explorable.com/social-learning-theory
Smith, D. (2002, October). The Theory Heard 'Round the World. American Psychological Association, 33(9), 30. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct02/theory.aspx

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