Social Cognitive Theory and the Power of the Situation

If social identity theory explains how groups shape our sense of self, social cognitive theory explains how we learn behaviors, attitudes, and emotional responses from watching other people. Developed by Albert Bandura, social cognitive theory (originally called social learning theory) argues that much of human behavior is acquired not through direct trial-and-error reinforcement but through observation and imitation of models. This insight sits at the heart of the sociocultural approach because it shows that behavior is transmitted socially, passed from person to person and generation to generation.

Bandura proposed that observational learning depends on several conditions. First is attention: the observer must notice the model's behavior, and factors such as how attractive, high-status,