Social Cognitive Theory Psychology of Media
Alejandra Feliz, Rachel Elizar, Kirstin Elliott-Noon, Shine` Thompson, Addie Han Definition
● Learning behaviors by observing others performing those behaviors and subsequently imitating them ourselves. ● This theory has four subsections of observational learning from media. For modeling to occur: 1. A person must be exposed to the media example and pay attention to it. 2. The individual must be capable of symbolically encoding and remembering the observer events, including both constructing the representation and cognitively representing it when the media example is no longer present. 3. The individual must be able to translate the symbolic conceptions into appropriate action. 4. Motivation must somehow develop through internal or external reinforcement (reward) in order to energize the performance of the behavior. Development of Theory
● Initially applied to media in context of studying effects of violent media models on behavior (children viewing high risk behaviors on TV, increased their tendency to engage in these behaviors, educational video shown portraying negative consequences decreased behavior) ● Social aggression (mean girls- rumors, ostracism) promiscuous behavior (regardless of negative or positive portrayal) ● Simple exposure can result in increased behavior? Ex: School shootings ● Media: entertainment/ Television (shows, movies, news) ● Still most commonly studied area within SCT ● BUT: Model has other applications such as modeling of sexual, prosocial or purchasing behavior Examples Mannequin Challenge:
● Is a viral Internet video trend where people remain frozen in action, like mannequins while a moving camera films them and the song “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd plays in the background. ● Started by a teenager named Emili in Jacksonville, Florida. ● Due to its popularity, various celebrities and public figures have participated in the mannequin challenge, such as: Beyonce`, Adele, Ellen DeGeneres, Stephen Curry, Britney Spears, First Lady Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton. ● Aid in the song “Black Beatles” becoming the number one song in America. ● Example:https://youtu.be/QMhAaHe3OoE Examples
Kylie Jenner Challenge
● A viral Internet trend where individuals try to plump their lips to look like Kylie Jenner and share their results on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. ● Individuals will place their mouths over the opening of a cup, jar or narrow container and sucking in until the air vacuum causes their lips to swell up. ● Many people experienced pain, busting and scarring around the mouth. ● Despite health care officials and Kylie Jenner warning against the challenge, many teenage girls and boys continued to participate and share their results. ● Example: https://youtu.be/7lyyNT1WvTU Examples
Cosplay:
● Shorthand for “costume play” ● The phenomenon is most often seen at different “Cons” (conventions) across the world (San Diego, DragonCon, WonderCon, etc.) ● These costumes can range from comic, video game, television, movie, and real life characters ○ What a person cosplays as, typically, coincides with characters that they love, admire, or inspire to be ○ But it can also represent costume design ability or the flashiest character they could find
Examples ● Ice-bucket Challenge ● An activity involving the dumping of a bucket of ice and water over a person's head, either by another person or self-administered, to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ● The origins of the idea of dumping cold water on one's head to raise money for charity are unclear and have been attributed to multiple sources. The most commonly accepted origin credits Pete Frates, a Boston College student who was diagnosed with ALS in March 2012. ● Later on it went viral on social media, many celebrities as well as other people participated in the challenge and posted their videos on several social media platform, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. ● Ice bucket challenge celebrities Critiques
● Ignores biological influences. ● Focuses too much on the situation and not enough on personality traits, emotions or motivation. ● Ignore maturation and developmental stages over a lifetime. ● Theory is based on the dynamic between person, behavior and environment. It is not clear if one factor is more influential than another.