Social Cognitive Theory: The Theory That Seems to Be Everywhere | Ep #32

Almost everywhere you turn in health communication—really, in any kind of communication — you’ll find Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) at the root of some pretty fundamental truths about how human behavior is influenced by others and by the world around us. While you may never have worked on a campaign or intervention that was specifically designed with the theory itself in mind, you’ve probably incorporated dozens of tactics and strategies based on SCT.

In this episode, we unpack its six main constructs and give a shoutout to the many things it has influenced, from entertainment education to celebrity product endorsements to cancer support groups to social media. And don’t forget Bobo the Doll… that famous experiment you probably learned about in Psych 101 that was one of the things that formed the basis of SCT’s development by social psychologist Albert Bandura.

Resources:

The theory heard 'round the world (apa.org)
Social Cognitive Theory: Definition and Examples (thoughtco.com)
Diagram of Social Cognitive Theory
Bobo doll experiment - WikipediaBobo doll experiment - Wikipedia

Examples of SCT in use:

• Sebastian, A. T., Rajkumar, E., Tejaswini, P., Lakshmi, R., & Romate, J. (2021). Applying social cognitive theory to predict physical activity and dietary behavior among patients with type-2 diabetes. Health psychology research, 9(1), 24510. 
• Chirico A., Lucidi F., Merluzzi T., Alivernini F., Laurentiis M., Botti G., Giordano A. A meta-analytic review of the relationship of cancer coping self-efficacy with distress and quality of life. Oncotarget. 2017; 8: 36800-36811. Retrieved from  
• Story, C. R., Knutson, D., Brown, J. B., Spears-Laniox, E., Harvey, I. S., Gizlice, Z., & Whitt-Glover, M. C. (2017). Changes in social support over time in a faith-based physical activity intervention. Health education research, 32(6), 513–523.
• Wang, H., & Singhal, A. (2021). Theorizing entertainment-education: A complementary perspective to the development of entertainment theory. In P. Vorderer, & C. Klimmt (Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Entertainment Theory (pp. 819-838). New York: Oxford University Press.

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