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Name of Concept or Theory:
Social Cognitive Theory
Summarize the Concept/Theory (1-4 sentences):
Social cognitive theory highlights behavioral, contextual, and personal elements to help organize and categorize information for better understanding. According to this theory, people create spontaneous responses based on internalized belief systems that are influenced by factors such as race, gender, age, and skin color. People start to learn via observation at an early age, which shapes their preferences and can lead to stereotype development. These stereotypes commonly serve as the foundation for prejudice and discrimination (Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2020; McLeod, 2016).
Real World Example:
When it comes to prejudice against Asians, I have noticed that stereotypes are frequently so deeply rooted that they are accepted without any supporting studies or proof. For example, during the recent COVID-19 outbreak, rumors circulated that Chinese individuals were to be responsible for the virus. This perception has resulted in dissatisfaction towards Chinese immigrants in the United States. According to social cognitive theory, behavior commonly begins with observation; in this case, everyone worldwide watched the first pandemic of COVID-19 in China (Abdullah, 2019).
This observation formed the basis for unfavorable evaluations. This observation formed the basis for unfavorable evaluations. For example, on the reality show “America’s Got Talent,” a Chinese comedian addressed various misunderstandings about Chinese people, goods, and diseases, providing a lighthearted apology for causing a global pandemic while claiming to have been in the United States the entire time (“I Was Made in China” – the funniest AGT audition ever?! | Australia Has Ability 2022, n.d.).
This highlights how a single observation can cause automatic and widespread unfavorable judgments—in this example, about the Chinese race and the current worldwide epidemic. Motivation in this setting is likewise governed by the social cognitive theory. As the theory says, motivation is goal-oriented; individuals witnessed the virus’s early spread in China and subsequently agreed that the Chinese were to blame for the epidemic (Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2020). In this situation, giving responsibility made the epidemic simpler to understand, causing the Chinese race to face racial prejudice.
Name of Video:
White Like Me
Brief Summary of the Video (3-4 sentences):
“White Like Me,” a documentary by Tim Wise, dives at the historical and present issues that people of color confront. Wise demonstrates how white privilege frequently results in an innate obliviousness to racial disparities, charting this gap through significant historical events such as the anti-apartheid campaign and Barack Obama’s administration. The documentary favors color consciousness—awareness and recognition of racial differences—over color blindness, stating that this approach is critical for building coexistence and acceptance in a varied society (Watson, 2011; Kanopy, n.d.).
Apply the Concept/Theory:
The video evidence exemplifies the stereotypes addressed in social cognitive theory by compartmentalizing and overgeneralizing. According to Schunk and DiBenedetto (2020), the cognitive part of the theory indicates that individual beliefs influence decision-making. The film demonstrates that conservative Americans who oppose welfare programs for the Black community are frequently driven by a fear of losing what they believe is rightly theirs. This concern is expressed through phrases such as “I Need My Country Back” and “I Want America Back.”
The social cognitive theory is also related to the notion of motivation via incentives. As the video points out, laws like the Social Security Act, the Federal Housing Act, and the GI Bill have historically favored white Americans. Some see efforts to erase racial inequities as necessitating the sharing of formerly exclusive privileges, which they interpret as “reverse discrimination” (Swartz Swidler, n.d.).
PSYC FPX 3540 Assessment 1: Schunk, D. H., & DiBenedetto, M. K. (2020). Motivation and social cognitive theory. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 60(1), 101832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.101832
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