Cognitive Social Learning Theory

¶ … articles in the field of psychology, specifically in theories of social cognition and social learning. Each theory may be related in theme and theory, yet they vary in application and context. One article focuses upon the small group or team. Another article's focus is upon the individual, the team, and the organization. The context within which each study is performed as well as considered varies as well. This demonstrates the flexibility of this theory to be applied in various situations, contexts, and levels.

Cognitive Social Learning Theory -- Article Summaries

The piece by Kirschner et al. (2006) is an intriguing attempt to make some critical observations and analyses regarding areas such as social cognition, team building, and perceptions. The article is concerned with how teams establish and maintain mutually shared social cognition. They note that currently there is a relative increase in attention and research into areas such as social cognition and social intelligence. In the work environment, professionals of very nearly every industry find that at some point, either regularly or sporadically, as part of their work duties, they must work in teams. Therefore, the importance of this kind of study and the evidence becomes relevant immediately.

Furthermore, Kirschner et al. relate the intensity and level of mutually shared social cognition to perceived achievement and confidence in performance. Abundance or lack of social cognition is directly related to the quality of relationships among team members. It is also related to the self-confidence of the individual team members as it relates to team performance. They moreover conclude that abundance or lack of social cognition is related to overall team achievement, interpersonal skills, and effective knowledge-building practices to be applied elsewhere.

The study reinforces suppositions that all forms of knowledge are socially constructed and that the meaning of knowledge is rendered from socially constructed contexts. Those who have access and fluency in knowledge construction as well as social cognition are successful team members that directly contribute the mutually shared cognition of the whole team. The authors openly state that their article is to be considered within the context of the social and cognitive learning frameworks. They describe and evaluate the various consequences & processes of learning when a group has an abundance and a lack of social cognition. They refer repeatedly to the concept of socially constructed knowledge and consensus. They additionally place a value onto certain forms of conflict as a normative and even necessary step toward mutually shared cognition, agreement, and knowledge.

The article by Dweck and Leggett (1998) uses social cognition to theorize specifically about personality and motivation. This article's focus is more upon how social cognition manifests and applies in the individual. Though the authors are concerned with social cognition, they are heavily concerned with the concepts as they contribute to individual behavior. They use the term cognition-affect-behavior; they claim this is what their research finds. As readers may guess, as the authors are attempting to locate and measure motivations and behaviors, there is a great focus upon various kinds of goals as well. The research study model is fashioned after and around goal-oriented behaviors. The authors narrow the focus of specific behaviors to be observed and analyzed early on in the article.

Their study participants are children. They identify two kinds of behavior patterns as a result of their study: Mastery oriented students and Helpless students. The kind of behavior pattern measured provided insight and context to other factors of the study such as which theory of intelligence the participants exhibited, the goal orientation of the participations, and the perception of the present ability to emulate or master skills. The authors, as a result of the research data, continue to explicate their theories to say that goals create patterns of behavior and of thinking. These patterns establish the fundamental or core elements of individual personality. In this way the study of social cognition is proved to be connected to areas personality, motivation, morality, and perception. They go on to demonstrate the connection social cognition and theories of multiple intelligences by theorists of various fields including psychologists, sociologists, and educators.