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CHAPTER III
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Overview
The theoretical frameworks that overarch this study are presented
in this chapter. Social learning/cognitive theory and Paulo Freire’s
dialogical communication are delineated. Finally a rational for
the combined theories is presented.
Bandura’s Social Learning/Cognitive Theory
As described earlier, one of the tenets and perhaps the most important
theoretical underline of entertainment-education is Albert Bandura’s
(1977) social learning theory. This theory developed from experimental
psychological studies, which demonstrate how children learn and
imitate modeled behaviors. It is a general theory of human behavior,
even though derived from the field of social psychology. This framework
is also greatly utilized in health promotion campaigns, education
and communication research. Bandura stresses the influence of symbolic
modeling derived from television, films, and other visual media.
Because of the extensive possibility of modeling in mass media production,
communication research usually applies social learning theory to
explain media effects.
Bandura (1977) argues that people learn from observing role models
in day-to-day life, as he explains it:
Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous,
if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions
to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is learned
observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms
an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions
this coded information serves as a guide for action. Because people
can learn from example what to do, at least in approximate from,
before performing any behavior, they are spared needless errors
.
According to social learning theory, modeling influences learning
primarily through its informative functions. Observers retain a
symbolic representation of the modeled behavior, which then serves
as a blueprint for the behavior. Observational learning incorporates
four components: attention, retention, motor, and motivational processes
that help to understand why individuals imitate socially desirable
behavior (Bandura, 1977).
Bandura additionally (1977) stresses the accessibility of television
and the amount of attention that it easily commands when explaining
the attention process. Other factors involved in this component
are the influence of social groups, and the structural arrangement
of human interactions. Retention processes deal with the ability
to remember the observed model, as well as mentally organizing and
rehearsing the behavior. Motor reproduction comes through trial
and error, observation of the behavior or skill, but the motor refinements
also need to be present to emulate the behavior. Finally, motivational
processes explains that people usually enact behaviors that seem
to be effective for other people; “they are more likely to
adopt modeled behavior if it results in outcomes they value than
if it has unrewarding or punishing effects” (Bandura, 1977,
p. 28). This concept explains the choice of characters in entertainment
education soap opera, the play between good and bad, and their punishments
and rewards according to their behavior. For example, if a soap
opera character does not use a condom, the story line might have
him acquiring a sexually transmitted disease. The reward/punishment
factors are important in bringing the audience’s attention
to the behaviors. The vicarious observation of the consequences
of the behavior in turn increases the observational learning experience
(Bandura, 1977). In summary, the notion of modeling and vicarious
experiences is typically the way human beings learn.
In 1986 Bandura refines Social Learning Theory into Social Cognitive
Theory.
Bandura posits that children and adults operate cognitively on their
social experiences; these cognitions then influence behavior and
development. The influences of behavior, individual, cognitive,
and environmental factors determine how people interact and learn
from each other (Bandura, 1986). The main concepts of social cognitive
theory explain human behavior as a dynamic and correlated interaction
between the person and the environment. Bandura posits that individuals
learn from their interactions and observations, and named the dynamics
that are vital to this process: reciprocal determinism, symbolizing
capability, vicarious capability, forethought capabilities, self-regulatory
capabilities, and self-reflective capabilities (Bandura, 1986).
The concept of self-efficacy and collective efficacy are incorporated
in numerous studies in different subjects. Bandura (1995) defines
self-efficacy, as the belief that people have in the ability to
exercise control over events that affect their lives. Human behavior
is affected by self-efficacy beliefs through cognitive, motivational,
affective, and decisional processes (Bandura, 2003). According to
Bandura (2003):
Among the mechanisms of human agency none is more central or
pervasive than beliefs of personal efficacy. Whatever other factors
serve as guides and motivators, they are rooted in the core belief
that one has the power to produce desired effects by one’s
actions, otherwise one has little incentive to act or to persevere
in the face of difficulties.
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