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Social learning theory is also extensively used in research concerned
with the construct of sex roles and sex stereotypes. At an initial
stage of acquiring sexual behavior, children learn about their sex
roles through observational learning. There is a historical tendency
in advertisements to stress the natural differences between male
and female. Advertisers themselves incorporated these perceptions
through stereotypical definitions of gender (Smith, 1994). Male
oriented advertisements and male characters have predominated children’s
television commercials (Smith, 1994; Kolbe & Mulhling, 1995).
The entertainment-education strategy, based on Bandura’s social
learning/cognitive theory, contends that people can learn about
HIV/AIDS prevention, family planning, among other socially oriented
issues, through intentional messages engraved in entertainment programs
(Singhal & Rogers, 1999; Piotrow et.al., 1997). Various research
attests to that effect. One example is a study conducted on the
effects of entertainment-education radio soap opera on family planning
and HIV prevention in St. Lucia. Researchers conclude that the soap
opera influences listeners to increase their awareness about the
use of contraceptives and adopt family planning methods (Vaugh,
Regis & St. Catherine, 2000).
Some criticism of Bandura’s theory extends to the entertainment-education
strategy. Health communication researchers contest that social cognitive
theory is a predominant preoccupation with the individual, while
in some cultural contexts decision-making is intrinsically related
to the family, group, or community affiliation. Therefore, family
relations and other environmental factors might ultimately affect
behavior change (Piotrow et al., 1997, Montgomery, 1990).
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