fei75766_ch17_534-568.indd 559  02/24/20 10:49 AM
Chapter 17    Bandura: Social Cognitive Theory559
TVviolence does notcurbaggression; rather, itproduces additional aggressive 
behaviors.
Therapy
According toBandura, deviant behaviors areinitiated onthebasis ofsocial cognitive 
learning principles, andtheyaremaintained because, insome ways, theycontinue to
serve apurpose. Therapeutic change, therefore, isdifficult because itinvolves elimi -
nating behaviors thataresatisfying totheperson. Smoking, overeating, anddrinking 
alcoholic beverages, forexample, generally havepositive effects initially, andtheirlong-
range aversive consequences areusually notsufficient toproduce avoidance behavior. 
Theultimate goalofsocial cognitive therapy isself-regulation (Bandura, 1986). 
Toachieve thisend,thetherapist introduces strategies designed toinduce specific 
behavioral changes, togeneralize those changes toother situations, andtomaintain 
those changes bypreventing relapse. 
Thefirststepinsuccessful therapy istoinstigate some change inbehavior. For
example, ifatherapist isabletoextinguish fearofheight inapreviously acrophobic 
person, thenchange hasbeeninduced andthatperson willhavenofearofclimbing a
20-foot ladder. Amore important leveloftherapy istogeneralize specific changes. For
example, theacrophobic person notonlywillbeabletoascend aladder butalsowillbe
abletorideinairplanes orlookoutwindows oftallbuildings. Some therapies induce 
change andfacilitate generalization, butintime, thetherapeutic effects arelostandthe
person reacquires thedysfunctional behavior. Thisrelapse isparticularly likely when 
people areextinguishing maladaptive habits suchassmoking andovereating. Themost 
effective therapy reaches thethird levelofaccomplishment, which ismaintenance of
newly acquired functional behaviors.
Bandura (1986) hassuggested several basic treatment approaches. Thefirst
includes overt or vicarious modeling .People whoobserve liveorfilmed models per-
forming threatening activities often feellessfearandanxiety andarethenableto
perform those same activities.
Inasecond treatment mode, covert or cognitive modeling, thetherapist trains 
patients tovisualize models performing fearsome behaviors. Overt andcovert mod-
eling strategies aremost effective, however, when combined withperformance- 
oriented approaches.
Athird procedure, called enactive mastery, requires patients toperform those 
behaviors thatpreviously produced incapacitating fears. Enactment, however, isnot
ordinarily thefirststepintreatment. Patients typically begin byobserving models or
byhaving theiremotional arousal lessened through systematic desensitization, which 
involves theextinction ofanxiety orfearthrough self-induced ortherapist-induced 
relaxation. With systematic desensitization, thetherapist andpatient work together 
toplace fearsome situations onahierarchy from leasttomost threatening (Wolpe, 
1973). Patients, while relaxed, enact theleastthreatening behavior andthengradually 
move through thehierarchy untiltheycanperform themost threatening activity, all
thewhile remaining atalowstateofemotional arousal.
Bandura hasdemonstrated thateachofthese strategies canbeeffective andthat
theyaremost powerful when usedincombination withoneanother. Bandura (1989) Final PDF to printer