cognitive capability, value preference, preconceptions. retention observe a behavior and subsequent consequences, then convert that observation to a symbol that can be accessed for future reenactments of the behavior. note: when a positive behavior is shown a positive reinforcement should follow, this parallel is similar for negative behavior. production refers to the symbolic representation of the original behavior being translated into action through reproduction of the observed behavior in seemingly appropriate contexts. during reproduction of the behavior, a person receives feedback from others and can adjust their representation for future references. motivational process reenacts a behavior depending on responses and consequences the observer receives when reenacting that behavior. modeling does not limit to only live demonstrations but also verbal and written behaviour can act as indirect forms of modeling. modeling not only allows students to learn behaviour that they should repeat but also to inhibit certain behaviours. for instance, if a teacher glares at one student who is talking out of turn, other students may suppress this behavior to avoid a similar reaction. teachers model both material objectives and underlying curriculum of virtuous living. teachers should also be dedicated to the building of high self-efficacy levels in their students by recognizing their accomplishments. outcome expectancies to learn a particular behavior, people must understand what the potential outcome is if they repeat that behavior. the observer does not expect the actual rewards or punishments incurred by the model, but anticipates similar outcomes when imitating the behavior (called outcome expectancies), which is why modeling impacts cognition and behavior. these expectancies are heavily influenced by the environment that the observer grows up in; for example, the expected consequences for a dui in the united states of america are a fine, with possible jail time, whereas the same charge in another country might lead to the infliction of the death penalty. for example, in the case of a student, the instructions the teacher provides help students see what outcome a particular behaviour leads to. it is the duty of the teacher to teach a student that when a behaviour is successfully learned, the outcomes are meaningful and valuable to the students. self-efficacy social cognitive theory posits that learning most likely occurs if there is a close identification between the observer and the model and if the observer also has a great self-efficacy. self–efficacy is the extent to which an individual believes that they can master a particular skill. self-efficacy beliefs function as an important set of proximal determinants of human motivation, affect, and action—which operate on action through motivational, cognitive, and affective intervening processes. according to bandura, self-efficacy is "the belief in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations". bandura and other researchers have found an individual's self-efficacy plays a major role in how goals, tasks, and challenges are approached. individuals with high self-efficacy are more likely to believe they can master challenging problems and they can recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments. individuals with low self-efficacy tend to be less confident and don't believe they can perform well, which leads them to avoid challenging tasks. therefore, self-efficacy plays a central role in behavior performance. observers who have high level of self-efficacy are more likely to adopt observational learning behaviors. self-efficacy can be developed or increased by: mastery experience, which is a process that helps an individual achieve simple tasks that lead to more complex objectives. social modeling provides an identifiable model that shows the processes that accomplish a behavior. improving physical and emotional states refers to ensuring a person is rested and relaxed prior to attempting a new behavior. the less relaxed, the less patient, the more likely they won't attain the goal behavior. verbal persuasion is providing encouragement for a person to complete a task or achieve a certain behavior. for example, students become more effortful, active, pay attention, highly motivated and better learners when they perceive that they have mastered a particular task. it is the duty of the teacher to allow student to perceive in their efficacy by providing feedback to understand their level of proficiency. teachers should ensure that the students have the knowledge and strategies they need to complete the tasks. self-efficacy has also been used to predict behavior in various health related situations such as weight loss, quitting smoking, and recovery from heart attack. in relation to exercise science, self-efficacy has produced some of the most consistent results revealing an increase in participation in exercise. identification identification allows the observer to feel a one-to-one similarity with the model, and can thus lead to a higher chance of the observer following through with the modeled action. people are more likely to follow behaviors modeled by someone with whom they can identify. the more commonalities or emotional attachments perceived between the observer and the model, the more likely the observer learns and reenacts the modeled behavior. applications media contents studies social cognitive theory is often applied as a theoretical framework of studies pertained to media representation regarding race, gender, age and beyond. social cognitive theory suggested heavily repeated images presented in mass media can be potentially processed and encoded by the viewers (bandura, 2011). media content analytic studies examine the substratum of media messages that viewers are exposed to, which could provide an opportunity to uncover the social values attached to these media representations. although media contents studies cannot directly test the cognitive process, findings can offer an avenue to predict potential media effects from modeling certain contents, which provides evidence and guidelines for designing subsequent empirical work. media effects studies social cognitive theory is pervasively employed in studies examining attitude or behavior changes triggered by the mass media. as bandura suggested, people can learn how to perform behaviors through media modeling. sct has been widely applied in media studies pertained to sports, health, education and beyond. for instance, hardin and greer in 2009 examined the gender-typing of sports within the theoretical framework of social cognitive theory, suggesting that sports media consumption and gender-role socialization significantly related with gender perception of sports in american college students. in health communication, social cognitive theory has been applied in research related to smoking cessation, hiv prevention, safe sex behaviors, and so on. for example, martino, collins, kanouse, elliott, and berry in 2005 examined the relationship between the exposure to television’s sexual content and adolescents’ sexual behavior through the lens of social cognitive theory, confirming the significant relationship between the two variables among white and african american groups; however, no significant correlation was found between the two variables in the ethic group of hispanics, indicating that peer norm could possibly serve as a mediator of the two examined variables. physical activity albert bandura defines perceived self-efficacy as "people's beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives." self-efficacy is just one of six constructs that sct is based on; the other five include reciprocal determinism, behavioral capability, observational learning, reinforcements, and expectations. a lack of physical activity has been shown to contribute to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer even in individuals without any other risk factors. social cognitive theory can be helpful in identifying motivating factors that lead to increased physical activity across age and gender. a study by yael netz and shulamith raviv in 2004 found positive correlations between high levels of self-efficacy when compared to physical activity. these findings suggest the best motivational method to increase the rate of physical activity is one that first increases perceived self-efficacy. as applied to public health campaigns, the first symptom to address is low levels of perceived self-efficacy rather than low levels of physical activity, since addressing the former may rectify the latter. a different study conducted in 2015 observed similar results. the goal of this study was to identify if sct could be used to “…improve physical activity (pa) interventions by identifying which variables to target to maximize intervention impact.” by following 204 overweight men over the course of a three-month weight loss program, researchers applied a longitudinal, latent variable structural equation model to test sct-related constructs including self-efficacy, outcome expectations, intention and social support as they apply toward self-reported changes in physical activity level. researchers found self-efficacy as the most important indicator for physical activity, while noting a non-zero effect of intention on increased physical activity. as such, weight loss programs focused on increasing the physical activity levels of participants should aim to increase participant self-efficacy in order to achieve desirable results. physical activity levels, on average, decline during one’s life – particularly during adolescence. sct can be used to explain the most prevalent contributing factors to this marked decrease in physical activity among adolescents and then develop appropriate intervention methods to best change this phenomenon. one study in particular addresses this subject through the sct framework. researchers mailed questionnaires to a random sample of 937 undergraduate students in the u.s. to measure the influence of personal, behavioral, and environmental factors on exercise behavior change. for both men and women, increased self-efficacy was the most important predictor in signifying positive changes to exercise behavior and physical activity. sct can be applied to public health campaigns in an attempt to foster a more healthy public through exercise; as it relates, multiple studies find self-efficacy as the most important variable in predicting high- or low-levels of physical activity. aids miller's 2005 study found that choosing the proper gender, age, and ethnicity for models ensured the success of an aids campaign to inner city teenagers. this occurred because participants could identify with a recognizable peer, have a greater sense of self-efficacy, and then imitate the actions to learn the proper preventions and actions. breastfeeding a study by azza ahmed in 2009 looked to see if there would be an increase in breastfeeding by mothers of preterm infants when exposed to a breastfeeding educational program guided by sct. sixty mothers were randomly assigned to either participate in the program or they were given routine care. the program consisted of sct strategies that touched on all three sct determinants: personal – showing models performing breastfeeding correctly to improve self-efficacy, behavioral –weekly check-ins for three months reinforced participants' skills, environmental – mothers were given an observational checklist to make sure they successfully completed the behavior. the author found that mothers exposed to the program showed significant improvement in their breastfeeding skills, were more likely to exclusively breastfeed, and had fewer problems then the mothers who were not exposed to the educational program. morality social cognitive theory emphasizes a large difference between an individual's ability to be morally competent and morally performing. moral competence involves having the ability to perform a moral behavior, whereas moral performance indicates actually following one's idea of moral behavior in a specific situation. moral competencies include: what an individual is capable of what an individual knows what an individual's skills are an individual's awareness of moral rules and regulations an individual's cognitive ability to construct behaviors as far as an individual's development is concerned, moral competence is the growth of cognitive-sensory processes; simply put, being aware of what is considered right and wrong. by comparison, moral performance is influenced by the possible rewards and incentives to act a certain way. for example, a person's moral competence might tell them that stealing is wrong and frowned upon by society; however, if the reward for stealing is a substantial sum, their moral performance might indicate a different line of thought. therein lies the core of social cognitive theory. for the most part, social cognitive theory remains the same for various cultures. since the concepts of moral behavior did not vary much between cultures (as crimes like murder, theft, and unwarranted violence are illegal in virtually every society), there is not much room for people to have different views on what is morally right or wrong. the main reason that social cognitive theory applies to all nations is because it does not say what is moral and immoral; it simply states that we can acknowledge these two concepts. our actions in real-life scenarios are based on whether we believe the action is moral and whether the reward for violating our morals is significant enough, and nothing else. limitations modelling and mass media in series tv