Social Cognitive Theory SelfEfficacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Social Cognitive Theory SelfEfficacy - Essay Example A step further rewarding or punishing the model for hitting the bobo doll elicited similar reactions on the children. Where the model was rewarded the children who viewed the tape felt inclined to do the same in order to also be rewarded. In the case of punishment the children refrained from imitating the model in fear of punishment. Following this experiment it is clear that personality is imitated and is alterable when reinforcements are placed. This essay therefore discusses this theory in line with related theories and how useful they can actually be in developmental learning. The social/cognitive theory is the brain child of Albert Bandura and has recently become highly influential as a theory of " learning and development." For Bandura, even though he believed in the basic concepts of traditional learning theory, the concept of direct reinforcement could not form the basis for all types of learning. .His theory gives the theory of learning a social aspect arguing that research and observation of behaviours plays a central role in this understanding. According to Bandura, children learn and observe from other people's behaviours. He gives an example where some children observed an adult acting violently toward a Bobo doll. Later on they treated the doll violently as well and this showed how cognition affects learning development.For Bandura there is a trilogy of observational behaviourology for children Learning through a live model (actual demonstration). Learning through the verbal instructional model (descriptions of behaviour). Learning through a symbolic model(for example the examples and stereotypes set in the media) Secondly there is a concept of, Intrinsic Reinforcement within Bandura's account where he has noted that the external, environment is not the only factor to influence learning and behaviour. The concept of intrinsic reinforcement brings with it feelings of internal reward, ( pride, satisfaction, or accomplishment.)So the Social Cognitive theory emphasises upon internal thoughts and how these internal cognitions aid in the understanding of cognitive developmental theories and behaviours. For Bandura this is not the a mere social/behavioural leaning theory but a Social Cognitive theory where he shows that mere learning does not affect behaviour.We learn through observations and experiences. It can arguably lead to a change in behaviour but not the same kind of learning that is reinforced by observation .In his explanation of the "modelling process" he goes on to explain that not all behaviours are learned properly and this depends on the type of model behaviour the child is looking up to. For him the road to effective learning involves certain requirements in the effective observational learning and modelling procedure The learner needs to have an effective attention span and distractions are not good for learning at all.For this the learning material needs to be interesting. Retaining information is very important. The learner should be able to retrieve the information learned at the right place and time.After absorbing information,

Analysis of McClearns Closed for Business Essay

Analysis of McClearns Closed for Business - Essay Example The core argument or the thesis is that the Canadian government has been causing confusing amongst investors by blocking some bids from foreign investors without clear explanations. The author concludes that Canada could be closed for foreign business. The author has supported the argument using evidence of various companies that have been prevented from investing in Canada without any explanations from the government. Moreover, the author argues that Prime Minister Visit to china to encourage investors from china to invest in Canada has been received as a threat by American investors. Additionally, the Canadian government appears to be contradicting the prime ministers statement by rejecting bids from foreign companies wanting to invest in Canada. Another argument to support the thesis statement is that the Canadian government under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau introduced Foreign Investment Review Act (FIRA) in 1973 and the Investment Canada Act (ICA) in 1985. The two acts were sup posed to aid in setting up guidelines to be followed by foreign investors. However, there were no changes in the application and endorsement process. This has added to the confusion since the Canadian government is not clear on the requirements that foreign companies should meet in order to be allowed to invest in Canada. Although the author argues that Canada has been blocking investors, some parts of the article, arguments, and examples appear to contradict the main  argument while others do not contribute to the argument. For example, the author argues that foreign investors are being blocked from investing but still claims that 90% of foreign applications for takeover were rubberstamped. This is considerably high and does not show presence of any obstacle. On the contrary, the argument depict that Canada is still open for foreign investments (McClearn 34-36) Summary According to McClearn Canada was built using money obtained through the foreign investors. British investors fin anced the building of railways, buildings, canals and most of the infrastructures while American Industrialist was responsible of building most industries and manufacturing plants. Over the past, Canada has always been open and allowed foreign companies to invest. Around February, the Canadian prime minister personally visited China to inform the Chinese government that Canada was open for foreign investment. However, things have changed rapidly, Canada has been vetting foreign company, and a considerable number of foreign companies have been prevented from Investing in Canada. Such companies include Malaysia Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) and Lowe’s. Furthermore, there is fear that the Canadian government will reject the offer for Nexen by China National Offshore Oil Corp. Moreover, the Canadian Government has been showing mixed signals. McClearn views such moves as a threat to foreign investors since it appears like the Prime minister, Stephen Harper is contradicting himself (McClearn 34-38). Although Canada argues that it is open for investors from various countries including the upcoming China and Malaysia, investors from the two countries have been treated coldly through rejection of their bids. Moreover, the Canadian government has not given any explanations for the rejections which has created a chill amongst the investors (McClearn 35-36) Analysis of the Arguments   The statements and the evidence are sufficient to persuade the reader that the argument is sound. Almost all the arguments and statements made are followed by examples. For example, the argument that Canadian government is not giving enough explanations for rejection of investments by most companies has been supported by examples of several companies. Such