Author Question: Compare and contrast sociocultural theory and social learning theory. Discuss how the two theories ... (Read 209 times)

itsmyluck · **on:** Jun 22, 2018

Compare and contrast sociocultural theory and social learning theory. Discuss how the two theories differ from each other even though their names sound similar.

What will be an ideal response

Question 2

You are a psychologist who wants to explain each of the following problems or behaviors. Identify which of the three major theoretical perspectives examined in this chapter will be most useful to you in each case, and briefly explain why.

a. Randy finds it difficult to stop smoking, especially when he is studying.
b. Alec has an irrational fear of thunderstorms.
c. Anne always misbehaves in the supermarket, but is perfectly well-behaved in the car.
d. Debra thinks that girls can change into men when they grow up.
e. Coco, a cocker spaniel, has learned to sniff out narcotics at the airport.

What will be an ideal response

Anna · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Sociocultural theory is a newer theory proposed by Lev Vygotsky that asserts people learn through
the interaction between people and their environment. Social learning theory is part of a grand theory,
behaviorism, where people learn through observing others. Sociocultural theory stresses interaction
whereas social learning theory stresses observation.

Answer to Question 2

Most of the behaviors can be experienced from more than one theoretical perspective. What is most
important is that students demonstrate an understanding of how specific elements of a theory can be
used to explain a particular behavior. Most students will probably choose behaviorism to explain
Randy's conditioned smoking, Anne's behavior in the supermarket and in the car, and Coco's ability
to detect narcotics; psychoanalytic theory to explain Alec's fear; and cognitive theory to explain
Debra's thinking about the stability of gender differences