Sociopsychological Cybernetics and Systems Theories Kevin Driscoll Neta
Sociopsychological, Cybernetics and Systems Theories Kevin Driscoll, Neta Kligler Vilenchik, Li Lu, Ritesh Mehta, Andrew Schrock, Poong Oh, Nan Zhao
Agenda • • - Socio-psychological theories Intro Andrew: ? ? Li: ? ? Cybernetics & Systems theories Intro ? ?
Sociology vs. Psychology – Where do they fit in ? Individual Level of Analysis Collective Level of analysis Psychology Sociology – Marxism Natural – Sociocultural phenomena occur naturally Constructed – Sociocultural phenomena are voluntary human constructions Source: Levine, 1995 Psychology Psychoanalysis Sociology
Socio-psychological theories – the individual and the group • Psychology – Study of human mental functions of behavior + Sociology – Study of human societies = Socio-psychological theories – study the individual as a social being • Seek for the universal mechanisms that govern action • The individual as the primary unit of analysis (however…) • Current focus on cognitive aspect Source: Littlejohn & Foss, Theories of Human Communication, 9 th ed. , ch. 3
Branches of Socio-psychological tradition 1. Behavioral theories – how people behave in communication situations (stimulus and response) 2. Cognitive theories – how individuals acquire, store and process information, leading to behavioral outputs 3. Biological theories – how brain structure, neurochemistry and genetic factors explain human behavior Our socio-psychological readings focus on cognitive Theories, with a move towards emotion and behavior Source: Littlejohn & Foss, Theories of Human Communication, 9 th ed. , ch. 3
Bandura: Social Cognitive Theory of Mass Communication • Bandura – trained as a clinical psychologist, interested in phobias. • People learned by seeing models on TV coping with their phobias • Moved to focus on cognitive learning behavior, opposes behavioral psychologists • Famous for the “Bobo doll” experiment
Social cognitive learning á la Bandura • People learn behavior from media models, if: -The behavior is socially rewarded (e. g. comments from parents) - They encounter similar situations - They possess self-efficacy – the belief that they are capable of performing the behavior • People as cognitive learners who actively decide whether to learn and perform • With time Bandura moves to a more and more social perspective
Thompson & Fine – Moving to the group / societal level • Socially shared meaning – how dyads, groups and larger collectives create and utilize interpersonal understanding • Socially shared behavior as a perspective, a collection of ideas • The unit of analysis – the social unit (dyad or group) • Moving from a cognitive focus to a concern with emotion and behavior
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