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Sociopsychological,
Cybernetics and Systems Theories
Kevin Driscoll, Neta Kligler Vilenchik, Li Lu, Ritesh Mehta,
Andrew Schrock, Poong Oh, Nan Zhao
Agenda
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Socio-psychological theories
Intro
Andrew: ??
Li: ??
Cybernetics & Systems theories
Intro
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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, 9th 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, 9th 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