Erik Eriksen is a remarkable individual. He has no college degrees yet is Professor of Human Development at Harvard University. He came to psychology via art, which explains why the reader will find him painting contexts and backgrounds rather than stating dull facts and concepts. He has been a training psychoanalyst for many years as well as a perceptive observer of cultural and social settings and their effect on growing up. This is not just a book on childhood. It is a panorama of our society. Anxiety in young children, apathy in American Indians, confusion in veterans of war, and arrogance in young Nazis are scrutinized under the psychoanalytic magnifying glass. The material is well written and devoid of technical jargon. The theme of the volume is that it is human to have a long childhood which will leave a lifelong residue of emotional immaturity in man. Primitive groups and

Childhood and Society.

Theories of human behavior differ in their conceptions of human nature and what they regard as the basic determinants and mechanisms governing self-development, adaptation, and change. Social cognitive theory is rooted in an agentic perspective ( Bandura 1986, 2006a). To be an agent is to influence one's own functioning and events that affect one's life. In this view people are contributors to their life circumstances, not just products of them.


Keywords:

Information Processing and Cognitions;
Psychology

https://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Bandura/Bandura1989ACD.pdf

Social cognitive theory

Social cognitive theory provides an agentic conceptual framework within which to analyze the determinants and psychosocial mechanisms through which symbolic communication influences human thought, affect and action. Communications systems operate through two pathways. In the direct pathway, they promote changes by informing, enabling, motivating, and guiding participants. In the socially mediated pathway, media influences link participants to social networks and community settings that provide natural incentives and continued personalized guidance, for desired change. Social cognitive theory analyzes social diffusion of new styles of behavior in terms of the psychosocial factors governing their acquisition and adoption and the social networks through which they spread and are supported. Structural interconnectedness provides potential diffusion paths; sociocognitive factors largely determine what diffuses through those paths.

Social cognitive theory of mass communication

Family processes affecting the socioemotional functioning of children living in poor families and families experiencing economic decline are reviewed. Black children are of primary interest in the article because they experience disproportionate shares of the burden of poverty and economic loss and are at substantially higher risk than white children of experiencing attendant socioemotional problems. It is argued that (a) poverty and economic loss diminish the capacity for supportive, consistent, and involved parenting and render parents more vulnerable to the debilitating effects of negative life events, (b) a major mediator of the link between economic hardship and parenting behavior is psychological distress deriving from an excess of negative life events, undesirable chronic conditions, and the absence and disruption of marital bonds, (c) economic hardship adversely affects children's socioemotional functioning in part through its impact on the parent's behavior toward the child, and (d) father-child relations under conditions of economic hardship depend on the quality of relations between the mother and father. The extent to which psychological distress is a source of race differences in parenting behavior is considered. Finally, attention is given to the mechanisms by which parents' social networks reduce emotional strain, lessen the tendency toward punitive, coercive, and inconsistent parenting behavior, and, in turn, foster positive socioemotional development in economically deprived children.

The Impact of Economic Hardship on Black Families and Children: Psychological Distress, Parenting, and Socioemotional Development

/pdf/social-cognitive-theory-of-mass-communication-5evqmcawc4.pdf

Social Cognitive Theory of Mass Communication

The effects of television on children's stereotyping of women's work roles

Child-rearing reports of White, Black, and Mexican-American families

The impact of husband's death on the psychological well-being of 226 older widows was examined. Respondents were 60 to 89 years of age and had been widowed from 7 to 21 months at the time of interview. Using multiple regression analysis it was determined that 19 selected variables accounted for approximately 22% of the variance in positive affect and 18% of the variance in negative affect. Higher levels of positive affect were related to widows' religious involvement, number of siblings, and support from children and their families. Negative affect was more often associated with other deaths (in addition to that of husband), housing dissatisfaction, and a history of employment outside the home during marriage. Additional research is called for in light of the increasing numbers and potential vulnerabilities of older women who are recently widowed.

The Psychological Well-Being of Older, Recent Widows

Previous research reveals that elderly individuals report high levels of satisfaction with their homes, yet this satisfaction has not been shown to be strongly related to personal, demographic factors or to the physical properties of the housing itself. In a prior study, a factor analysis of homeowners' attitudes revealed four subjective-value factors: (1) competence in a familiar environment, (2) traditional family orientation and memories, (3) the status value of homeownership, and (4) a cost "versus" comfort tradeoff factor. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether these factors would contribute to a better understanding of older persons' high levels of housing satisfaction. Homeowners (N = 320), over the age of 60, completed an inventory that assessed personal, demographic, and housing characteristics, and a scale that measured the subjective value of the home. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the subjective-value factors made a significant increment in the variance accou...

Shirley L. O'Bryant

Papers

The effects of television on children's stereotyping of women's work roles

Child-rearing reports of White, Black, and Mexican-American families

The Psychological Well-Being of Older, Recent Widows

The Value of Home to Older Persons Relationship to Housing Satisfaction

Neighbors' Support of Older Widows Who Live Alone in Their Own Homes