The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) is a theory that holds that what an individual learns could be related to observing others within the context of social interactions, experiences, and outside media influences. This theory stems from the theory of social learning proposed by Miller and Dollard in the early 1900s (University of Twente, (n.d.)). Albert Bandura further developed the Social Learning Theory (SLT) to include social influence and the influence of reinforcement, an idea that “the internal or external responses to a person’s behavior that affect the likelihood of continuing or discontinuing the behavior. Reinforcements can be self-initiated or in the environment, and reinforcements can be positive or negative” (LaMorte, (n.d.)). Another concept of SCT is Reciprocal Determinism. In fact, this is the very central concept of the theory. It refers to the dynamic and reciprocal interaction of person, environment and behavior. It is how an individual with a set of learned experiences is influenced by external social environment and how they respond to stimuli to achieve a certain goal. Through this lens, I have studied the influences of the environment on some Fundamentalist Christians and how they use it to base their view on marriage and divorce.
In this case, an individual’s approach to divorce has been shaped by Biblical teachings since his or her childhood or it has been influenced by peers, family or the media. The SCT suggests that individuals can acquire new behaviors or knowledge by simply observing model. For a Fundamentalist Christian, a model has been already shown to the individual through church or through parental teachings: the Bible and its teachings. In fact, the individual is brought up in the strict interpretation of the Bible. So, growing up, the learner is exposed to the knowledge, in this case, the subject of marriage and divorce, observed through parents and probably the weekly attending of church. The idea of reinforcement comes into play at the age when the individual is actually making decisions concerning the situated knowledge, beginning the 20s. The person may continue to heed to Biblical instructions as it is taught by the church since his or her childhood, or he or she may choose not to (displaying the idea of reinforcement). Instead, the individual may think more openly concerning such matters of divorce and may say it is personal to the couples in the marriage. Here, the individual is influenced by probably the experiences of peers or other family members, who may have gone through with a divorce. How the individual may respond to a personal marriage or divorce issue will in turn show reciprocal determinism. The purpose of this research project is to observe the reasons why Christians in the south may choose to divorce, and this will be based upon the Social Cognitive Theory.