Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

The most commonly applied theory in the area of entertainment-education is SCT. Most generally, SCT contends that in addition to direct, experiential learning, people learn vicariously by observing models. That is, models, such as those on television, transmit ‘knowledge, values, cognitive skills, and new styles of behavior’ to viewers.

SCT contends that media messages are particularly likely to influence outcome expectancies and self-efficacy when they feature successful characters with whom the viewer identifies, perceives as similar to himself or herself, and/or finds attractive.