I am a postdoc in the Economics and Psychology Departments here at Stanford. I’m attempting
to facilitate a collaboration for the Stanford Institute for the Environment’s (SIE) Environmental
Venture Projects this year. This grant funds a project that results in a collaborative effort between
faculty from different Stanford departments (w/special attention to the Social Sciences or
Humanities) towards the goal of addressing an environmental issue (e.g., climate change).
I have found your papers to be extremely interesting and pertinent: An important part of this
project is to understand how we could facilitate environmentally “good” behaviors, and how to get
these to propagate through the population.
We are very interested in employing techniques you developed to get people to model behavior
(e.g., we were thinking of having attractive well-connected individuals model behaviors in the
Sustainable Silicon Valley project (a consortium of businesses and gov’t working towards specific
emissions reductions goals); or looking into having soap operas include brief scenes of actors
shutting off lights before they leave rooms/driving hybrids, etc.).
I also thought of an interesting brain imaging experiment, perhaps for the future, that would tie
into your modeling work and “mirror neurons”/imitation processes (I collaborate w/Brian Knutson).
Self-efficacy
I also think that your theory of moral disengagement might be relevant. I think people often
consider engaging in an environmentally “good” behavior, but because it would require effort,
they employ disengagement and rationalization so as to not have to engage in the behavior (or
don’t have to feel badly if they don’t engage in the behavior). There is some recent interesting
work on “interfering” with the rationalization process that might be an interesting tie-in.
Environmental sustainability by sociocognitive deceleration of population growth
Bandura, Albert, Schmuck, Peter (Ed); Schultz, Wesley P. (Ed). (2002). Psychology of
sustainable development. (pp. 209-238). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic
Publishers. x, 327 pp.
Addresses environmental sustainability through deceleration of population growth. Serial dramatizations
founded on social cognitive theory serve as the principal vehicle for personal and society-wide changes. The
author states that these mass media productions inform people, enable them with effective strategies and
resilient efficacy beliefs, and guide, motivate, and support them in their efforts to exercise control over their
rate of child bearing and otherwise improve their life condition. Global applications in Asia, Africa, and Latin
America raise viewers' perceived efficacy to determine their family size, increase approval of family
planning, raise the status of women in familial, social and educational life, and increase use of family
planning services and adoption of contraceptive methods. In applications in Africa, the media productions
also increase condom use and reduce the number of sexual partners to check the spread of HIV infection.
The author believes that this generic model of social change can also promote environmental preservation
practices.
Social Cognitive Theory for Personal and Social Change by Enabling Media
Monograph Title Entertainment-education and social change: History, research, and
practice.
Author Bandura, Albert
Affiliation Stanford University, Stanford, CA, US [Bandura]
Source Singhal, Arvind (Ed); Cody, Michael J. (Ed); Rogers, Everett M. (Ed); Sabido,
Miguel (Ed). (2004). Entertainment-education and social change: History, research, and
practice. LEA's communication series. (pp. 75-96). Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates, Publishers. xxii, 458 pp.
Abstract (From the chapter) Albert Bandura is a leading proponent of social cognitive
theory, and his work has directly influenced the development of the entertainmenteducation strategy. After receiving his doctoral degree from the University of Iowa in
1953, he joined the faculty at Stanford University where he has spent his entire career.
His initial research centered on the prominent role of social modeling in human thought,
affect, and action. The extraordinary advances in the technology of communications have
made modeling a key vehicle in the diffusion of ideas, values, and styles of behavior.
Another major focus of Bandura's work concerns the human capacity for selfdirectedness, which added to our understanding of how people exercise influence over
their own motivation and behavior through self-regulative mechanisms. His most recent
research is adding new insights on how people's beliefs in their efficacy to exercise
control over events that affect their lives contribute importantly to their attainments,
resilience in the face of adversity, and psychological well-being. These different lines of
research address fundamental issues concerning the nature of human agency. (PsycINFO
Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved)
ISBN 0805845526 (hardcover); 0805845534 (paperback)
Publisher Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, Mahwah, NJ, US
Target Audience Psychology: Professional & Research
Language English
Publication Year 2004
Publication Type Book; Edited Book; Original Chapter
Format Covered Print
Population Human
Identifiers social cognitive theory; Albert Bandura; social change; personal change;
media; entertainment-education
Classification 3040 Social Perception & Cognition; 2750 Mass Media Communications
Number of References 25 reference(s) present, 25 reference(s) displayed
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