Theories and Your Experiences

2 paragraphs include references 

This week introduces theories to inform thinking and to explain how things are. For this discussion, review the following three theories that are popular in social sciences:

Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory indicates that people learn by both observation and imitation of behavior in their environment but they also influence their own learning because they impact their environments with their behavior. For example, two people may be in an environment that discourages direct confrontation: the person who confronts others openly anyway will elicit a different response (and have a different experience) than someone who avoids direct confrontation.

Tajfel’s (1979) social identity theory suggests that people’s sense of identity is heavily influenced by the social groups to which they belong. For example, someone may define themselves by their gender, racial/ethnic group membership, religious affiliation, et cetera.

Tajfel and Turner’s (1979) ingroup outgroup theory states that people are more likely to view members of their own social group favorably compared to members of another group. For example, if a woman in a leadership position struggles, men are more likely to assume she is incompetent (personal failing) while other women are more likely to assume there is something environmental contributing to her leadership problems.

Engage in a conversation with your course community about one of the following:

• Use one of the above theories (or another theory) to describe a personal experience. Explain how the theory provides insight into the experience. Make sure to provide the full reference for the theory.
• Use one of the above theories (or another theory) to describe a situation you have witnessed. Explain how the theory provides insight into the situation. Make sure to provide the full reference for the theory.

As always, if you are relying on someone else’s ideas when presenting yours, you should reference their paper, article, et cetera. This includes sharing references to your fellow students’ ideas