Terms and Definitions: Social Cognitive Theory and Diffusion of Innovations Theory, Essay Example

Part 1: Social Cognitive Theory

No man is an island; this phrase specifically defines the constructive background that establishes what social cognitive theory is about. Used in the field of education and psychology, this concept of human learning does provide a strong definition on how humans learn and mature. Through the existence of experience, a human individual becomes aware of the past and is able to foresee particular situations that may happen in the future through implicative perception. Notably, such condition of development is tied with the need of a person to survive. As one experiences situations, he becomes aware of others’ existence; with this in mind, it could be realized how one becomes evidently involved in life through the concept of knowing and learning from others.

This is the reason why it is often imposed that whatever a person becomes is an amalgamated result of how he was brought up by his family and how he was shaped by his society. The rewards or punishments they get for the decisions that they make specifically allow them to note what particular path they would take in line with their goals. Relatively, the basic idea that engulfs the description of how social cognitive theory works is based on the existence of social connection that one is able to establish alongside the others. Noting that a person does not get involved with one environment only in his entire life would post a fact that his being is to be affected by all the different backgrounds he would be meeting along the way thus creating for him a new sense of being (McAlister, et al, 2008). Overall, it could be understood that personal learning could be attributed according to the environment that one grows into. His capacity to grasp what the society provides and to create a personal path to take for himself, allows a person to utilize what the environment readily offers for his own development. Learning in this process is often noted as progressive and relatively developmental. This could be further applied in the field of nursing as healthcare individuals increase learning through becoming more adept in getting the primary lessons they can gain from practical experiences of dealing with their patients.

Part 2: Diffusion of Innovations Theory

How does an innovation enter a society and then later on fades away due to the existence of another emerging innovation? Everett Rogers tries to define the situation through pointing o the instance of defining the concept of diffusion of innovations which provides a definite trail on how one specific innovation gets the attention of the public and practically brings about the possibility of giving way to a more sophisticated and complex innovation later on. From the term itself, ‘diffusion’ hopes to provide a distinct indication on the process of entering and slowly disintegrating. From the point of birth, an innovation becomes highly acceptable to the market. Giving that it is ‘new’, the people would of course be interested on knowing how it works and specifically trying how it works through hands on practice.

Nevertheless, it is obvious how humans never settle for just the ‘old stuff’. The desire to have something new, to create and to innovate is a natural human instinct that cannot be stopped, hence giving birth to further innovations that is most likely better than the first ones introduced. Upon such introduction of new innovation, the first set of innovative developments begins to diffuse. The society’s attention is shifted to the new creation thus setting aside the old one. Considerably, such option of development intends to conquer different possibilities that humans are able to discover. In all these procedures, such innovative developments rely on human capital (Eveland, 2010). It is the willingness and desire of humans to create and make something new out of the ordinary that fuses the condition of diffusion of innovation theory as it applies to the everyday concept of human living. In the field of nursing, healthcare professionals are expected to innovate the way they serve the concerns of their patients through time. With the proper application of correct nursing practices, healthcare professionals are expected to think of innovative ways on how to serve the needs of the people they assist in relation to healthcare recover and development.

References

Eveland, J.D. (2010). Diffusion, Technology Transfer and Implementation. Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion, Utilization, 8(2): 303–22.

McAlister AL, Perry CL, Parcel GS. (2008). How Individuals, Environments, and Health Behaviors Interact: Social Cognitive Theory. In: Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice 4th Edition. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Santrock, J.W. (2008). A Topical Approach to Lifespan Development (M. Ryan, Ed., 4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (Original work published 2002), pp. 26, 30, 478.