Psychological theories are collections of concepts that can explain many aspects of human cognition, behavior, and emotion. These theories are developed by psychologists in order to anticipate future human actions or events that may occur if specific behaviors exist. As such, social comparison theory and social cognitive theory are examples of attempts to explain human behavior, conducted. Since both theories provide concepts that deserve attention and concern human cognition, it is possible to provide a conceptual synthesis.
The concept that individuals have the motivation to achieve accurate self-evaluations is central to social comparison theory. According to the doctrine, people must evaluate their successes by relating themselves to comparable individuals. Standard comparable bases include demographic variables such as age, race, and occupation (Gerber et al., 2018). According to social cognitive theory, mental systems lead to behavioral results. Individuals’ knowledge acquisition can be inextricably connected to observing others in interpersonal interaction (Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2020). As a result, motivation and reciprocal relationships are two of the theory’s most important concepts.
The concepts of the theories described earlier could be synthesized into a more integrated framework. Firstly, individuals’ motivation depends on their mental constructs, per social cognitive theory. In turn, as follows from social comparison theory, these internal images are influenced by one’s perception of themselves and others. Therefore, the comparison needed for self-evaluation determines not only the fixed identity of a person in comparison with others but also motivates them to change in accordance with that comparison.
To conclude, objectives and self-evaluations of achievement, self-efficacy, and social comparisons are internal motivational processes. Such a synthesis follows from the social comparison theory and social cognitive theory. While the first claims that individuals assess themselves by comparison with people of similar demographics or professions, the second argues that motivation is formed via an internal thinking process influenced by social interaction.
References
Gerber, J. P., Wheeler, L., & Suls, J. (2018). A social comparison theory meta-analysis 60+ years on. Psychological Bulletin, 144(2), 177–197. Web.
Schunk, D. H., & DiBenedetto, M. K. (2020). Motivation and social cognitive theory. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 60, 101832. Web.