Noted psychologist and theorist Albert Bandura visited USC Annenberg on Sept. 20 to receive the Everett M. Rogers Award in Entertainment-Education (E-E). The annual award and colloquium honors exceptional creativity in the practice of entertainment-education and excellence in research on the use of entertainment to deliver pro-social messages aimed at improving the quality of life of audiences in the United States and abroad.
Hosted by the Norman Lear Center, the event brought together USC faculty, staff, students and guests for the two-hour colloquium, which included anecdotal information about Bandura’s current project as well as several video presentations highlighting his influential work with Mexico’s Globo TV and other global media outlets. Also attending were Dean Ernest J. Wilson III and Chair of the Rogers jury and former USC Annenberg Dean Peter Clarke.
While Bandura’s name appears in countless psychology textbooks as the founder of reciprocal determinism - a branch of social learning theory - the Rogers award recognizes his extensive work in the field of entertainment-education that greatly encouraged adult literacy efforts in Mexico, gender inequity issues in India and China and hopes for the same positive outcomes in countries such as Tanzania and Mali. Adding the elements of imagery and language to the already-established self-regulation and observational theories of B.F. Skinner, Bandura is perhaps best known for his Stanford University “Bobo-Doll” experiment – an illustration of how modeling can influence aggressive behavior in adolescents. Recently however, Bandura is credited with promoting large-scale literacy efforts by showing that learning via “live” experimentation and through television viewing often achieves the same positive result. Speaking to the assembly gathered in the room, he detailed the effects of the serialized telenovelas that have captured the imagination of youth and adults alike, often leading to desired social and cultural results in nations with large disadvantaged populations.
“These serial dramas have tremendous viewership,” Bandura said. “They reach 900 million people worldwide.” He added, however, that there were “few takers” of many programs due to lingering traditions in some countries actually supporting the targeted behaviors of spousal abuse, early pregnancy, genital mutilation and forced illiteracy. In some countries, “a lack of infrastructure” could have dangerous consequences: in Peru, he noted, there were street riots when it was discovered by a population moved to action by an influential telenovela that there were no family planning centers – in fact, family planning was against the law. Thanks to efforts by those who produce these telenovelas, Peru has recently reversed this policy.
In other countries, unchecked fertility rates have led to what Bandura pointed out is global-reaching, “soaring population growth…triggering a massive humanitarian crisis. It’s the massive elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about.” Addressing the problem, though, is not so easy. In China, efforts to reverse such growth have had socially negative effects, marginalizing females whose births are considered undesirable. “We need to educate the women…to do a better job with the half of the population that is ‘written off’,” Bandura said following the screening of a clip showing a young, independent Chinese mother who proudly kept her daughter and refused to buy into the official policy of rejecting female births by aborting them. Years ago, such statements would have been considered traitorous in Communist China – and heresy in countries dominated by religion. Today, these attitudes are more accepted - a by-product of simple entertainment, with a not-so-subtle message: a psycho-social approach to solving pressing social, national and world problems.
The reason? Long-running serials with sympathetic characters going through prototypical situations resonates with these entertainment-hungry populations, and the results of the character arcs strike a very real nerve with viewers, according to Bandura. For example, the violent death of one character in a serial aired in India, after she had bravely attempted to defy a forced marriage, prompted hundreds of thousands of letters of protest. Another show focusing on literacy, “Taroo,” led some viewers to create a school for disadvantaged youngsters, and the show inspired one woman featured in a related news clip to actually pick up a book and read for pleasure – something she had been aggressively dissuaded to do by her more traditional elders. When asked what would happen if “Taroo” were to end, she replied, “We will have to look for another Taroo.”
Bandura noted that the media centers creating social themes for these serialized dramas – and sometimes comedies as well – develop “plotlines” that are written and produced in the style of Miguel Sabido, a Mexican television producer who was also present Wednesday; and in the efforts of organizations such as the New York-based Population Communications International, which pioneered the use of soap operas to send messages of social change.
Bandura’s presentation was not without its lighter moments. After being introduced as one of psychology’s top four “fathers of thought” – following Freud, Jean Piaget and Skinner – Bandura replied that “those guys haven’t been published as much as I have,” eliciting laughter from the audience. Some clips, showing modeled “traditional” behavior that appeared backward to some in the audience, brought chuckles – which later turned to groans when the specters of domestic violence and uncontrolled fertility were brought up in the scripted scenes. Later, however, a clip from one of the Latin-American soap operas showing an elderly man receiving a hard-won grade-school equivalency diploma brought tears even to Bandera’s eyes as the actor portraying the older man emotionally held up what he called “my little paper.” These serials, according to Bandura, suffered occasional negative social effect as some characters inserted to illustrate undesired behaviors were actually emulated by some viewers - but ultimately were shown, via what Bandura calls “vicarious motivators,” how they as human and cultural obstacles are eventually overcome.
Bandura sees Annenberg as a possible ally in the continuing effort to increase awareness and advocacy through the popularization of modeled behavior in these countries. Describing the efforts of communication professor Michael Cody, who has published entertainment-education work with Sabido and Everett Rogers, he sees several opportunities in the graduate track for learning how to promote change in places like Ethiopia - where gender inequity, population growth and disease all create social problems that might be alleviated through entertainment education. The efforts, he added, would need more money and more manpower. It is, as he repeatedly stated, a deserving effort. “[These programs] are designed to improve people’s lives. If a society wants more social capital, develop it. We had a good theory. We didn’t have the resources or expertise to diffuse this throughout the world.” His efforts continue.
Later that day, Bandura received another accolade. He was scheduled to be recognized as the third recipient of the annual award at the Sentinel for Health Awards ceremony at the Academy for Television Arts & Sciences in North Hollywood.
