Albert Bandura Social Learning Theory

The fundamentals of the social learning theory significantly describe offenders and their criminal behavior which is learned based on observation and imitation. A researcher by the name of Albert Bandura along with coworkers tested the social learning theory with several experiments on children and their imitation of aggression based on what they saw and were exposed to. Bandura’s focus was to prove that human behavior such as aggression is learned through social imitations and copying the actions of others. Walters (1966) gives details about the Bobo doll experiment and explains its purpose related to learning a violent behavior based on observation. In the experiment, the tested subjects were children of both sexes, ranging from the ages of three to six years. Some of the children were exposed to a non-aggressive adult, while the other children were placed in a room with an aggressive adult who would both physically and verbally attack the Bobo doll. The control group in the experiment was not exposed to any adult. During the second phase of the experiment, the children were left in a room by themselves with the toys, and watched to see if they would demonstrate the aggressive behavior like that of which they observed adults doing earlier. Walter (1966) describes the results as “children who had been exposed to an aggressive model showed more imitative physical and verbal

Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory describes the process through which people acquire new info, forms of behavior, or attitudes from others firsthand or vicariously. The likelihood of a behavior presenting itself will rely on the amount of reinforcement it receives and the value that the individual associates to it. While some behavior may be rewarded, others may produce unfavorable responses. An individual will learn from the consequences of these actions and when a similar situation arises, they will alter their behavior according to what was most successful in the past.

Classical conditioning is often associated with physiologist Ivan Pavlov’s experiment with the salivating dog (Hutchinson, 2015). This experiment focused on conditioning the dog to associate food with the bell while salivating, and eventually salivates when the bell is rung even without the presence of food. Operant conditioning theory is changed behavior as the result of a reinforcement (Hutchinson, 2015). In our society, we associate positive reinforcements with compliments, smiles, high-fives in order to encourage a behavior more. Negative reinforcement involves jail, detention, and grounding, and this is to stop a behavior from continuing. A cognitive social learning theory states that behavior can be learned through observations, beliefs, expectations, and imitation of others (Hutchinson, 2015). A major difference between cognitive social learning theory and the others, is a lack of manipulation to encourage the individual to follow through with a behavior. Rather, cognitive social learning theories suggest that a change in thinking can ultimately result in a change in behavior (Hutchinson, 2015).

Strengths of social learning theory include the ease of implementing an optimistic and appropriate behavior modification to counter maladaptive behaviors in place, it is applicable to various behaviors, it is easy to understand, and it integrates social and cognitive skills through observation and practice. This theory is considered empowering as it helps individuals identify for themselves appropriate behaviors through observation and practicing the desired behavior. Weaknesses of this theory are that it does not take into account individual interpretations of situations, it does not relate to all behavioral differences, and it focuses more on what is happening in the situation rather than explaining why the situation is occurring.

An example of observational learning would be Bandura’s bobo dolls experiment in the 1960s (Bandura, Albert, Dorothea Ross, and Sheila A. Ross (1963)). Bandura created a video that he played to a group of small children who either saw an aggressive or non-aggressive video. One group of children were shown a model showing aggressive behaviour such as hitting, kicking and screaming towards the bobo doll. A second group of children were shown a non-aggressive video of the model. After playing the videos, the young children were sent into a playroom to play with these dolls. The overall conclusion of the experiment exhibited that the group that watched the aggressive video showed more aggressive acts towards the dolls than the group of children that seen the non-aggressive video. This theory provides a useful set of concepts that provides us with a more complex insight of how individuals can be guided down a path of anti-social behaviour through social interactions or observations. The theory surmises that a person’s genetic and biological endowment engenders a potential for aggression, while the specifics of truculent demeanour, its forms and frequency, the situations that evoke it and the targets towards which it is directed are acquired through

In many different social settings, individuals learn by observation. From a young age, babies observe their parents and mimic their actions. This is a prime example of the social learning theory. The social learning theory “suggests that observational learning can have a powerful effect and that the effect is enhanced when the observers believe that the person demonstrating the behavior is similar to themselves” (Deeming & Johnson, 2009, p. 204). Why is this theory important to society, one may ask? Aside from the fact that the social learning theory is widely used everyday, it is something that all individuals both learn from and demonstrate to others. The purpose of this report is to discuss and review literature about the social

Albert Bandura leans towards the behaviourist learning theories when discussing the Social Learning Theory, he adds that learning occurs through observation and the observing of ‘models’, these can be parents, teachers, mentors or even characters on a TV show (McLeod, 2016). J L (2015) however, disagrees and views this learning theory as a bridge between behaviourist and cognitive learning due to its inclusion of motivation, memory and attention. This style of learning was depicted clearly through the 1961 Bobo doll experiment, here Bandura has models show violence to a portion of the 72 children selected, this aggression was replicated by the children, confirming the process of observational learning (Nolan, 2009). Ultimately this can be

According to the Social Cognitive Theory, people learn by observation and modeling behavior. Albert Bandura developed the social cognitive theory in 1986. Bandura believes that people obtain knowledge and how to function by modeling behavior from others by interacting with others. The main highlight of his theory is that people learn by observation, imitation and modeling behavior within the social environment (Merriam, 2014)). Individual remember the consequences associated with individual behavior and used this information to guide subsequent behavior. For example, an observed action elicits an instinctive drive to model the behavior. Although the social learning theory states that people learn by observation, learning does not always lead to aggressive behavior. The social cognitive theory (SCT) integrates interaction between behavior, personal factor, cognition and environment which is referred to as the “reciprocal causation model” However, Bandura does not suggest that these three factors contribute to behavior (Bandura, 2012).

compare and contrast Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory with Piaget’s Cognitive Theory. How applicable is the Social learning Theory to the Zambian Educational system.

When Albert Bandura first developed the social learning theory, he was interested in discovering how individuals change the way they behave based on who is around them. The theory suggests that children learn from watching the behaviors of others and imitating, or modeling, those actions (Dolgin, p. 40). While parents continue to be the most likely person children model throughout their lives, friends and peers increase their role during adolescence. Bandura expanded on his social learning theory by using Skinner’s operative conditioning theory that “emphasizes the dual roles of reinforcement (reward) and punishment on influencing the behavior we perform” (Dolgin, p.41). Through vicarious reinforcement, Bandura concluded children socially develop by observing the positive or negative consequences of another person’s behavior (Dolgin, p.41).

Not all observed behaviors are effectively learned. Factors involving both the model and the learner can play a role in whether social learning is successful. Certain requirements and steps must also be followed. Attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation are steps involved in observational learning and modeling process. In order to learn, the learner needs to be pay attention. Anything that detracts the attention of the learner is going to have a negative impact on observational learning. If the model is interesting or there is a novel aspect to the situation, the learner is far more likely to give his full attention to learning. Retention is the ability to store and

Based on Bandura’s social learning theory, human development is continuous. This concludes that people are constantly changing, developing, gathering skills, watching and performing. Using Ben as an example, he gradually learned certain things in the ESL classroom. As I previously mentioned, writing was very difficult for him upon arriving to the U.S. Ben first learned how to hold a pencil properly, overserving from others and pictures that we provided to him, then he learned how to write his ABC’s, next he learned how to spell his name, and lastly proceeded to form words and write out short paragraphs independently. This demonstrates a smooth process, which Ben had to perform before attempting to write short papers in class.

By studying Frank Sinatra through the lenses of the Observational Learning Theory much can be understood. Albert Bandura’s Theory states that individuals learn by observing. His experiment included a Bobo doll an adult actor and a child observer. Bandura picked an object, a Bobo doll, that the children had never been exposed to and their fore did not know how to react to it. He then had the children observe the adults hitting and kicking the doll. Then when the children were placed alone in a room with the doll they began to emulate what they watched the adults do. Consequently, showing that the children learned how to interact solely by observing others interactions.

Albert Bandura is a social cognitive psychologist who is best-known for his social learning theory, the concept of self-efficacy, and the Bobo doll experiment. A Survey in 2002 ranked him as the fourth most influential psychologist of the twentieth century, behind only B.F. Skinner, Sigmund Freud, and Jean Piaget.

The social learning theory founded by Albert Bandura, a psychologist. He wanted to analyze how children learn in social environments by observation and imitation of the behaviors of people around them. (Wheeler, 2015) Bandura concluded