Albert Bandura 's Social Learning Theory

The learning theory selected for this essay is the social learning theory proposed by Albert Bandura during the 1960s. The theory was influential in explaining how learning takes place in a social environment. This theory helped to emphasize the role of the social environment in the learning process. According to the social learning theory, an individual learns through the influences of the environment on the mind. The sense impressions from the environment are instrumental in shaping perceptions and connections that promote

One of the central tenants of Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, which is also called Social Cognitive Theory, is that “aggression in children is influenced by the reinforcement of family members, the media, and the environment” (Bandura, 1975, pp. 206-208). Evans (1989) suggested that the basis for Bandura’s theories came from work completed by researchers Miller and Dollard (1941) who suggested that human development is actively influenced by “response consequences” (Evans, 1989, p. 4), but regardless of the impetus for Bandura’s work, he is most known for his work regarding aggression in children. This paper will focus on why the principles of Bandura’s Social Learning Theory will benefit leaders in school environments as they

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.

Bandura had developed the theory on social learning, this is based on we learn from one and another through

Social learning theory is the cumulative works of many psychologists and sociologists, the most influential of these, was Bandura (1969, 1977 and 1986) whose works were the first to combine the principles of cognitive psychology and those of behavioural learning (the two prominent theories of the time). Bandura’s (1969, 1977 and 1986) social learning theory contained four major constructs: differential reinforcement (differing consequences for a specific behaviour dependent on the social context and situation), vicarious learning (acquiring new behaviours by observing said behaviours being reinforced in others or through communication), cognitive processes (the belief that cognitive processes such as information retrieval, encoding and organizing, regulate behaviour) and triadic reciprocity (a principle that says, the environment, cognitions and behaviour all mutually influence each other).

Social learning theory, developed by Bandura, discusses how people learn from one another through observation, modeling, and imitation bridging an individual’s attention, memory and motivation. Social learning theory identifies the importance of cognition, observable behavior, individual self-efficacy, and the extent of how the events surrounding an individual affect them; their locus of control. Social learning theory also looks at individual problem behavior being influenced by positive or negative reinforcement (Ashford & LeCroy, 2012).

This theory is similar to other learning theories in that it encompasses personality and other aspects of social development. Unlike the social exchange theory, which focuses on reinforcement of negative and positive behavior the social learning theory, focuses on observation and initiation. Reinforcement can increase the likelihood for imitation but is not necessary for learning (Siegler, Deloache, & Eisenberg, 2014). Bandura (1989) states that the interchange of positive behaviors between relationships will exhibit trust and growth within the relationship where as the opposite will occur with negative behaviors. Social learning can occur either deliberately or inadverntatly by observing behaviors and the consequences associated with them. “But most aspects of the environment do not operate as an influence until they are activated by appropriate behavior… The aspect of the potential environment that becomes the actual environment for given individuals thus depends on how they behave” (Bandura, 1989). The social learning theory states that people are both the products and producers of their environment. Bandura also statesm “Social learning is a continuous process in which acquired standards are elaborated and modified, and new ones are adopted. Children repeatedly observe and learn the standards and

In this essay, I will try to evaluate Social learning theory as originated by Albert Bandura. I am going to use three pieces of evidence, in a form of case studies, which have been done previously to support or contradict Bandura’s theory. I will demonstrate my knowledge of these studies throughout their analysis, trying to highlight their strengths and limitations.

Akers and Sellers (2013) has stated that social learning theory is an expanded theory of differential association processes and improves it with differential reinforcement and other principles of the behavior theory. They added classical conditioning (the sharpening of involuntary reflex behavior); discriminative stimuli (internal stimuli that lead to signals for behavior); schedules of reinforcement (rewards and punishment ratio following behavioral feedback); and other theories of behavior (Akers & Sellers, 2013).

Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (Kretchmar, 2015) – proposes that people learn by observing the behavior of others. Bandura asserts that this process has four parts – attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation. Environmental and cognitive factors can influence the process as well. This theory has many practical applications for understanding behavior in the classroom, and in society more generally. However, despite its far-reaching impact, social learning theory is not without its critics.

This research is reinforced by Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1977; as cited in Redmond, 2010) which states that self-efficacy or a person’s belief in one’s ability to succeed in a particular situation plays an essential role in how goals, tasks, and challenges are approached. It continues to evolve as people acquire new skills, experiences, and understanding. It can have an impact on everything from psychological states to behavior to motivation. Bandura believed that the key to successful therapy is self-efficacy. Bandura's theory proposed that learning can also occur by simply observing the actions of others (Ross, 2007). It was stated that people can learn new information and behaviors by watching other people which is known as observational learning. Underneath the social cognitive theory is the social learning theory. There are three core concepts at the heart of social learning theory. In this study, the researchers will only use the two concepts which

Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory is a theory that includes development theories in order to understand how children learn. Bandura’s theory is based on how people can learn by observing others, how internal mental states influence people, and how learning something does not change one’s behavior every time. Bandura was able to find out that people learn by three observational models. The first model is the live model which includes observing how someone demonstrates the behavior, the verbal instruction model which learning occurs through auditory directions, and the symbolic model where modeling occurs through media sources such as internet, movies, and books.

In 1977 Albert Bandura, a Stanford University psychology professor, published Social Learning Theory, in which he postulated that human learning is a continuous reciprocal interaction of cognitive, behavioral, and environmental factors. Sometimes called

I believe that intrinsic factors play an equal role in the outcome of both the interest profiler and work value assessment results. Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory influenced my idea of this possibility. I learned from him that intrinsic and external factors play an important role in shaping an individual. Bandura identifies that our environment alone does not produce causation, but instead personal factors we experience is what has a significant affect on it (Bandura, 1999). Personal factors are unique to us and are correlated to age, gender, race, and even religious beliefs. The way we act, think, and respond is created by a combination of both intrinsic and external forces. It is these forces that guide our decision-making process that helps create our personality and interest. Bandura refers to the combination of environment, intrinsic, and external factors as multicausality (Bandura, 1999). As I looked more closely at how each individual intrinsic factor affects our personality, I found a study conducted by researchers with Michigan State University that further identified how age specifically influences our personality traits. The researchers found that there is a slight change of personality from emerging adulthood to adulthood. (Hopwood, et al. 2011). Which added to a past study conducted by Erick Erickson. Erickson identified a shift of values through his research on the generativity-versus-stagnation stage. He stated that our career interest will shift

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.