Bandura's Social Learning Theory

Child abuse is learned and passed from generation to generation. Families that live in a violent community are more than likely to become violent members of society

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

Social learning theory suggests that the mechanism underlying the continuity of violence is observational learning in which children who were abused learn to repeat abusive or neglectful modeled behavior (Begle, Dumas & Hanson, 2010). Observational learning, in the case of child

Observational learning and cognitive variables help explain human behavior and can be utilized in a wide variety of areas. The Social Learning Theory (SLT) suggests that individuals learn a considerable amount of their behavior by observation and imitation of others (Powell, Honey, & Symbaluk 2017. It can be used to produce distinct interventions and treatments for those in need. A review of a variety of studies in aggression, stalking, business, and simulations investigate distinct ways to make use of the many components of the SLT. It was concluded that the SLT is diverse, it allows the creation of different treatments that help individuals in numerous areas.

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.

Growing up in an abusive household was reality to my siblings and I. Being an adult now, I’ve struggled maintaining control over my anger and have had an issue in doing so since I was a child. It’s a fact that “children who witness violence between one’s parents or caretakers are the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next.”

The Intergenerational Cycle of Violence Theory as it relates to Child Abuse The intergenerational cycle of violence theory in the context of child abuse and neglect suggests that abused or neglected children are significantly more likely to repeat their offender’s actions, or exhibit criminal behavior later in their lives. The potential pervasiveness of this issue is why it is important. If violent behavior can be transmitted from generation to generation through a familial setting, then there are three main variables to the problem: the increased percentage likeliness an abuse victim later becomes an offender, the average number of children born into a violent family, and the criminal justice’s ability to intervene to prevent this transmission. The seriousness of this issue can either be negligible or a widespread health issue depending on the variables.

It is common for parents and their children to have disagreements and to have arguments but sometimes these disagreements can turn into abuse. Children usually use violence to try to “control or bully them” (Parenting and Child Health, n.d.) This violence usually occurs when the child “frightens, threatens or physically hurts them. It can involve using abusive language, pushing, shoving, kicking, throwing things, or threatening with knives or other weapons” ((Parenting and Child Heathen’s.) Children may abuse their parents due to the normalization of that parent getting abused by the other parent within their household. The child may use the parent that abusing the other parent as a model for the way they should act towards their parent as well and justify their actions simply as something that they observed in their household. The violence that children commit against their parents affects that subsystem because it leaves it broken. There is a strain within the parent and child relationship that forms a direct result of constant conflict and abuse between the child and parent. Sometimes, in child-child relationships, an older sibling may become “more aggressive” with their younger sibling because of the abuse that they have witnessed and been exposed to. (Fantuzzo, Mohr, 1999) The children can become socialized by the parents to believe that

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.

The first reason why the nurture side of the debate provides more evidence towards understanding violent behavior is due to the fact that children learn violence through parents and other adults in their life. The first way children learn is that they imitate behavior that they

Modern society depends immensely on parenting, as younger generations of people learn lessons and methods about their own development from their parents. They learn things concerning all different aspects of themselves, from physical to emotional to intellectual development, parenting is scientifically proven to have a major effect on civilization. Although the exact implication parenting has on children is debated, many have tried to prove the link between negative parenting and deficient social outcomes like domestic violence and substance abuse. After reviewing the journal, “The Effect of Poor Parenting On Male and Female Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization”, it becomes obvious that poor parenting works in accordance with the theory of Social Learning and the antisocial orientation perspective. Due to poor parenting and antisocial behavior, children can learn violence through observation and interaction, which in turn makes them more likely to be a perpetrator or victimizer in dating violence later in life (Tyler, Brownridge, Melander, 2011).Albert Bandura proposed the Social Learning Theory in 1977. At the time, what this theory stated was quite radical, but it would turn out to be one of the most influential theories of learning (Cherry, Kendra). The Social Learning Theory states that a child can learn through observation, excluded from direct reinforcement. Furthermore, the child’s observational learning does not necessary lead to a change in behavior

Children learn very early about right and wrong. The exposure to violence at a young age can have an effect on a person’s development and behavior as an adult. Children who witness violence often are more aggressive. Those rejected by their parents are more likely to experience PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and problems with social information processing, which can lead to violence toward their intimate partners. A violent upbringing and a lack of early positive experiences, increases a child’s tendency to become violent in the future.

A longitudinal study by Ehrensaft (2003) found that witnessing interparental violence is a significant predictor of adulthood IPV. Similarly, Bensley et al. (2003) found that physical child abuse contributes to IPV risk.

Albert Bandura is considered the developer of social learning theory, which is also known as social cognitive theory (Corey, 2013; Feist et al., 2013; Thoma et al., 2015). Badura’s theory, while based upon the principles of behaviorism, departs from the traditional behavioral model and leaves room for the exploration of unobservable mental states and their influence on behavior (Corey, 2013; Thoma et al., 2015). Social Cognitive theory bases its theory of learning on two types of learning processes: observational learning and enactive learning (Feist et al., 2013). In contrast to Skinner’s belief that reinforcement is required for learning, Bandura believes that learning is possible simply by observing the behavior of others; while reinforcement facilitates learning, it is not a necessary requirement (Feist et al., 2013). Enactive learning is learning through direct experience, and is similar to the concept of operant conditioning; people determine appropriate behaviors by evaluating their behavior and the potential consequences thereof (Feist et al., 2013). Where behavioral theory adopts the ABC approach to behavior, social cognitive theory uses a BPE approach known as Triadic Reciprocal Causation. In TRC, BPE stands for behavior, person variables, and environment (Feist et al., 2013). Within the TRC, the term person encompasses many variables including memory, judging, anticipation, gender, social position, physical attributes, and planning; the belief is that

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.