albert bandura; social learning theory (psychology topic)

ALBERT BANDURA

BIOGRAPHY

• Birthdate: December 4, 1925

• Birthplace: Mundare in northern Alberta, Canada

• He is the youngest child, and only son, in a family of six

• Both of his parents had immigrated to Canada when they were both adolescents; his father from Krakow, Poland and his mother from the Ukraine.

• Bandura’s elementary and high school years were spent at the one and only school in town.

Due to the shortage of teachers and resources, learning was

left largely to the students' own initiative.

According to Bandura, because of this limited access to

educational resources, the students had to take charge of

their own education.

Bandura became fascinated by psychology after enrolling at

the University of British Columbia. He had started out as a biological science major,

his interest in psychology formed quite by accident.

While commuting to school with a group of students, he

found himself arriving at school much earlier than his course started. To pass the time, he

decided to take a class..

became extremely interested in psychology, and decided to

concentrate on it.

Bandura then went on to pursue graduate study at the University

of Iowa. It was there that became interested in the behaviorist tradition and

learning theory.

He received his M.A. degree in 1951 and his Ph.D. in 1952

While studying at Iowa, he met Virginia Varns, an instructor at the

College of Nursing.

Virginia and Albert married in 1952 and became parents to two

daughters, Mary and Carol.

Bandura was offered a position at Stanford University. Bandura

accepted the offer and has continued to work at Stanford up

to this day.

It was during his studies on adolescent aggression that

Bandura became increasing interested in vicarious learning,

modeling and imitation.

Contributions

ContributionsSocial Learning Theory

Social Learning Theory

• Stressed the importance of observational learning, imitation and modeling.

• His theory added a social element, arguing that people can learn new information and behaviors by watching other people known as Observational Learning (or modeling).

In a famous and influential experiment known as the Bobo doll experiment, Albert Bandura and his

colleagues were able to demonstrate one of the ways in which children learn aggression.

BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT

The experiment involved exposing children to two different adult models;

• A non- aggressive model• An aggressive one.

After witnessing the adult's behavior, the children would then be placed in a room without the model and were observed to see if

they would imitate the behavior they had witnessed

BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT: Conclusion

It is not certain that children learn socially, but it is likely that children observing an adult model utilizing

violence are more likely to believe that this type of behavior is normal. They may, therefore, be more likely to use this type of action themselves when confronted

by similar situations.

Four types of Observational Learning

Effects

• Inhibition

• Disinhibition

• Facilitation

• True Observational Learning

INHIBITION

In many instances we learn not to do something that we already know how to do because a model we are observing refrains from behaving, is punished for

behaving, or does something different from what we intended to do.

INHIBITION

DISINHIBITION

We learn to exhibit a behavior that is usually disapproved of most people because a model does the

same without being punished.

DISINHIBITION

FACILITATION

This occurs whenever we are prompted to do something that we do not ordinarily do because of

insufficient motivation rather than social disapproval

FACILITATION

True Observational Learning

This effect occurs when we learn a new behavior pattern by watching and imitating the performance

of someone else

True Observational

Learning

Four stages involved in

Observational Learning

• Attention

• Retention

• Production

• Motivation

ATTENTION

• Paying attention to a model’s behavior is a critical first step.

• This process is influenced by characteristics of the model, such as how much one likes or identifies with the model, and by characteristics of the observer, such as the observer's expectations or level of emotional arousal.

RETENTION

• This process depends on the observer's ability to code or structure the information in an easily remembered form or to mentally or physically rehearse the model's actions.

PRODUCTION

• Observers must be physically and/intellectually capable of producing the act.

• In many cases the observer possesses the necessary responses. But sometimes, reproducing the model's actions may involve skills the observer has not yet acquired.

MOTIVATION

• In general, observers will perform the act only if they have some motivation or reason to do so.

• Imitation is strengthened through:

a)Direct reinforcement

b)Vicarious reinforcement

c)Self-reinforcement

MOTIVATION

Direct reinforcement

• occurs when an individual watches a model perform imitates that behavior, and is reinforced (or punished) by the model or some other individual.

MOTIVATION

Vicarious reinforcement

• It refers to a situation in which the observer anticipates receiving a reward for behaving in a given way because someone else has been so rewarded.

MOTIVATION

Self-reinforcement

• It refers to a situation in which the individual strives to meet personal standards and does not depend on or care about the reactions of others.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In addition to influencing other psychologists, Bandura's social learning theory has had important implication in the field of education. Today, both teachers and parents recognize the importance of

modeling appropriate behaviors.

Other classroom strategies such as encouraging children and building self-efficacy are also rooted in social

learning theory.

SELF-EFFICACY

SELF-EFFICACY

• It is "the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations.“

• Bandura described these beliefs as determinants of how people think, behave, and feel.

• Individual’s self-efficacy plays a major role in how goals, tasks, and challenges are approached.

SELF-EFFICACY There are four major sources of self-efficacy.

1) Mastery Experiences

2) Social Modeling

3) Social Persuasion

4) Psychological Responses

Mastery Experiences

"The most effective way of developing a strong sense of efficacy is through mastery

experiences," Bandura explained

Mastery Experiences

Performing a task successfully strengthens our sense of self-efficacy. However, failing to

adequately deal with a task or challenge can undermine and

weaken self-efficacy

Social

Modeling

Witnessing other people successfully completing a task is another important source of self-

efficacy

Social

Modeling

According to Bandura,

"Seeing people similar to oneself succeed by sustained

effort raises observers' beliefs that they too possess the

capabilities master comparable activities to succeed."

Social

Persuasion

Bandura also asserted that people could be persuaded to

believe that they have the skills and capabilities to succeed.

Social

Persuasion

Consider a time when someone said something positive and encouraging that helped you

achieve a goal.

Getting verbal encouragement from others helps people overcome self-doubt and

instead focus on giving their best effort to the task at hand.

Psychological Responses

Our own responses and emotional reactions to situations also play an

important role in self-efficacy. Moods, emotional states,

physical reactions, and stress levels can all impact how a

person feels about their personal abilities in a particular

situation.

Psychological Responses

A person who becomes extremely nervous before speaking in public may

develop a weak sense of self-efficacy in these situations.

People with a strong sense of self-efficacy:

1. View challenging problems as tasks to be mastered

2. Develop deeper interest in the activities in which they participate

3. Form a stronger sense of commitment to their interests and activities

4. Recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments

People with a weak sense of self-efficacy:

1. Avoid challenging tasks

2. Believe that difficult tasks and situations are beyond their capabilities

3. Focus on personal failings and negative outcomes

4. Quickly lose confidence in personal abilities

Factors that affect SELF-EFFICACY

1) Thinking about how well we have performed in the past on a given task or as set of closely related tasks.

2) Verbal persuasion

3) Emotions we feel as we prepare to engage in a task.

4) Observing the success and failures of individuals with whom we identify – vicarious experiences

BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT: Criticism

• Because the experiment took place in a lab setting, some critics suggest that results observed in this type of location may not be indicative of what takes place in the real world.

• The study might suffer from selection bias. All participants were drawn from a narrow pool of students who share the same racial and socioeconomic background. This makes it difficult to generalize the results to a larger, more diverse population.

BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT: Criticism

• Since data was collected immediately, it is also difficult to know what the long-term impact might have been.

• Acting violently toward a doll is a lot different that displaying aggression or violence against another human being in a real world setting.

• It has also been suggested that children were not actually motivated to display aggression when they hit the Bobo doll; instead, they may have simply been trying to please the adults.

Source:

http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_b andura.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/self_efficacy.htm

http://www.psych.ualberta.ca/GCPWS/Bandura/Biography/Bandura_bio1.html

Snowman & Biehler (2000) Psychology Applied to teaching 9th edition

Omrod, J.E (1999) Human Learning 3rd edition