Social Learning Theory

Albert Bandura

• born December 4, 1925• University of British Columbia (1949)• University of Iowa (1952)

• he’s working as a member of the faculty in Stanford University

• as the greatest living psychologist, and as one of the most influential psychologists of all time.

• In social learning theory Albert Bandura states behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning. Children observe the people around them behaving in various ways. This is illustrated during the famous bobo doll experiment

• Observational learning is also known as imitation or modeling. In this process, learning occurs when individuals observes and imitate others’ behavior. There are four component processes influenced by the observer’s behavior following exposure to models.

1. Attention Individuals cannot learn much by

observation unless they perceive and attend to the significant features of the modeled behavior.

2. Retention The individuals must code the

information into long-term memory. Memory is an important cognitive process that helps the observer code and retrieve information.

3. Motor reproduction . The observer must be able to reproduce the model’s

behavior. The observer must learn and posses the physical capabilities of the modeled behavior.

4. Motivation or reinforcements In this process, the observer expects to receive

positive reinforcements for the modeled behavior. If a child imitates a model’s behavior and the consequences are rewarding, the child is likely to continue performing the behavior.

Reinforcement can be external or internal and can be positive or negative. If a child wants approval from parents or peers, this approval is an external reinforcement, but feeling happy about being approved of is an internal reinforcement.

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