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Canadian-American Psychologist and Professor

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This is the theory that bridged traditional learning theory to cognitive factors (behaviorism to cognitive). Dr. Bandura believed that children learned skills, attitudes, and beliefs through observing and intimidating what the people around them do. He emphasized the importance of caregivers modeling behaviors they want their child to pick up on and breaking habits that they didn't want their child to pick up.

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What are the 4 stages of social learning theory?

The social learning theory proposes that individuals learn through observation, imitation, and reinforcement. According to the theory, there are four stages of social learning:

1. Attention: In this stage, individuals must first pay attention to the behavior they are observing. This requires focus and concentration on the model's behavior.

2. Retention: In this stage, individuals must remember the behavior they observed. This involves cognitive processing and memory storage.

3. Reproduction: In this stage, individuals attempt to reproduce the behavior they observe. This may involve practicing and refining the behavior until it can be performed accurately.

4. Motivation: In this stage, individuals must have a reason or motivation to perform the behavior. This may involve reinforcement, punishment, social approval, disapproval, or other incentives.

What is the main idea of social learning theory?

Social Learning Theory, proposed by Albert Bandura, posits that people learn through observing, imitating, and modeling others' behavior. This theory posits that we can acquire new behaviors and knowledge by watching others, a process known as vicarious learning.

Bandura emphasized the importance of cognitive processes in learning, which set his theory apart from traditional behaviorism.

He proposed that individuals have beliefs and expectations that influence their actions and can think about the links between their behavior and its consequences.

Why is social learning theory important?

Social learning theory helps us understand how our environment and the people around us shape our behavior. It helps explain how individuals develop new skills and behaviors by paying attention to the behavior of others and then trying to reproduce that behavior themselves.

It is an important theory for psychologists, educators, and anyone interested in human behavior and development.

Who is Albert Bandura?

Albert Bandura was a prominent Canadian-American psychologist known for his work in social learning theory and the concept of self-efficacy.

His groundbreaking research on observational learning, through experiments such as the Bobo Doll experiment, shifted the focus of psychological theory from behaviorism to cognitive processes.

Bandura's work significantly influenced the understanding of how individuals learn within social contexts.

Albert Bandura is best known for his contributions to the field of psychology, particularly in the areas of social learning theory, self-efficacy, and aggression. He is considered one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century.

Bandura's work has significantly impacted our understanding of human behavior and has informed fields such as education, psychology, and social work.

References

Ahn, J. N., Hu, D., & Vega, M. (2020). "Do as I do, not as I say": Using social learning theory to unpack the impact of role models on students' outcomes in education. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 14(2), e12517.

Bagès, C., Verniers, C., & Martinot, D. (2016). Virtues of a hardworking role model to improve girls' mathematics performance. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 40(1), 55-64

Bandura, A. Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through the imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582

Bandura, A. (1965). Behavioral modification through modeling procedures. In L. Krasner & L. P. Ullman (Eds.), Research in behavior modification. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Bandura, A. (1969). Principles of behavior modification. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Bandura, A. (1971). Social learning theory. New York: General Learning Press.

Bandura, A. (1972). Modeling theory: Some traditions, trends, and disputes. In R. D. Parke (Ed.), Recent trends in social learning theory (pp. 35-61). New York: Academic Press.

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Bennett, S., Farrington, D. P., & Huesmann, L. R. (2005). Explaining gender differences in crime and violence: The importance of social cognitive skills. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 10(3), 263-288.

Cheryan, S., Siy, J. O., Vichayapai, M., Drury, B. J., & Kim, S. (2011). Do female and male role models who embody STEM stereotypes hinder women's anticipated success in STEM? Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(6), 656-664.

Dasgupta, N. (2011). Ingroup experts and peers as social vaccines who inoculate the self-concept: The stereotype inoculation model. Psychological Inquiry, 22(4), 231-246.

Deaton, S. (2015). Social learning theory in the age of social media: Implications for educational practitioners. Journal of Educational Technology, 12(1), 1-6.

Fryling, M. J., Johnston, C., & Hayes, L. J. (2011). Understanding observational learning: An interbehavioral approach. The Analysis of verbal behavior, 27, 191-203.

Grusec, J. E. (1994). Social learning theory and developmental psychology: The legacies of Robert R. Sears and Albert Bandura.

Huesmann, L. R., & Kirwil, L. (2007). . Cambridge University Press.

Lin-Siegler, X., Ahn, J. N., Chen, J., Fang, F. F. A., & Luna-Lucero, M. (2016). Even Einstein struggled: Effects of learning about great scientists' struggles on high school students' motivation to learn science. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(3), 314-328.

Lockwood, P., & Kunda, Z. (1997). Superstars and me: Predicting the impact of role models on the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(1), 91-103.

Marx, D. M., & Ko, S. J. (2012). Superstars "like" me: The effect of role model similarity on performance under threat. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42(7), 807-812.

Nabavi, R. T. (2012). Bandura's social learning theory & social cognitive learning theory. Theory of Developmental Psychology, 1(1), 1-24.

Overskeid, G. (2018). Do we need the environment to explain operant behavior?. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 302037.

Rosenthal, L., Levy, S. R., London, B., Lobel, M., & Bazile, C. (2013). In pursuit of the MD: The impact of role models, identity compatibility, and belonging among undergraduate women. Sex Roles, 68(7-8), 464-473.

Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories an educational perspective (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Stout, J. G., Dasgupta, N., Hunsinger, M., & McManus, M. A. (2011). STEMing the tide: Using ingroup experts to inoculate women's self-concept in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(2), 255-270

Weiner, B. (1979). A theory of motivation for some classroom experiences. Journal of Educational Psychology, 71(1), 3-25.

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

Saul Mcleod, PhD
Educator, Researcher

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, Ph.D., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years experience of working in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

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Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory In Psychology

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Social Learning Theory, proposed by Albert Bandura, posits that people learn through observing, imitating, and modeling others' behavior. This theory posits that we can acquire new behaviors and knowledge by watching others, a process known as vicarious learning.

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Dr. Bandura explains behavior as something that is learned over time. His most famous experiment, the Bobo Doll Experiment (1961), was a testament to this idea. He said that children will model the behaviors of those around them both adult and peer wise. The Bobo Doll experiment was an experiment in which Dr. Bandura tested if behaviors (more specifically aggressive behaviors) would be learned by watching other people do it. He took 36 boys and 36 girls (72 children total) between the ages of 3-6, pre-tested them for how aggressive they were by nature on a five-point scale, and divided them into groups based on the scores they received. After that, he divided the children into three groups with 24 children each and set up the models: Aggressive, Non-Aggressive, and Control. The children that watched adults act aggressively towards the Bobo Doll also began to act aggressively towards the Bobo Doll in the same way. Even when given tools that the adults didn't use to hurt the Bobo Doll, the children still attacked the Bobo Doll the same way. The children that observed the Bobo Doll without aggression were significantly less violent with the doll same with the children that were in the control group. This proved Bandura's point that children learn behaviors by watching and modeling what others around them do, say, and respond with.

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During the 1960s, Albert Bandura conducted a series of experiments on observational learning, collectively known as the Bobo doll experiments. Two of the experiments are described below:

Aim

Bandura (1961) conducted a controlled experiment study to investigate if social behaviors (i.e., aggression) can be acquired by observation and imitation.

Sample

Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1961) tested 36 boys and 36 girls from the Stanford University Nursery School aged between 3 to 6 years old.

The researchers pre-tested the children for how aggressive they were by observing the children in the nursery and judged their aggressive behavior on four 5-point rating scales.

It was then possible to match the children in each group so that they had similar levels of aggression in their everyday behavior. The experiment is, therefore, an example of a matched pairs design.

To test the inter-rater reliability of the observers, 51 of the children were rated by two observers independently, and their ratings were compared. These ratings showed a very high-reliability correlation (r = 0.89), which suggested that the observers had a good agreement about the behavior of the children.

Method

A lab experiment was used, in which the independent variable (the type of model) was manipulated in three conditions:

Aggressive model is shown to 24 children

Non-aggressive model is shown to 24 children

No model is shown (control condition) - 24 children

Stage 1: Modeling

In the experimental conditions, children were individually shown into a room containing toys and played with some potato prints and pictures in a corner for 10 minutes while either:

24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) watched a male or female model behaving aggressively towards a toy called a "Bobo doll". The adults attacked the Bobo doll in a distinctive manner - they used a hammer in some cases, and in others threw the doll in the air and shouted "Pow, Boom."

Another 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) were exposed to a non-aggressive model who played in a quiet and subdued manner for 10 minutes (playing with a tinker toy set and ignoring the bobo-doll).

The final 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) were used as a control group and not exposed to any model at all.

Stage 2: Aggression Arousal

All the children (including the control group) were subjected to "mild aggression arousal." Each child was (separately) taken to a room with relatively attractive toys.

As soon as the child started to play with the toys, the experimenter told the child that these were the experimenter's very best toys and she had decided to reserve them for the other children.

Stage 3: Test for Delayed Imitation

The next room contained some aggressive toys and some non-aggressive toys. The non-aggressive toys included a tea set, crayons, three bears and plastic farm animals. The aggressive toys included a mallet and peg board, dart guns, and a 3 foot Bobo doll.

The child was in the room for 20 minutes, and their behavior was observed and rated though a one-way mirror. Observations were made at 5-second intervals, therefore, giving 240 response units for each child.

Other behaviors that didn't imitate that of the model were also recorded e.g., punching the Bobo doll on the nose.

Results

Children who observed the aggressive model made far more imitative aggressive responses than those who were in the non-aggressive or control groups.

There was more partial and non-imitative aggression among those children who had observed aggressive behavior, although the difference for non-imitative aggression was small.

The girls in the aggressive model condition also showed more physically aggressive responses if the model was male, but more verbally aggressive responses if the model was female. However, the exception to this general pattern was the observation of how often they punched Bobo, and in this case the effects of gender were reversed.

Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls. The evidence for girls imitating same-sex models is not strong.

Boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls. There was little difference in verbal aggression between boys and girls.

Conclusion

Bobo doll experiment demonstrated that children are able to learn social behavior such as aggression through the process of observation learning, through watching the behavior of another person. The findings support Bandura's (1977) Social Learning Theory.

This study has important implications for the effects of media violence on children.

Evaluation

There are three main advantages of the experimental method.

1. Experiments are the only means by which cause and effect can be established. Thus, it could be demonstrated that the model did have an effect on the child's subsequent behavior because all variables other than the independent variable are controlled.

2. It allows for precise control of variables. Many variables were controlled, such as the gender of the model, the time the children observed the model, the behavior of the model, and so on.

3. Experiments can be replicated. Standardized procedures and instructions were used, allowing for replicability. In fact, the study has been replicated with slight changes, such as using video, and similar results were found (Bandura, 1963).

Limitations of the procedure include:

Many psychologists are very critical of laboratory studies of imitation - in particular, because they tend to have low ecological validity. The situation involves the child and an adult model, which is a very limited social situation and there is no interaction between the child and the model at any point; certainly the child has no chance to influence the model in any way.

Also, the model and the child are strangers. This, of course, is quite unlike "normal" modeling, which often takes place within the family.

Cumberbatch (1990) found that children who had not played with a Bobo Doll before were five times as likely to imitate the aggressive behavior than those who were familiar with it; he claims that the novelty value of the doll makes it more likely that children will imitate the behavior.

A further criticism of the study is that the demonstrations are measured almost immediately. With such snapshot studies, we cannot discover if such a single exposure can have long-term effects.

It is possible to argue that the bobo doll experiment was unethical. For example, there is the problem of whether or not the children suffered any long-term consequences as a result of the study. Although it is unlikely, we can never be certain.

Vicarious Reinforcement Bobo Doll Study

An observer's behavior can also be affected by the positive or negative consequences of a model's behavior.

So we not only watch what people do, but we watch what happens when they do things. This is known as vicarious reinforcement. We are more likely to imitate behavior that is rewarded and refrain from behavior that is punished.

Bandura (1965) used a similar experimental set up to the one outlined above to test vicarious reinforcement. The experiment had different consequences for the model's aggression to the three groups of children.

One group saw the model's aggression being rewarded (being given sweets and a drink for a "championship performance," another group saw the model being punished for the aggression (scolded), and the third group saw no specific consequences (control condition).

When allowed to enter the playroom, children in the reward and control conditions imitated more aggressive actions of the model than did the children in the punishment condition.

The children in the model punished group had learned the aggression by observational learning, but did not imitate it because they expected negative consequences.

Reinforcement gained by watching another person is known as vicarious reinforcement.

Bandura, A. (1965). Influence of models" reinforcement contingencies on the acquisition of imitative responses. Journal of personality and social psychology, 1(6), 589.

Bandura, A., Ross, D. & Ross, S.A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-82.

Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1963). Imitation of film-mediated aggressive models. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66(1), 3.

Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment on Social Learning

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During the 1960s, Albert Bandura conducted a series of experiments on observational learning, collectively known as the Bobo doll experiments. Two of the

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Bandura's theory applies everywhere when it comes to modern development. It first serves as a reminder to parents that children learn based on what they do, meaning that new parents really need to watch out for bad behaviors that their children might see. It also applies to how to teach children new behaviors like solid study habits and schedules. By observing other people like teachers, parents, and family members consistently committing to solid and healthy habits, children will naturally pick up on those habits as well and grow accordingly.

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Major Theories of Child Development: Frameworks for Learning

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Explore the major theories of child development and discover how experts like Piaget, Erikson, and Vygotsky explain children’s growth, learning, and behavior.

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While this theory has many backings, it has quite a few criticisms. One of the most common is that the theory has never gone through proper observational research and therefore has a weaker standing than other theories. It is argued that very little is actually known about the mechanisms of what children learn and how they learn it, meaning that Bandura's take cannot fully be accepted until we are able to discover something more concrete to prove it.

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Bandura's theory that children are always watching is still relevant and with the age of social media it is easy for children to observe their parents when they are on their phones. If their parents pay too much attention to their phones instead of bonding with their child, the child learns from observing that behavior that phones and social media are more important than them. On the flip side, if children are always on electronics themselves then they may observe behaviors that strangers post online thinking that, since someone else is doing it and getting attention for it, then they can do it too.

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Many of the references are linked in the photos themselves because I couldn't actually figure out how to just create a link box on Padlet. Thank you for understanding :)