Social learning theory

Albert Bandura was an influential social cognitive psychologist who was perhaps best known for his social learning theory, the concept of self-efficacy, and his famous Bobo doll experiments. Until his death on July 26, 2021, he was a Professor Emeritus at Stanford University and was widely regarded as one of the most influential psychologists in history. Albert Bandura's Early Life Albert Bandura was born on December 4, 1925, in a small Canadian town located approximately 50 miles from Edmonton. The last of six children, Bandura's early education consisted of one small school with only two teachers for high school. According to Bandura, because of this limited access to educational resources, "The students had to take charge of their own education." Bandura soon became fascinated by psychology after enrolling at the University of British Columbia. He had started out as a biological sciences major and his interest in psychology formed by accident. While working nights and commuting to school with a group of students, he found himself arriving at school earlier than his courses started. To pass the time, he began taking "filler classes" during these early morning hours, which led him to eventually stumble upon psychology. Bandura explained, "One morning, I was wasting time in the library. Someone had forgotten to return a course catalog and I thumbed through it attempting to find a filler course to occupy the early time slot. I noticed a course in psychology that would serve...

Social learning theory, or SLT, is predicated on the notion that learning occurs through social observation and subsequent imitation of modeled behavior. According to SLT, humans learn from observing the actions and resulting consequences of others. By doing so, individuals can learn to imitate the observed behavior, and thus reap the rewards, or they can learn not to imitate a particular action and thereby avoid the disagreeable consequences. Often seen as a bridge between both behaviorist and cognitive learning theories, social learning theory involves reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences (Pajares • Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. New York: General Learning Press. • Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575–582. • Brauer, J. R. (2009). Testing social learning theory using reinforcement’s residue: A multilevel analysis of self-reported theft and marijuana use in the national youth survey. Criminology, 43(3), 929–970. • Foster, C. (2006 September/October). Confidence man. Stanford Magazine. • Kinard, B. R., & Webster, C. (2010). The effects of advertising, social influences, and self-efficacy on adolescent tobacco use and alcohol consumption. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 44(1), 24–43. • Martinez, M. E. (2010). Learning and cognition: The design of the mind. Upper Saddle River: Person Education...

Studies suggest that imitation with social understanding tends to begin around 2 years old, but will vary depending on the specific child. In the past, research has claimed that newborns are capable of imitation, but this likely isn't true, as newborns often react to stimuli in a way that may seem like imitation, but isn't. Bandura's Bobo doll experiment is one of the most famous examples of observational learning. In the Children were more likely to imitate the adult's violent actions when the adult either received no consequences or when the adult was rewarded. Children who saw the adult being punished for this Observational Learning Examples The following are instances that demonstrate observational learning has occurred. • A child watches their parent folding the laundry. They later pick up some clothing and imitate folding the clothes. • A young couple goes on a date to an Asian restaurant. They watch other diners in the restaurant eating with chopsticks and copy their actions to learn how to use these utensils. • A child watches a classmate get in trouble for hitting another child. They learn from observing this interaction that they should not hit others. • A group of children play hide-and-seek. One child joins the group and is not sure what to do. After observing the other children play, they quickly learn the basic rules and join in. Stages of Observational Learning There are four stages of observational learning that need to occur for meaningful learning to take...

Key Takeaways • Social cognitive theory emphasizes the learning that occurs within a social context. In this view, people are active agents who can both influence and are influenced by their environment. • The theory was founded most prominently by Albert Bandura, who is also known for his work on observational learning, self-efficacy, and reciprocal determinism. • One assumption of social learning is that we learn new behaviors by observing the behavior of others and the consequences of their behavior. • If the behavior is rewarded (positive or negative reinforcement) we are likely to imitate it however if the behavior is punished imitation is less likely. For example in Bandura and Walters’ experimen, the children imitated more the aggressive behavior of the model who was praised for being aggressive to the Bobo doll. • Social cognitive theory has been used to explain a wide range of human behavior, ranging from positive to negative social behaviors such as aggression, substance abuse, and mental health problems. Table of Contents • • • • • How We Learn From the Behavior of Others Social cognitive theory views people as active agents who can both influence and are influenced by their environment. The theory is an extension of social learning that includes the effects of cognitive processes — such as conceptions, judgment, and motivation — on an individual’s behavior and on the environment that influences them. Rather than passively absorbing knowledge from environmental ...

Since the moment you were born, you’ve learned by watching those around you. In fact, this may explain some of your current behaviors. Imagine stepping into your kitchen and being told to scramble eggs for the first time. Even if you’ve never cooked them yourself, you’ve likely seen others prepare this dish. You may have also eaten it before, so you know how it looks and tastes. As a result of all of this, you’d likely be able to crack, scramble, and serve up the popular breakfast staple — even without any direct prior experience of your own. This is called observational learning — that is, learning by watching others. In essence, that’s what social learning theory is all about. Have you ever heard the phrase “monkey see, monkey do”? In short, that’s what social learning theory is. Only, it’s a bit more complex since we’re talking about human behavior. Social learning theory states that behavior patterns come from observing and imitating other people, typically significant others. In sum, the three main principles of social learning theory state that: • You learn behaviors through observation. • Your mental state plays a role in this learning process, including whether or not you’re motivated to engage in those behaviors. • Observing a behavior in someone else may not lead to a change in your behavior, unless there’s some kind of positive reinforcement or reward. The idea of social learning was introduced by Stanford psychologist In a The adults hit the Bobo doll with a ma...

Theory of learning and behaviour Social learning is a theory of History and theoretical background [ ] In the 1940s, [ citation needed] At around the same time, Social Learning and Imitation, published in 1941, which posited that personality consisted of learned habits. They used Hull's Social Learning and Clinical Psychology in 1954. Rotter's theory is also known as expectancy-value theory due to its central explanatory constructs. Expectancy is defined as the individual's subjectively held probability that a given action will lead to a given outcome. It can range from zero to one, with one representing 100% confidence in the outcome. For example, a person may entertain a given level of belief that they can make a foul shot in basketball or that an additional hour of study will improve their grade on an examination. Reinforcement value is defined as the individual's subjective preference for a given outcome, assuming that all possible outcomes were equally available. In other words, the two variables are independent of each other. These two variables interact to generate behavior potential, or the likelihood that a given action will be performed. The nature of the interaction is not specified, though Rotter suggests that it is likely to be multiplicative. The basic predictive equation is: B P = f ( E & R V ) Where: • BP = Behavior Potential • E = Expectancy • RV = Reinforcement Value Although the equation is essentially conceptual, it is possible to enter numerical value...