Albert Bandura Social learning theory Contents Life history

Albert Bandura Social learning theory

Contents • • Life history Social learning theory Aspects of self Learning styles Developemental stages Strengths Criticism References

Timeline of Events • Albert Bandura was born December 4, 1925. • 1949 – Graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in Psychology. • 1952 – Received his Ph. D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Iowa. • 1953 – Began teaching at Stanford University. • 1974 – Served as President of the APA. • 1980 – Received the APA’s Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions. • 2004 - Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology, American Psychological Association.

Social learning theory • Bandura’s Social Learning Theory posits that people learn from one another, via observation, imitation, and modeling; people learn through observing others’ behavior, attitudes, and outcomes of those behaviors. • Also known as observational learning.

Modeling Bandura’s basic idea is that learning can occur through observation. ‘’Modeling is a behavior modification technique that involves observing the behavior of others (the models) and participating with them in performing the desire behavior’’

• Modeling is basically mimicking the observed behavior.

Modeling and its different effects in people • Acquisition - New responses are learned by observing the model. • Inhibition - A response that can or may be made is changed when the observer sees a model being punished.

• Disinhibition - A fade out in fear by observing a model's behavior goes unpunished in a feared activity. • Facilitation - A model elicits from an observer a response that has already been learned. • Creativity - Observing several models performing and then adapting a combination of characteristics or styles. .

The experiment • BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT –. Boys and girls watched a video of a person performing violent acts on a blowup clown named Bobo. Use of kicking, punching, and hammering were modeled. – When children were then left alone with the same blowup clown they performed the same behaviors they had observed.

Things that affect imitation • 1. Nature of the model • 2. Learning may happen even without practicing it. • 3. No matter how well we learn, it will not manifest if there’s no social approval or reinforcement.

Models • Children are prone to imitate models that are more intelligent, skillful, and knowledgeable than themselves and others around them. • Children have a broad range of influencesparents, teachers, peers, and older siblings. • When a child has the choice, he is likely to select models with similar attributes and ignore those that have little in common with.

Types of models 1. Symbolic 2. Exemplary

Symbolic Models • Models presented through oral or written instructions, pictorially, or through a combination of verbal and pictorial devices. • The media is a good example of pictorially presented models. • television • movies • radio

Exemplary models – Live model – National heroes, villains, neighbors, family members – Reference to a model’s behavior and characteristics

Positive & Negative Exemplary • Positive Exemplary Model – Model’s behavior is told to be followed because it is considered good behavior • Negative Exemplary Model – Model’s behavior is told to be avoided because it is not considered good behavior

Example of social learning theory o The most common example is television commercials.

o Commercials suggest that drinking a certain beverage or using a particular hair shampoo will make us popular and win the admiration of attractive people. o Depending upon the component processes involved (such as attention or motivation), we may model the behavior shown in the commercial and buy the product being advertised.

The Reciprocal Concept • Bandura’s theory of learning takes into account three things – The person’s environment – The person’s psychological processes

Aspects of the self 1. Self-reinforcement: Rewards or punishments given to oneself for reaching, exceeding or falling short of personal expectations – Ex: Pride, shame, guilt 2. Self-efficacy: Belief in ability to cope with life – Meeting standards: Enhances self-efficacy – Failure to meet standards: Reduces selfefficacy

Self-efficacy • High self-efficacy – Believe can deal effectively with life events – Confident in abilities – Expect to overcome obstacles effectively • Low self-efficacy – Feel unable to exercise control over life – Low confidence, believe all efforts are futile

People with a strong sense of self-efficacy • View challenging problems as tasks to be mastered. • Develop deeper interest in the activities in which they participate. • Form a stronger sense of commitment to their interests and activities. • Recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments

People with a weak sense of self-efficacy • Avoid challenging tasks. • Believe that difficult tasks and situations are beyond their capabilities. • Focus on personal failings and negative outcomes. • Quickly lose confidence in personal abilities.

Sources of Self-Efficacy • How does self-efficacy develop? These beliefs begin to form in early childhood as children deal with a wide variety of experiences, tasks, and situations. However, the growth of self-efficacy does not end during youth, but continues to evolve throughout life as people acquire new skills, experiences, and understanding • According to Bandura, there are four • major sources of self-efficacy.

Mastery Experiences "The most effective way of developing a strong sense of efficacy is through mastery experiences, " Bandura explained (1994). 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. 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” (1994).

Social Persuasion Bandura also asserted that people could be persuaded to belief that they have the skills and capabilities to succeed. 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 selfefficacy. Moods, emotional states, physical reactions, and stress levels can all impact how a person feels about their personal abilities in a particular situation. A person who becomes extremely nervous before speaking in public may develop a weak sense of self-efficacy in these situations. By learning how to minimize stress and elevate mood when facing difficult or challenging tasks, people can improve their sense of selfefficacy.

Learning Styles

Learning styles o Observational learning -Attention -Retention -Behavioral reversal -Motivation o Enactive learning -Learning from outcomes of a person’s personal action

Observational learning processes

1. Attention • In order to learn, you need to be paying attention. Anything that destracts your attention is going to have a negative effect on observational learning. If the model is interesting or there is a novel aspect to the situation, you are far more likely to dedicate your full attention to learning.

2. Retention • Behavior must be remembered in order to imitate – Images – Descriptive verbal symbols – Rehearsal • Those who use symbolic coding and rehearsal remember more than passive observers

3. Reproduction • This is when a person uses the proper motor skills to accurately reproduce their model. • A five year old can observe his parent operate a car, but this does not mean he has the ability to correctly drive an automobile.

4. Motivation • This process refers to the idea that a child will be more likely to imitate a behavior if he is likely to gain a reward. • With incentives, observation more quickly becomes action, pay more attention, retain more information.

Intrinsic Reinforcement • Bandura noted that external, environmental reinforcement was not the only factor to influence learning and behavior. He described intrinsic reinforcement as a form of internal reward, such as pride, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment. This emphasis on internal thoughts and cognitions helps connect learning theories to cognitive developmental theories. While many textbooks place social learning theory with behavioral theories, Bandura himself • describes his approach as a 'social • cognitive theory. '

Developemental stages of Modeling and self-Efficacy

1. Childhood – Infancy: Direct modeling immediately following observation, develop selfefficacy with control over environment – By age 2: Developed attentional, retention and production processes to model behavior some time after observation, not immediately

2. Adolosence – Involves coping with new demands – Success depends on level of selfefficacy established during childhood

3. Adulthood – Young adulthood: • Adjustments: Career, marriage, parenthood • High self-efficacy to adjust successfully – Middle adulthood: • Adjustment: Reevaluate career, family life • Need to find opportunities to continue to enhance self-efficacy

4. Old age – Decline in mental/physical function, retirement – Requires reappraisal of abilities – Belief in ability to perform a task is key throughout the lifespan

Strengths – Focus on observable behavior- research support – Practical application to real-world problems – Large-scale changes

Criticism • One problem with social learning is that it is difficult to predict what all individuals will perceive as positive.

References Bandura, A. (1965) Influence of models’ reinforcement contingencies on the acquisition of imitative response. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1, 589 -595. Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191 -215. Bandura, A. (1992) Exercise of personal agency through the self-efficacy mechanisms. In R. Schwarzer (Ed. ), Self-efficacy: Thought control of action. Washington, DC: Hemisphere. Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed. ), Encyclopedia of human behavior, 4. New York: Academic Press, pp. 71 -81. Bandura, A. (1995). Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies. Cambridge University Press. Bandura, A. (1977) Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press. “From Behaviorism to Social Cognition? ” Found on the Web at http: //www. des. emory. edu/mfp/banconversion. html. Pajares, F. (2004). Albert Bandura: Biographical sketch. Found on the Web at http: //des. emory. edu/mfp/bandurabio. html. • Stokes, D. "Chance Can Play Key Role in Life, Psychologist Says. " Stanford Campus Report