ALBERT BANDURA

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS
OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
AGRESSION- BOBO DOLL
EXPERIMENT
IMITATION
SELF-EFFICACY
 Bandura believed that personality is influenced
by external factors in the environment,
particularly the imitation of other's behaviours
Personality is comprised of behaviours shaped
by operant conditioning and observational
learning
 HISTORY-SLT to SCT

His early work on learning was grounded in the

behavioral principles of reinforcement and
punishment, but he added a focus on learning from
observing others.
This was labeled Social Learning Theory.
Later on, Bandura focused on cognitive factors such
as beliefs, self-perceptions, and expectations, his
theory is now called Social Cognitive Theory.
Social Cognitive Theory expands social learning
theory to include cognitive factors.
AGGRESSION

THINK ABOUT THIS-

WHAT FACTORS COULD LEAD TO THE

LEARNING OF AGGRESSION IN INFANTS
AND CHILDREN?
BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT
RESULTS
Children that viewed the aggressive models were more
aggressive

Girls who viewed male models - more physical

Girls who viewed a female model - more verbal

Boys were more physically aggressive

Children are more likely to model their behavior after
nurturant models vs. threatening models
(Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1961; Bandura & Bussey, 1999)
THINK ABOUT WHAT RECENT INCIDENTS
AROUND THE WORLD CAN BE EXPLAINED
THROUGH THIS EXPERIMENT???
 Social cognitive theory states that there
are three characteristics that are unique to
humans:
1. Vicarious consequences (Model and
imitate others)
2. Selfefficacy (self reflection)
3. Performance standards and moral
conduct (Ability to regulate ones own
behavior)
Principles of SLT-
1. People can learn by observing the behavior of
others and the outcomes of those behaviors
2. Learning can occur without a change in behavior
3. Cognition plays a role in learning
4. Social learning theory can be considered a bridge
or a transition between behaviorist learning
theories and cognitive learning theories
Some Important Concepts-
Observational learning
Learning new responses by observing the behavior of
other people.
Vicarious reinforcement
Learning or strengthening a behavior by observing the
behavior of others, and the consequences of that
behavior, rather than experiencing the reinforcement or
consequences directly.
Modeling
A behavior modification technique that involves
observing the behavior of others (the models) and
participating with them in performing the desired
behavior.
 Believed that motivation was affective and the
actions/behavior was a reflection of beliefs which were
learnt. Motives developed from beliefs and included-
1. Past reinforcement
2. The promise of reinforcement or incentives
3. Vicarious reinforcement or modeling
According to Bandura, in order to learn, one must
1. Pay attention
2. Be able to retain or remember
3. Have the ability to reproduce the behavior
Why no two individuals are alike...
The essence of personality lies..

in the differing ways in which

individuals perceive the situation
&
in behavioural patterns established in
accord with the different perceptions
 On the basis of extensive research, Bandura
concluded that much behaviorgood and bad,
normal and abnormalis learned by imitating the
behavior of other people

From infancy on, we develop responses to the models

society offers us. Beginning with parents as models,
we learn their language and become socialized by
the cultures customs and acceptable behaviors

People who deviate from cultural norms have learned

their behavior the same way as everyone else. The
difference is that deviant persons have followed
models the rest of society considers undesirable
Types of Reinforcement
1. Direct Reinforcement
2. Vicarious Reinforcement the observer may
simply see others reinforced for a particular behavior
and then increase his or her production of that
behavior.

3. Self-Reinforcement or controlling your own

reinforcers.
OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING PROCESS-
Reciprocal Determinism
Person's behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment

Overt Environmental
Behavior Influences

Personal Factors
(beliefs, expectations,
self-perceptions)
 Reciprocal determinism suggests that individuals function as
a result of a dynamic and reciprocal interaction among their
behavior, environment, and personal characteristics.
Personal characteristics include one's thoughts, emotions,
expectations, beliefs, goals, and so forth. Behavior is
conceptualized as a person's skills and actions. Lastly,
environment is considered to be a person's social and
physical surroundings. All three systems interact with each
other; therefore, a change in one will influence the others as
well. Reciprocal determinism indicates that people do have a
say in their future, because of reciprocal interactions.
ANY EXAMPLES???
Factors influencing Modelling-
1. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
MODELS

2. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE

OBSERVERS

3. THE REWARD CONSEQUENCES

ASSOCIATED WITH THE BEHAVIORS
Types of Modeling Stimuli-
Live model
in which an actual person is demonstrating the desired
behavior
Verbal instruction
in which an individual describes the desired behavior
in detail and instructs the participant in how to
engage in the behavior
Symbolic
in which modeling occurs by means of the media,
including movies, television, Internet, literature, and
radio. Stimuli can be either real or fictional
characters.