Social Cognitive Theory

Albert Bandura

Early Life of Albert Bandura

Born on December 4, 1925 in a small town called Mundare in northern Alberta, Canada (50 miles east of
Edmonton).

He was the youngest and only boy of six children.

Early Life of Albert Bandura

Both of his parents were of Eastern European descent, and his father and mother emigrated to Canada
when they were adolescents.

Albert Banduras father was from Krakow, Poland and had no formal education, but he placed a high
value on attaining an education. He taught himself three languages, including Polish, Russian, and
German.

Albert Banduras mother was from the Ukraine. She did not have any formal education

Early Education-Elementary School

Bandura was educated from elementary school through high school in the one and only school house in
town.

The school had a shortage of supplies and teachers, and most of the learning was left to the students
initiative

Early Education-High School

Banduras entire high school math curriculum came from one textbook. As a prank, the students in the
class stole the textbook, and the teacher had to plead and bargain with the students on homework
assignments in order to get it back.

The entire class that graduated with Bandura ended up going onto universities around the world.

Decision to Major in Psychology

Bandura attended the University of British Columbia in Vancouver for his undergraduate degree.

He had intentions of majoring in one of the biological sciences, but instead, he decided to major in
psychology due to reasons of chance.

He commuted to the university every day with engineering and pre-med students who had to arrive to
campus early.
Decision to Major in Psychology

There was an introductory course in psychology that was offered at an early time on the campus and
would fulfill the requirement, so he enrolled in it.

Bandura graduated in 1949 from the University of British Columbia. It took him three years to graduate.

University Education

1949:
Bandura received his B.A. degree from the University of British Columbia (Isom, 1998)

1951:
M.A. received from the University of Iowa (Albert Bandura, n.d., Minot State University)

1952:
Ph.D. received from University of Iowa
under the direction of Arthur Benton (who was heavily influenced by William James). (Isom, 1998)

Educational Interests

While studying at Iowa, Banduras interest in childhood aggression began

Idea of social learning theory established while pursuing Ph.D. at University of Iowa

Honors, Awards, and Achievements

Bandura has received several honorary degrees from universities all over the world. (Moore, n.d.)

1972:

Recipient of a distinguished achievement award from the American Psychological

Association

Recipient of a Scientist Award from the California State Psychological Association

1973:
Bandura was elected the president of the American Psychological Association

1977:
Bandura became known as the Father of the Cognitive Theory.

1980:
Elected the president of the Western Psychological Association.

1988:
Thorndike Award for Distinguished Contributions of Psychology to Education from the American
Psychological Association.
2006:

Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology from the American
Psychological Association.

Employment

1953:
Position accepted at the University of Stanford

1964- Present:
Full professor position given to Bandura at Stanford

1989:
Employed at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences

Social Cognitive Theory

Bandura does not consider himself a Social Learning Theorist, but prefers Social Cognitive Theory

Comprehensive theory that includes motivational and self regulatory mechanisms

Emphasizes the social origins of human thought process and behavior

Emphasizes cognitive influence on behavior, rather than conditioning influences from the environment

An Agentic Perspective

Emerges in Banduras sociocognitive view of personality.

He viewed people as agents or originators of experienced.

Through evolution, human beings developed language and symbolization.

Human agency- as the ability to act and make things happen.

intentionality- enable us to behave purposefully

forethought- permits us to anticipate outcomes

self-reactiveness allow us to motivate and regulate actions

self- reflectiveness give us the ability to reflect on our thoughts and behavior and make changes as
needed.

Banduras Triadic Reciprocal Causation Model

Triadic model
Environmental stimuli influence our behavior but individual personal factors such as beliefs and
expectations also influence how we behave.

Behavior arises from the interactions of a person and the environment.

Actions are regulated by their consequences, external stimuli affect behavior through intervening
cognitive processes.

Bandura used the term

SELF SYSTEM

- cognitive structures that provide reference mechanisms.

- a set of subfunctions for the perception, evaluation and regulation of behavior.

SELF in SCT

- a group of cognitive processes and structures by which people relate to their

environment and that help to shape their behavior.

Television viewing is an example of the way in which behavioral,cognitive and environmental factors
may be interlocked.

3 Factors that reciprocally affect each other

- viewer preferences

-viewing behavior

-televised offerings

Observational Learning

-occurs either intentionally or accidentally.

Imitation- mimicking the model

Modeling- matching the structure or style of the behavior.

Modeling

We learn much of what we do through observing and speaking with others (models), rather than
through personal experience

We form a cognitive image of how to perform certain behaviors through modeling, and use this image
as a guide for later behaviors

The Bobo Doll Study

Albert Banduras Bobo doll study in 1961 was a classic study that demonstrates the social learning
theory. The study showed that after viewing adults strike and kick a Bobo doll, children would imitate
the behavior in another environment. This was important, as it suggests that the violence could be
imitated by viewers.

Results showed 88% of the children imitated aggressive behavior following the viewing of the tape of
adults acting aggressively toward the doll.

8 months later 40% of the same children reproduced the violent behavior observed in the
Bobo doll experiment.

The Bobo Doll Study

The children were shown three different endings to the video. The video first showed that the adults
were praised for their aggressive behavior. The second group the adult was told to sit in a corner. The
third group showed the adult walk out of the room. While controversial, Bandura maintained that his
experiment demonstrated that children are influenced by witnessing or modeling of aggression in
others.

Response measures

1. Total aggression

2. Imitative aggression

3. Partially imitative responses

Mallet aggression

Sitting on the Bobo doll

3 Factors that Influence Modeling

Characteristic of the Model

Attributes of the Observer

Reward Consequences Associated with a Behavior

Basic Processes of Observational Learning

1. Attentional Processes

(attend to and accurately

perceive models behavior)

2. Retention Processes
 (remember the

models behavior)

Basic Processes of Observational Learning

3. Motor Reproduction Processes

(translate symbolically coded

memories of the models behavior

into new response patterns)

4. Motivational Processes

(if positive reinforcement is

potentially available, enact the

modeled behavior)

Reinforcement in Observational Learning

Extrinsic Reinforcement

- arbitrary or socially arranged rather than natural outcome of the behavior.

Intrinsic Reinforcement

-some behaviors produce a natural physiological effect.

(e.g. relaxation exercises relieve muscle fatigue)

Vicarious Reinforcement

- occurs when we learn appropriate behavior from the success and mistakes of other.

Self- Reinforcement

-increase performance primarily through its motivational function.

Self-Regulation and Cognition

We can exercise control over our behavior through self-regulation

We are not slaves to environmental influences

We have free will

Cognition allows us to use previous experiences, rather than trial-and-error, to foresee probable
consequences of our acts, and behave accordingly

Self-regulation allows us to choose behaviors that help us to avoid punishments and move towards
long-term goals

Aggression, Inhumane Behavior and Moral Disengagement

Bandura studied the impact of a live model as opposed to a filmed model and a cartoon model.

Bandura et al. Results :

Total Aggression

Bandura et al. Results :

Partially Imitative Responses

Banduras Theory

Human beings have specific abilities related to learning that sets them apart from other species.

Social cognitive theory states that there are three characteristics that are unique to humans:

Vicarious consequences (Model and imitate others)

Selfefficacy (self reflection)

Performance standards and moral conduct (Ability to regulate ones own behavior)

Self Efficacy

- a central mechanism of personal agency and self- regulation

-entails judgment of personal capacity

Collective Efficacy

- groups shared belief in its ability to organize and carry out actions that will lead to fulfillment
of certain group goals.

Summary

We acquire, maintain, and modify behaviors that we see others perform

We decide which behaviors to keep, and when to use them, by using:

symbolic thought

emotion
 self-regulation

Bandura and other Social Learning Theorists put the person back into personality by stressing the
interplay of personal factors, environmental factors, and behavior

Thank You!