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Social Learning Theory (Bandura)

Summary: Bandura’s Social Learning Theory posits that people learn
from one another, via observation, imitation, and modeling. The
theory has often been called a bridge between behaviorist and
cognitive learning theories because it encompasses attention,
memory, and motivation.
Originator: Albert Bandura
Key Terms: Modeling, reciprocal determinism
Social Learning Theory (Bandura)
People learn through observing others’ behavior, attitudes, and
outcomes of those behaviors. “Most human behavior is learned
observationally through modeling: from observing others, one forms
an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions
this coded information serves as a guide for action.” (Bandura).
Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of
continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and
environmental influences.
Necessary conditions for effective modeling:
1. Attention — various factors increase or decrease the amount of
attention paid. Includes distinctiveness, affective valence,
prevalence, complexity, functional value. One’s characteristics
(e.g. sensory capacities, arousal level, perceptual set, past
reinforcement) affect attention.
2. Retention — remembering what you paid attention to. Includes
symbolic coding, mental images, cognitive organization,
symbolic rehearsal, motor rehearsal
 3. Reproduction — reproducing the image. Including physical
capabilities, and self-observation of reproduction.
4. Motivation — having a good reason to imitate. Includes
motives such as past (i.e. traditional behaviorism), promised
(imagined incentives) and vicarious (seeing and recalling the
reinforced model)
Bandura believed in “reciprocal determinism”, that is, the world and
a person’s behavior cause each other, while behaviorism essentially
states that one’s environment causes one’s behavior, Bandura, who
was studying adolescent aggression, found this too simplistic, and
so in addition he suggested that behavior causes environment as
well. Later, Bandura soon considered personality as an interaction
between three components: the environment, behavior, and one’s
psychological processes (one’s ability to entertain images in minds
and language).
Social learning theory has sometimes been called a bridge between
behaviorist and cognitive learning theories because it encompasses
attention, memory, and motivation. The theory is related to
Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory and Lave’s Situated
Learning, which also emphasize the importance of social learning.
For more information, see:
• Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New
York: W.H. Freeman.
• Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
• Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
• Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General
Learning Press.
• Bandura, A. (1969). Principles of Behavior Modification. New
York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
• Bandura, A. & Walters, R. (1963). Social Learning and
Personality Development. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
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