CORTEZ, Samantha Rae A.

II-13

XV. SOCIAL LEARNING THEORIES (ALBERT BANDURA)

Born December 4, 1925, Mundare, Alberta, Canada, Canadian-born American psychologist and originator of
social cognitivetheory who is probably best known for his modeling study on aggression, referred to as the “Bobo
doll” experiment,

Agentic Perspective – earlier learning theories primarily depended on principles of reinforcement to account for
how human behaviour is developed or changed, he has increasingly viewed people as agents, or originators, of
experience.

Triadic Reciprocal Causation – regulation of human behaviour by the interplay of behavioural, cognitive, and
environmental factors.

Observational Learning (observation, imitation and modelling) – occurs either intentionally or accidentally. It is
largely based on experimental analysis of the influence of modelling on behaviour.

Factors influencing modelling

 Characteristics of the model – influenced by someone who we believe is similar to ourselves than by
someone who is different.
 Attributes of the observer – people who are lacking in self-esteem or who are incompetent are especially
prone to follow the structure and style of a model.
 Reward consequences associated with a behavior – more likely to emulate a behaviour if they believe
that such actions will lead to positive short- or long-term results.

Four process of observational learning

 Attentional processes – characteristics of the model, nature of the activity and subject.
 Retention processes – when you observe someone’s behavior without immediately performing the
response.
 Motor production processes – individual has to convert the symbolic representation of the behaviour into
appropriate actions.

Motivational processes – acquisition, what a person has learned and can do; performance, what person actually
does.

Self-efficacy- belief we have in our own abilities, specifically our ability to meet the challenges ahead of us and
complete a task successfully (

Collective efficacy – refers to a group’s shared belief in its ability to organize and carry out actions that will lead to
fulfilment of certain group goals.

Essence of the theory

 Self efficacy structures vocational choices, educational preparation and level of accomplishments.
 Accurate image or picture explaining how behaviour is learned.