Pangasinan State University

Bayambang Campus

College of Teacher Education

Bayambang, Pangasinan

Name: Austria, Alyssa F.

Course and Section: BPED 1-1

Course Code and Title: Prof Ed 103 – Foundation of Special and Inclusive Education

Professor: Dr. Amela T. Cayabyab

Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this topic, you will be able to:

• Know the social learning theory of Albert Bandura.

• Identify the 4 processes of learning.
• Know the educational implications of social learning theory.

INTRODUCTION

Social learning theory, introduced by psychologist Albert Bandura, proposed that learning occurs through
observation, imitation, and modeling and is influenced by factors such as attention, motivation, attitudes,
and emotions. The theory accounts for the interaction of environmental and cognitive elements that
affect how people learn. Social learning theory emphasizes on the importance of observing and modelling
the behaviors, attitude, and emotional reactions of others. It focuses on the learning that occurs within a
social context.

CONTENT/POINTS TO DISCUSS

Who is Albert Bandura?

• Born on December 4, 1925

• Canadian, American
• Studied at University of British Columbia and University of Iowa
• He was the youngest and only boy of six children
• Famous for research on Social Learning Theory

“..most learning is gained by people’s perception and thinking about what they experience. They learn
by copying the examples of others around them.” -Albert Bandura
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

During the first half of the 20th-century, the behavioral school of psychology became a dominant force.
The behaviorists proposed that all learning was a result of direct experience with the environment through
the processes of association and reinforcement.2 Bandura's theory believed that direct reinforcement
could not account for all types of learning.

For example, children and adults often exhibit learning for things with which they have no direct
experience. Even if you have never swung a baseball bat in your life, you would probably know what to
do if someone handed you a bat and told you to try to hit a baseball. This is because you have seen others
perform this action either in person or on television.

The theory suggests that learning occurs because people observe the consequences of other people's
behaviors. Bandura's theory moves beyond behavioral theories, which suggest that all behaviors are
learned through conditioning, and cognitive theories, which consider psychological influences such as
attention and memory.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

• People can learn by observing the behavior of others and then imitating the behavior overtly.
• Learning can occur without a change in behavior.
• Cognition plays a role in learning.

BANDUARA’S EXPERIMENT

“The Bobo Doll Study”

• This study showed observational learning and the impact it can have on violent behavior in children.
• Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll 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.

THE PROCESS OF LEARNING THROUGH MODELING

1. Attention

- If you are going to learn anything, you have to pay attention.

2. Retention

- You must be able to retain or remember what you have paid attention to.

3. Reproduction

- You have to translate the descriptions into actual behaviors.

4. Motivation

- Learners must want to demonstrate what they have learned. (enact the modeled behavior).
Educational Implications of Social Learning Theory

• Students often learn a great deal simply by observing other people.

• To promote effective modeling, a teacher must make sure that the four essential conditions exist;
ATTENTION, RETENTION, REPRODUCTION, and MOTIVATION.
• Teachers and parents must model appropriate behaviors and take care that they do not model
inappropriate behaviors.

SUMMARY

Albert Bandura’s social learning theory (SLT) suggests that we learn social behavior by observing and
imitating the behavior of others. Bandura realized that direct reinforcement alone could not account for
all types of learning, so he added a social element to his theory, arguing that people learn by observing
others (Nabavi, 2012).

His theory is regarded as the bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories, encompassing
attention, memory, and motivational processes (Muro & Jeffrey, 2008). The SLT states that in response to
observation, imitation, and modeling, learning can occur even without changing behavior (Bandura,
1965).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, observation plays a very powerful role in learning. It not only helps teach students but helps
them to successfully understand, retain, and apply their learning to their lives so they can learn and
achieve even more. For this, we thank Albert Bandura for his Social Learning Theory contribution.

REFERENCES

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bandura, A. Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through the imitation of aggressive
models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582