Chapter 7

Bandura, Bronfenbrenner and

Social Learning
By Ashlyn Dean
Albert Bandura - Social Learning Theory
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory states that imitation and identification play very
significant roles in a child’s development. Children will imitate verbal and physical
behaviors they witness at home, and as they begin to internalize these behaviours
they will start to identify when to imitate the internalized behaviours. Another
important aspect of Bandura’s theory is a child’s self-efficacy. Depending on a
child’s influences they will either develop a strong sense of self-efficacy, which is
when the child is willing to challenge themself and attempt tasks that seem
daunting, or they may develop a low sense of self-efficacy, when they do not like
to attempt things that make them uncomfortable.
What are some
examples of behaviors a
child might imitate and
identify?
Urie Bronfenbrenner - Bioecological Model
Bronfenbrenner’s theory focuses much more on how a child’s ever changing
environment will affect their development. His theory breaks a child’s environment
down into 5 sections: the Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem,
and the Chronosystem. The Microsystem consists of the child’s immediate
environments, such as their connection to their families and friends, the
Mesosystem is the connection between a child’s separate immediate
environments, the Exosystem is an external environment that indirectly affects a
child’s development, the Macrosystem is the larger cultural context of a child’s
environment, and the Chronosystem is how changes over time affect a child’s
development.
Draw lines to connect the examples with the appropriate
environmental system level
How changes over time affect
Micro- development Macro-
system system
A child’s relationship with their parents,
teachers, and friends
An external environment with indirect ties
Meso- to a child, such as a parents workplace Chrono-
system The city/state/country that a child grew up system
in
The relationship that a child’s parents have
with the child’s teacher or with the parents
Exo- of one of the child’s friends
system
Compare similarities

How are these theories similar?

Bandura’s
Bronfenbrenner’s
Social Learning
Bioecological Model
Theory
Similarities and Differences
The two theories are similar because they both address how a child’s environment
will affect their development, they emphasize the importance of social learning,
they view a child’s social interactions as central to development, they both focus
on the importance of culture, and they did not view a child’s development in terms
of stages.

The two theories were different because Bronfenbrenner placed more importance
on indirect influences, as well as economic and political climates. Bandura placed
more importance on a child’s cognitive development, such as their ability to imitate
and identify, and Bandura also placed more importance on a child’s self-efficacy.
Which theory do you think is better and why?