Background  Born on December 4, 1925 in a small town in the province of Alberta, Canada.  Received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia in 1949 and his Ph.D. in 1952 from the University of Iowa  Became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1956  While at Iowa, he met Virginia Varns, an instructor in the nursing school. They married and later had two daughters.  After graduating, he took a postdoctoral position at the Wichita Guidance Center in Wichita, Kansas.

Accomplishments  Started teaching at Stanford University in 1953  Collaborated with his first graduate student, Richard Walters, resulting in their first book, Adolescent Aggression, in 1959  Became the president of the APA in 1973 and received the APA’s Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions in 1980  At the age of 82, Bandura was awarded the Grawemeyer Award for psychology.  A 2002 survey ranked Bandura as the fourth most-frequently cited psychologist of all time, behind Skinner, Freud, and Piaget, and as the most cited living one.

Contributions  For almost six decades, he has been responsible for contributions to many fields of psychology, including social cognitive theory, therapy and personality psychology, and was also influential in the transition between behaviorism and cognitive psychology.  He is known as the originator of social learning theory and the theoretical construct of self-efficacy, and is also responsible for the influential 1961 Bobo doll experiment.

Social Learning TheorySocial Learning Theory  Bandura believed that direct reinforcement could not account for all types of learning.  His theory added a social element, arguing that behavior is learned from the environment.  This type of learning is known as observational learning or modeling.

Core ConceptsCore Concepts 1.People can learn through observation. 2.Mental states are important to learning. 3.Learning does not necessarily lead to a change in behavior.

The Bobo Doll Experiment (1961)The Bobo Doll Experiment (1961)  Tested 36 boys and 36 girls aged between 3 and 6 years old.

The Bobo Doll Experiment (1961)The Bobo Doll Experiment (1961)  All children subjected to mild aggression arousal.  Observation: Children who observed the aggressive models had much more aggressive responses than those in the other two groups.

Modeling ProcessModeling Process The observational learning process includes several steps:  Attention  Retention  Reproduction  Motivation

Self-Regulation  Self-observation  Judgment  Self-response Self-efficacy: “the belief in one's capabilities to organize and execute the sources of action required to manage prospective situation”

"People who regard themselves as highly efficacious act, think, and feel differently from those who perceive themselves as inefficacious. They produce their own future, rather than simply foretell it." Bandura, from Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A social Cognitive Theory., 1986.

Application  SLT has been used to explain the emergence of deviant behavior (e.g. aggression). Many research studies have discovered significant correlations between viewing violent television and aggression later in life, as well as playing violent video games and aggressive behaviors.  In business management, various motivation techniques are now used in addition to (or instead of) rewards systems.

Effect on EducationEffect on Education  Today, teachers recognize the importance of modeling appropriate behaviors.  Classroom strategies include: Encouragement Teaching self-efficacy Reciprocal learning

References Boeree, C. G. (2006). Personality theories: Albert bandura. Retrieved from Haggbloom S.J. (2002). The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century, Review of General Psychology, 6 (2). 139–152 Moore, A. (1999, 06). Albert bandura. Retrieved from tory/bandura.htm tory/bandura.htm