Albert Bandura By Alec and Dylan

Biography Born in Canada (1925) Attended college at University of Iowa and University of British Columbia where he studied psycology. Grew up in a small school with only two teachers, making him take charge of his own education. Began to teach at Stanford University in 1953. In 1980 received APA’s award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions. Albert Bandura is mostly referenced as the greatest and most influential living psychologist, and among them for all time.

Overall impact (Main studies) Social Learning theory- Largest contribution to modern psychology Bobo doll studies Observational learning Self- efficacy

Social Learning Theory (overview) Learning occurs through observations and interactions with others. As opposed to conditioning being the reason for all learning, Bandura offers that simple observation can lead to behavioral learning. Core concepts of the SLT: The idea that people can learn through observation. The notion that internal mental states are an essential part of this process. Just because something has been learned, it does not mean that it will result in a change in behavior. "Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, 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." -Albert Bandura, Social Learning Theory, 1977

Bobo Doll Studies Based off of the Social Learning Theory Bandura had children observe an adult behave aggressively with a Bobo doll After showing the movie, children were allowed to play in a room with the doll Those who had seen the film treated the doll more aggressively than those who had not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjTxQy_U3ac

*Examples: When Children are playing “pretend,” (such as Cops and Robbers) their imagination is influenced by real world observation (likely television.) Violent television or video games may lead to more aggressive behavior. Children who are raised in abusive households may develop into more abusive/ aggressive individuals * All examples are correlation, but there is not a cause-and-effect relationship present

Albert Bandura family situation. Albert Bandura was the youngest of six children in his small town of Mundare in northern Alberta Canada. He married and had two daughters. His wife passed away in 2011. We found no information regarding to Bandura carrying out studies on his children, so we would assume he did not. There is evidence to his children having an impact on his theory

Our reactions and beliefs on the Social Learning Theory Alec - I was interested in learning about the imitation of violence on the bobo dolls for such young kids. I believe that people are able to distinguish between TV and video games vs reality, but at such a young age it could be innate to imitating. I think as we develop this becomes less and less, but it shows a lot in terms of the development of children. Dylan- Most of his suggestions seem valid to me. While there is a strong correlation between violent experiences and developing a violent personality, I don’t think we can draw conclusions, rather using a combination of the social learning theory, and the conditioning a child has been through, we can better assess their personality. I feel as though this theory is now so engraved in modern society, that we don’t often reference it, because it seems like “common sense.”

Sources https://www.verywell.com/albert-bandura-biography-1925-2795537 https://www.verywell.com/social-learning-theory-2795074 http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/albert-bandura-641.php https://www.verywell.com/albert-bandura-biography-1925-2795537 http://www.slideshare.net/wcfujita/observational-social-learning-theory