SELF- EFFICACY AND SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY Albert Bandura Lauren Bancroft and Kea Izlar

Objectives The purpose of this research study is to investigate Bandura’s major premise that we learn by observing others who model and/or perform activities successfully. In particular this research study seeks to answer the following questions:  Does vicarious experience (gained by observing others perform activities successfully) generate expectations in observers that they can perform well on their own?  Does modeling generate greater, lesser, or the same expectations in learners as does direct experience?  Is self-efficacy increased or decreased when someone is offered opportunity to work with a partner?

Early Albert Bandura  Albert Bandura was born December 4,1925 in Canada.  He was the youngest child and only boy among six children in a family of Eastern European descent.  Bandura’s father worked laying track for the trans- Canada railroad and his mother worked in the town’s general store.  Bandura’s father had no formal education but placed a high value on educational attainment.  Bandura’s childhood was difficult, but productive. ●In 1918, the family suffered a tragic loss when the flu pandemic took one of his younger sisters. ●Shortly after a son was killed in a hunting mishap. ●Then the Great Depression took a toll on the families farm.

Albert Bandura  Before he went to college, he worked on Alaskan pipeline, this exposed Bandura to people with psychopathological symptoms, which initially sparked his interests in psychology.  Bandura soon became fascinated by psychology after enrolling at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where a “fortuitous event” provoked him into psychology.  He earned a PhD at the University of Iowa in 1952 and has taught at Stanford University since  Bandura has published many books such as Adolescent Aggression in 1959 and Social Foundation of Thought and Action (book of his complete theories), in  In 1974 Bandura served as President of the APA and in 1980 received the APA’s Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions.  Finally in 2004 he was awarded the Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology, by the American Psychological Association.

Key Terms  Social Cognitive Theory was that he believes the environment plays a greater role in shaping our behavior than genetics.  Social Learning Theory, which perhaps is also the most influential theory of learning and development says that social learning can occur simply by observing the actions of others.  Self-efficacy, as ones own beliefs in their own abilities to deal with various situations.  Observational Learning, which is also referred to as modeling, is the belief that a tremendous amount of learning happens through the process of watching and imitating others.

Modeling Learning occurs when through observation and imitation of other “Modeling effects are possible only if the model exhibits response that the observer has not yet learned to make…” The consequences of the model’s rewards or the observer’s relationship to them may truly affect the imitation.

Four stages of observational learning  1) Attention- the individual notices something in the environment.  2) Retention- To later imitate behavior, one must remember aspects of the behavior  3) Reproduction- the individual produces an action that is a copy of what was noticed.  4) Motivation- To imitate a behavior, the person must have some motivating factor behind it, such as incentives that a person envisions. (reinforcement and punishment)

Social Learning Theory

Self- Efficacy  Self-Efficacy : “people’s beliefs in their capabilities to produce desired effects by their own actions” (Bandura, 1997, p. vii)

Speaking to doctoral students during the 1999 meeting of the American Psychological Association, Professor Bandura was asked about the relationship between self- efficacy and reality. He replied, "We should be realistic about the odds, but optimistic that we can beat those odds."

Where Does Self-Efficacy Come From?  Mastery experiences  Vicarious experience  Verbal Persuasion  Emotional State

What Does Self-Efficacy Do? Academic Performance

Setting  The research experiment was conducted at the participant’s home.  Participant A is a ten-year-old girl in 5 th grade.  Participant B is an eleven-year-old girl in 6 th grade  Both participants were chosen carefully based on personal qualities.  Both participants perform well in school and have a good source of motivation. As well both participants have a close relationship with one researcher, which allows the “warmness” effect of the participant (observer) to the researcher who is modeling  The condition in which the experiment was conducted was in a close, comfortable environment, with minimal distractions. Conducting the experiment at the actual participants home allows for a more comfortable feel, allowing the participants to feel relaxed during the activities.

Questions  Does vicarious experience (gained by observing others perform activities successfully) generate expectations in observers that they can perform well on their own?  Does modeling generate greater, lesser, or the same expectations in learners as does direct experience?  Is self-efficacy increased or decreased when someone is offered opportunity to work with a partner?

Hypothesis Based on Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy and his Social Learning Theory, we hypothesized that the researchers will generate expectations in observers that they can perform well on their own and that the participants self-efficacy will increase more through Mastery Experience rather than through Vicarious Experience.

The Experiment During the first visit the two participants were given a short survey to measure their current self-efficacy and to see which factors influence their self-efficacy the most.

First attempt at analyzing the data Participant A 4 Participant B 5 Highest possible score 6 Middle score 2.5 Lowest score 0 (Add up the number of points scored for each question, and divide that number by 6)

Data Collected From Survey

Second Experiment Researchers read to each participant individually the story Ish, by Peter H Reynolds After reading the story, the researchers modeled the expectations of how to look through the story and how to put the story in sequential order. Then Participants were given another survey.

Data Collected

Final Stage of Experiment Researchers read to the participants the story The Squiggle, by Carole Lexa Schaefer. This time after the reading, the students were asked to put the story in sequential order by themselves.

How they put the story in order Participant AParticipant B Asks to use bookDoes not ask or use book Double checked answers (as observed)Places cards in order without checking 100%Misplaced one picture

In Conclusion Our hypothesis was proven to be mostly true! Participant A’s results were aligned with Albert Bandura’s theory of Self-Efficacy and his Social Learning Theory. The Participants’ results demonstrated a small increase in self- efficacy through vicarious experience, and an even larger increase through mastery experience. With Participant A, the researchers were able to successfully model and through this observation the participant generated expectations that she could perform a similar task on her own. BUT… Participant B’s results demonstrated no increase in self-efficacy through vicarious experience, and only showed an increase through mastery experience and verbal encouragement. Participant B, initially recorded a decrease in confidence when working with a partner, and then later recorded an increase.

We FoundBandura Vicarious Experience Participant A: Increased through observation. Participant B: No increase through observation. Learning by watching someone similar to self be successful. Mastery Experience Participant A: Increase through practice Participant B: Increase through practice Performing a task successfully strengthens our sense of self- efficacy. Verbal Persuasion Participant A: Increase through verbal encouragement Participant B: Increase through verbal encouragement Encouragement by others Emotional State N/AA person will assess how confident they feels by interpreting their own emotional and physical state as they contemplates an action.

Limitations ◆ The level of reading given to the participants. ◆ The experiment could have been more valid if the participants were younger or the choices in readings were higher. ◆ Amount of participants used. (Since the experiment required a more individualized approach, the researchers were only able to collect data from two participants. The results would have been improved if the amount of participants had been increased, allowing a wider range of data collected.)

What We Would Have Done Differently The study should change the age of participants to match the level of reading, use a more qualitative approach and survey a vaster amount of students. The study as well should have used direct prompts to make sure the participants were given the same amount of help during their individual experiments.

Why Self-Efficacy Matters “Efficacy beliefs play an influential meditational role in academic attainment. The extent to which such factors as level of cognition ability, prior educational preparation and attainment, gender, and attitudes toward academic activities influence academic performance is partly dependent on how much they affect efficacy beliefs. The more they alter efficacy beliefs, the greater the impact they have on academic attainments” (The Exercise of Control, Bandura)

Nature Nurture Line “Natural endowment provides humans with enabling biological systems, but few inborn skills” (Pervin.170) ____________________________________________________________________ (Nature) (Nurture)

Bibliographies Bandura, Albert. Self-Efficacy The Exercise of Control. W.H. Freeman and Company, Print. Bandura, A. (2006). Guide for constructing self-efficacy scales. In F. Pajares & T. Urdan (Eds.). Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents, (Vol. 5., pp ). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing. Guide for constructing self-efficacy scales (in press). Snyder, C. R., & Lopez, S. J. (Eds). Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. Duane, Hoover J., Robert C. Giambatista, and Liuba Y. Belkin. "Eyes On, Hands On: Vicarious Observational Learning as an Enhancement of Direct Experience." Academy of Management Learning & Education. Vol. 11 Issue 4, p p. 5 Charts, 3 Graphs. (2012).Web. Schunk, Dale H. meece, Judith L. "Self-Efficacy Development in Adolescence”. The Journal of Educational Research 79.4 (2005): JSTOR. Web. 02 Apr Bandura, A. (1989). Social cognitive theory. In R. Vasta (Ed.), Annals of child development. Vol. 6. Six theories of child development (pp. 1-60). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.