Social learning theory holds that people acquire new behavior chiefly by observing a model, another person, and the consequences that model experiences, rather than only through direct reinforcement of their own actions. Albert Bandura demonstrated this in his Bobo doll experiments of the early 1960s, in which children who watched an adult act aggressively toward an inflatable doll went on to imitate that aggression themselves with no reward of their own involved. Bandura formalized the theory in 1977 and, in his 1986 book Social Foundations of Thought and Action, expanded it into social cognitive theory, adding self-efficacy, a person's belief in their own capability to carry out a course of action, as a factor governing whether a learned behavior is actually attempted and sustained.
Facts
Core ClaimPeople learn new behavior largely by observing models and the consequences those models experience rather than only through their own direct reinforcement, and a learner's self-efficacy, their belief in their own capability, shapes whether they attempt and persist at a behavior they have learned this way. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Held Differently
Revises rather than rejects reinforcement-based accounts of learning by adding observation, modeling and self-efficacy as cognitive mediators.
Offers a different, cognitively mediated account of how behavior is acquired than strict operant conditioning, incorporating observation and self-efficacy alongside reinforcement.
Developed By
In Approach
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Social cognitive theory
Wikimedia FoundationCore Concept, Observational LearningQuote, Core Concept, Observational Learning
The theory states that when people observe a model performing a behavior and the consequences of that behavior, they remember the sequence of events and use this information to guide subsequent behaviors.
1. Wikipedia: Social cognitive theory
Wikimedia FoundationOn Self-Efficacy's RoleQuote, On Self-Efficacy's Role
Self-efficacy is the belief in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations.
1. Wikipedia: Social cognitive theory
Wikimedia FoundationDevelopment and Key FiguresQuote, Development and Key Figures
Bandura formalized the theory in his 1977 publication and substantially expanded it in his 1986 book Social Foundations of Thought and Action.
Wikipedia: Albert Bandura
Wikimedia FoundationDeveloped By: Albert Bandura, Research sectionQuote, Developed By: Albert Bandura, Research section
Modeling as an important means for learning new behaviors and for achieving behavioral change in an institutional setting
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