ALBERT BANDURA: BIOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY - ARTE - 2024

Albert Bandura is an American psychologist of Canadian origin and one of the most influential figures in all of history within this science. Born on December 4, 1925, he is now retired, although he holds the title of Emeritus Professor of Social Sciences and Psychology at the prestigious Stanford University.

Albert Bandura has made numerous important contributions within the field of education, as well as in many different areas within psychology. Thus, his contributions helped to develop branches such as cognitive therapy, the field of personality, and social psychology.

Albert Bandura. Source:

As if this were not enough, Bandura's work helped create a link between behavioral and cognitive psychology, two of the most important in history, which were in conflict for many years. He was also the creator of the theory of social learning, and the concept of self-efficacy, in addition to having designed and carried out the famous Bobo doll experiment.

A survey carried out in 2002 gave Bandura the fourth place in terms of the most cited psychologists in all history, only behind Skinner, Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget. In fact, he is the most cited living researcher in this science.

Biography

Early years

Albert Bandura was born on December 4, 1925, in a small Canadian town, just over 50 miles from Edmonton. He came from a large family: he was the youngest of six siblings. According to the author himself, this made him become more independent and able to think for himself.

The education he received during his first years of life also benefited him in this regard. Because he lived in a small town with few teaching resources, his teachers encouraged students to take charge of their own learning and to research what interested them.

Referring to these years, Bandura commented that he soon realized that the contents of most textbooks had an expiration date; but nevertheless, the tools he acquired to fend for himself served him all his life.

This view of education may have influenced his strong views on personal responsibility, which would show up in his psychology.

College life

After entering the University of British Columbia, Albert Bandura soon became fascinated by the field of psychology. However, his contact with this subject was accidental, since at first he had enrolled to study biology.

Because he worked nights, Bandura went to college several hours before his classes started. To avoid getting bored, he decided to sign up for several extra subjects, initially without being too interested in them. However, he soon discovered the study of human behavior, and was fascinated by this matter.

After only three years in college, he graduated from Columbia in 1949 and began studying for a master's degree in clinical psychology at the University of Iowa. Very important psychologists of the time, such as Clark Hull, Kurt Lewin, and Kenneth, had been trained on this campus. Spence. Bandura believed that this institution was too focused on behaviorism; however, she ended up obtaining the title in 1952.

Career and main theories

After obtaining his master's degree in clinical psychology, Albert Bandura soon obtained a doctorate in the same subject as well. Upon completion, he accepted a job offer at Stanford University, where he has remained his entire life and continues to serve as a professor emeritus even today.

At first, Albert Bandura focused mainly in his classes and studying aggression in adolescents. However, when he began to delve into this subject, he became increasingly interested in aspects such as modeling, imitation, and vicarious learning; that is to say, one that is produced by observing others.

All of these topics led to what would later become known as "social learning theory," probably Bandura's most important contribution to the field of psychology. This is based on the idea that observational learning has a much greater effect than it might seem at first, being capable of modifying behaviors, attitudes and thoughts in a very significant way.

Bobo doll study

If the theory of social learning is Bandura's most important contribution to science, the Bobo doll experiment is undoubtedly the best known. Carried out in 1961, in this study several children watched a movie in which adults yelled and physically assaulted a human-sized inflatable doll, Bobo.

Later, both these children and others who had not watched the video were taken to the room where the doll was. Bandura found that those children who had seen adults behave aggressively towards him tended to attack him in the same way, imitating both the actions and words of their elders.

Although this result may seem very obvious to us today, the truth is that it was a revolution at the time. This was because, until then, behaviorism, the mainstream psychology, insisted that all behavior was caused solely by the presence of direct rewards or punishments.

In the Bobo doll experiment, the children received no incentive to attack the figure, but were simply imitating what they were observing. Thus, for the first time, vicarious learning was formally described. From this study and others like it, Bandura ended up creating her famous theory of social learning.

Albert Bandura and behaviorism

Most psychology books associate Bandura directly with behaviorism, the theory that had the most influence during much of the time this author was active. However, the researcher himself stated on several occasions that his views did not really fit with those of this current.

Even in his early work, Bandura argued that simplifying behavior to the point of reducing it to a simple cause-effect (or stimulus-response) relationship was too simplistic. Despite the fact that in his research the author used purely behavioral terms, he said that he used them taking into account that the mind mediated all human actions.

The author has defined his perspective as "social cognitivism," which he believes is quite at odds with many of the basic principles of behaviorism.

More important works

In addition to creating some of the most important theories in the entire field of psychology, for the past 60 years he has been one of the most prolific authors within this science. This is why he is also one of the most cited researchers throughout the world.

Some of Bandura's best-known books and articles have already become classics in the world of psychology. For example, his first publication, Primary and Secondary Suggestion, remains one of the most cited articles in all of this science.

Among his most important books, Aggression stands out: an analysis of social learning. This work, published in 1973, focused on the origins of aggression and the role that imitation and vicarious learning played in its emergence.

Another of his most important contributions was the work Theory of social learning. In this book, published in 1977, Albert Bandura wrote for the first time about his theoretical framework of the same name.

Finally, it is also important to highlight the 1977 article Self-efficacy: towards a unifying theory of behavior change. This was published in the journal Psychological Review, and it was the first place where his concept of self-efficacy was introduced, which became one of the most important in psychology.

Contributions to psychology

Despite the fact that Bandura is often considered a member of the behavioral trend, the truth is that his works are part of the "cognitive revolution" that began to take shape in the late 1960s. His ideas profoundly affected such varied fields such as personality psychology, education, or psychotherapy.

Due to his many merits, in 1974 Bandura was elected as president of the American Psychological Association, the most important institution related to this matter. From this same society he received two awards for his scientific contributions, one in 1980 and the other in 2004.

Today, despite being retired, Albert Bandura continues to serve as Professor Emeritus at Stanford University. He is considered the most important living psychologist in the world, and one of the greatest contributors to this science in all of history.

In 2005, Bandura received the National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama, in recognition of all his contributions throughout his long professional career.

Social learning theory

The theory of social learning is a theoretical framework that tries to relate the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes or beliefs with the social environment of the person. It is based on the idea that learning is a cognitive process that cannot be understood without understanding the context in which it takes place.

This theory was especially important at the time because it was one of the first to challenge the behaviorist point of view. According to the mainstream in psychology at the time, all learning occurs solely as a consequence of reinforcement and punishment.

However, in his experiments Bandura showed that on some occasions the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes or beliefs can occur without the need for direct reinforcement. On the contrary, simple observation and imitation may be enough for learning to take place.

Social learning theory served as a bridge between the behavioral and cognitive currents, thus being one of the first to approach both approaches. In addition, it served to explain many different types of learning, even those that were not traditionally understood.

- Postulates of social learning theory

Social learning theory is quite complex, and it can be used to explain many different situations. However, its basic principles are actually quite simple. Next we will see which are the most important.

1- Learning has a cognitive part

As we have already mentioned, before Bandura carried out his experiments, it was believed that learning occurred only in response to the circumstances of the person's environment, without a cognitive process mediating at any time. The mind was treated as a 'black box', which could not be entered or was not interested in doing so.

Social learning theory challenged this idea, postulating that when we acquire new knowledge, idea or belief, we do so through the intervention of complex mental processes. Although the theory is not able to explain all that exist, it laid the foundations so that much more research could be carried out in this regard.

2- Existence of vicarious reinforcement

One of the main ideas of social learning theory is that a person can observe reinforcements or punishments applied to another person, and change their behavior based on them. This is what is known as "vicarious reinforcement."

Thus, one person could observe another being rewarded for acting in a specific way; and through a complex cognitive process, you may decide to take the same action in order to get the same reinforcement. This is a typically human behavior, since the vast majority of animals cannot carry it out.

3- Learning may not be observable

Some of the experiments carried out by Bandura and his followers showed that it is not always that learning takes place that it has to be accompanied by an externally visible change. This is something that has never been contemplated in previous psychological research.

Thus, social learning theory postulates that some knowledge acquisitions can occur through observation, reflection on what is observed and decision-making related to this cognitive process. This is what is known as "observational learning" or modeling.

4- Bridge between behaviorism and cognitivism

Before the rise of behaviorism, existing psychological currents also tried to examine the mental processes behind basic cognitive phenomena. However, by focusing on observable behaviors, the parents of this new trend completely rejected the study of them.

With the advent of social learning theory, a bridge was created between the two approaches for the first time. Bandura believed that reinforcement, punishment, habituation, and sensitization really played an important role in learning, but she also described various mental processes that modulated their effects.

5- The relationship between learner and environment is reciprocal

The last fundamental idea of ​​social learning theory is that the learner is not a passive element in this process, but that the fact that he changes his attitudes, beliefs and ideas can affect the environment in turn. In this way, both are modifying each other.

This postulate could also explain why different people do not acquire the same learning even when they are in very similar situations; and why the presence of a particular individual in a particular context can completely change the experience of others in it.

Self-efficacy

Another of the most important theories proposed by Albert Bandura was that of self-efficacy. This term refers to the personal judgment on the capacity that each one has to carry out the necessary actions to face the situations that arise in life.

The concept of self-efficacy is fundamental to understanding human behavior. This is because the expectations that each individual has regarding their capacities and abilities will cause them to be able to act effectively in the face of a problem or not; and they will also determine how long a person can work to resolve their difficulties.

In this way, individuals who have very high levels of self-efficacy will strive and perform actions that, applied in the correct way, will lead them to achieve their goals and overcome most of their problems. On the contrary, those who have a low level in this parameter will usually stop trying and tend to fail in what they set out to do.

Self-efficacy is related to self-esteem, although the two concepts are not necessarily interchangeable. This is because someone who believes that they do not have the skills or abilities to deal with their problems may still value themselves.

The effects of self-efficacy can be observed in all fields of human activity. Bandura found that by determining a person's beliefs about their ability to affect a situation, the outcome of their efforts can be predicted.

Bandura also tried to discover what were the factors that determined a person's self-efficacy, as well as the principles that allowed to change it. In this way, she intended to create a theoretical and practical approach by which an individual's experience and ability to solve problems could be improved.

Other investigations

Although Albert Bandura's best-known theories are that of social learning and self-efficacy, in his more than 60 years of professional career this author has carried out a large amount of research in many different fields.

For example, after his studies with the theory of social learning, this researcher continued to inquire about aggression and the different cognitive, social and behavioral processes that can influence its appearance. Its aim was to prevent the frequent outbreaks of violence in all human societies.

Within the study of aggression, Bandura focused mainly on that which occurs in young people and adolescents. In fact, her first book, Teen Assault, focused exclusively on this topic.

Another of the research fields in which Bandura invested more time and effort was in understanding the interaction between the internal processes that occur in people's minds, their observable behaviors, and the contexts in which they move.

Thus, for example, he conducted various research on topics such as personality, beliefs, self-esteem, emotions and biological determinism.

Therapies

In social learning theory, the modeling of behaviors observed in other people is one of the main ways in which new knowledge and attitudes are generated. After discovering this principle, Albert Bandura tried to find a way to apply it in a therapy context, both to explain the origin of some mental disorders and to solve them.

Although it was never possible to apply modeling to treat all existing mental disorders, its use did serve to solve some such as phobias or those related to anxiety. Bandura, for example, found that when a person with an aversion to a particular element observed another who had already managed to overcome this emotion, they felt relief and were able to improve more quickly.

Today, the therapeutic approach used by Bandura is used effectively to treat a number of different disorders, notably generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and some eating disorders. However, the field in which it still works best is in that of phobias.

Similar to another treatment known as systematic desensitization, behavior modeling exposes the patient to the object or situation that causes fear or anxiety. However, he does so indirectly, by teaching the patient how another person copes with him in a relaxed way.

By observing another individual dealing with the object of his phobia fearlessly and with a calm demeanor, the patient acquires a reference that allows him to develop his own ability to do the same. Theoretically, after this the person can use this point of reference to deal with situations that cause anxiety in real life.

References

1. "Albert Bandura" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: October 16, 2019 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
2. "Using behavior modeling theory for phobic patients" in: VeryWell Mind. Retrieved on: October 16, 2019 from VeryWell Mind: verywellmind.com.
3. "Social learning theory" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: October 16, 2019 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
4. "Albert Bandura" in: Britannica. Retrieved on: October 16, 2019 from Britannica: britannica.com.
5. "Self - efficacy" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: October 16, 2019 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.