The Bundura Theory

Presenters: Allyson Green Shoshana Morris Date: Wednesday October 10,2012 School: Shortwood Teachers College Teacher: Ms. J. McLaughlin Group: 3

Introduction:

Childhood Years:
Albert Bandura was born on December 4, 1925, in the small town of Mundare in northern Alberta, Canada (Boeree, 1998).

Adult Life (Part 1):

He had intended to major in one of the biological sciences in university but Bandura noticed that an introductory psychology course was available at an early time slot. He decided to take the class, became extremely interested in psychology, and decided to focus on it.

Adult Life (Part 2):

Bandura then went on to pursue graduate study at the University of Iowa. It was there that became interested in the behaviorist tradition and learning theory. He received his Ph.D. in 1952.

At Stanford, Bandura in collaboration with his first graduate student, Richard Walters, began to work on family patterns that lead to aggressiveness in children with Richard Walters. These findings lead to Bandura's first book, Adolescent Aggression (1959) and to a subsequent book several years later, Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis (1973).

Social Learning Theory:

In developing his Social Learning Theory, Bandura identified four component processes that influence an observer when learning a modelled behaviour . These four (4) components include: Attention Retention Reproduction Motivation These components were introduced in Bandura's ambitious book, Social Learning Theory, which was published in 1977.

Attention:
Attention is the first component of observational learning. In order for an individual to learn anything, he or she must pay attention to the features of the modelled behaviour.

Retention:
The second component is retention. Humans store the behaviours they observe in the form of mental images or verbal descriptors, and are then able to recall the image or description later to reproduce the activity with their own behaviour. Imagery and language aid in the process of retaining information.

Reproduction:
Reproduction is the next process in observational Learning. Behavioural reproduction is accomplished by organizing one's own responses in accordance with the modelled pattern. A person's ability to reproduce a behaviour improves with practice.

Motivation:
The final process is motivation. To imitate a behaviour, the person must be motivated by something, such as the incentives that a person envisions. Bandura states a number of motives such as: Past reinforcement promised reinforcement vicarious reinforcement

Banduras Theory Experiment:

Having gained a better sense of how people learn by observation, Bandura extended his work to conducting a program of research on social modelling using an inflatable Bobo doll.

Examples of Violent and Non-Violent Behaviour:

 Bandura agreed that human behaviour can be

changed through reinforcement, but he also suggested, and demonstrated empirically, that individuals can learn behaviour without experiencing reinforcement directly. Bandura disagreed with traditional behaviourists about there being a direct link between stimulus and response, or between behaviour and

reinforcement. This research was summarized in a second

book published in 1963 entitled Social Learning and Personality Development.

Bandura felt that human functioning is the product of the interaction between the environment, behaviour, and the person's psychological functioning.

Sources:
Berk, Laura (2013). Child Development (9th ed.). Boeree, Dr George C, Shippensburg University, Personality Theories: Albert Bandura, accessed December 2008, (www.ship.edu). York University, Canada, Theories used in IS Research: Social Cognitive Theory, accessed December 2008, (www.istheory.yorku.ca). www.YouTube.com

Questions and Answers