Origins of the Model/Theory
Albert Bandura:
Albert Bandura was born on December 4, 1925 in Alberta, Canada. He got his B.A from the University of British Columbia and then got his PhD from the University of Iowa, where he began being interested in learning about behavior. Then, he began teaching at Stanford University in 1952, until present (3).
He helped come up with the Social Learning Theory which he later renamed to Social Cognitive Theory. Throughout his research, Bandura focuses on motivational factors and self-regulatory mechanism that contribute to a person's behavior (3). This focus strides away from the standard environmental factors that were typically incorporated in other psychologists' studies. He believed, from the very beginning, that behavior is acquired from observing others (3). In 1986, he came out with the foundation of the Social Cognitive Theory, the book Social Foundations of Thought and Action. Until the present day, Bandura has won many awards, received many honors, and has written several other books and articles regarding various topics in psychology.
The Origins:
The Social Cognitive Theory originated in 1940s with the Observational Learning Theory which then changed names to Social Learning Theory (4). The Social Learning theory was originated by N.E Miller and J. Dollard in 1941 who essentially introduced observational learning, a theory focusing on four key concepts: drives, cues, responses, and rewards. These models contributed to the Social Cognitive Theory by providing a firm model for understanding how humans learn through observing. During that time, behaviorism was the accepted theory of behavior. People believed that behavior is due to the environmental stimuli, consequences of the actions, rewards, and finally, punishments. Finally, in 1963, Albert Bandura and his student, Walters, broadened the Social Learning Theory by adding the concepts of observational learning and vicarious reinforcement. He changed the name to Social Cognitive Theory instead in order to both get away from the previous concepts of the Social Learning Theory and to create an emphasis on the "cognitive" part of the new theory (1). He wanted people to understand the role of cognition on things such as our perception of reality and their self-efficacy. The Social Cognitive Theory essentially focuses on the importance of learning from experience, observations, and symbolic communications.
The Experiments:
Albert Bandura recognized that behavior happens from observing and learning from the behavior of others. To prove his theory, Bandura conducted several studies focusing on when and why young boys, preschool age, became aggressive. He first set up a bobo doll in a playroom. Then he separated a group of children into three groups; one group that saw an adult being aggressive towards the doll, the second group that saw an adult playing with other toys and not displaying violent behavior, and the third group had no adult modeled behavior. When the children were placed in the playroom themselves, each group of children behaved exactly the same way as they had previously seen the adults. The first group of children displayed the most aggressive behavior while the second group of children displayed the least amount of aggressive behavior. He then continued the experiment by replacing the adults with TV cartoons and human models, and the same results were found (2).
Bobo Doll Experiment
Albert Bandura was born on December 4, 1925 in Alberta, Canada. He got his B.A from the University of British Columbia and then got his PhD from the University of Iowa, where he began being interested in learning about behavior. Then, he began teaching at Stanford University in 1952, until present (3).
He helped come up with the Social Learning Theory which he later renamed to Social Cognitive Theory. Throughout his research, Bandura focuses on motivational factors and self-regulatory mechanism that contribute to a person's behavior (3). This focus strides away from the standard environmental factors that were typically incorporated in other psychologists' studies. He believed, from the very beginning, that behavior is acquired from observing others (3). In 1986, he came out with the foundation of the Social Cognitive Theory, the book Social Foundations of Thought and Action. Until the present day, Bandura has won many awards, received many honors, and has written several other books and articles regarding various topics in psychology.
The Origins:
The Social Cognitive Theory originated in 1940s with the Observational Learning Theory which then changed names to Social Learning Theory (4). The Social Learning theory was originated by N.E Miller and J. Dollard in 1941 who essentially introduced observational learning, a theory focusing on four key concepts: drives, cues, responses, and rewards. These models contributed to the Social Cognitive Theory by providing a firm model for understanding how humans learn through observing. During that time, behaviorism was the accepted theory of behavior. People believed that behavior is due to the environmental stimuli, consequences of the actions, rewards, and finally, punishments. Finally, in 1963, Albert Bandura and his student, Walters, broadened the Social Learning Theory by adding the concepts of observational learning and vicarious reinforcement. He changed the name to Social Cognitive Theory instead in order to both get away from the previous concepts of the Social Learning Theory and to create an emphasis on the "cognitive" part of the new theory (1). He wanted people to understand the role of cognition on things such as our perception of reality and their self-efficacy. The Social Cognitive Theory essentially focuses on the importance of learning from experience, observations, and symbolic communications.
The Experiments:
Albert Bandura recognized that behavior happens from observing and learning from the behavior of others. To prove his theory, Bandura conducted several studies focusing on when and why young boys, preschool age, became aggressive. He first set up a bobo doll in a playroom. Then he separated a group of children into three groups; one group that saw an adult being aggressive towards the doll, the second group that saw an adult playing with other toys and not displaying violent behavior, and the third group had no adult modeled behavior. When the children were placed in the playroom themselves, each group of children behaved exactly the same way as they had previously seen the adults. The first group of children displayed the most aggressive behavior while the second group of children displayed the least amount of aggressive behavior. He then continued the experiment by replacing the adults with TV cartoons and human models, and the same results were found (2).
Bobo Doll Experiment
Effect of Consequences on Imitative Behavior
Sources:
1) Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2014, from http://ananda.mahto.info/albert-banduras-social-cognitive-theory/
2) Hayden, J. (2009). Introduction to health behavior theory (2nd ed., pp. 173-199). Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett.
3) Psychology History. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2013, from http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/bandura.htm
4) Social Cognitive Theory | Education.com. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2014, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/social-cognitive-theory/
5) Social Cognitive Theory and Mass Media Effects | Jason Chen - Academia.edu. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2014, from http://www.academia.edu/1530143/Social_Cognitive_Theory_and_Mass_Media_Effects