PSY405 Notes Lecture 32

Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory · 1️⃣ What is Social Learning Theory? (Big Picture First) · Simple idea:

We learn many behaviors by watching other people.

Humans do not learn only by trial and error We also learn by observing others, thinking about what we see, and then deciding whether to copy it

Key belief:

Behavior = interaction of

Person (thinking, beliefs, expectations) · Behavior (actions) · Environment (social world, people, situations)

This is called interaction, not one-way cause.

🔑 Important Scientific Terms (Easy Meanings)

Term

Social Learning

Learning by watching others

Modeling

Copying behavior of someone else

Observation

Watching behavior carefully

Cognition

Thinking, remembering, expecting Term

Environment

People and situations around us

Reinforcement

Anything that increases chances of behavior happening again

2️⃣ Learning Through Observation (Modeling)

Bandura’s Main Claim:

Most human behavior is learned through observation We:

1. Watch others
2. Remember what they do
3. Think about consequences
4. Decide whether to imitate

This process is called Modeling.

Real-Life Examples:

Children copy parents Students copy teachers People copy celebrities Kids copy Superman / Spiderman Society copies politicians or leaders 📌 You don’t need to do something yourself to learn it—you just need to watch.

3️⃣ Biographical Sketch of Albert Bandura

Who was Bandura?

Born: 1925 Field: Clinical Psychology PhD: University of Iowa (1952) Worked at: Stanford University President: American Psychological Association (APA)

Why is he important?

Changed psychology by saying: “Humans learn more by observing others than by direct experience.”

Famous Books:

Adolescent Aggression Social Learning and Personality Development Social Learning Theory Social Foundations of Thought and Action 📌 He pushed psychology away from pure behaviorism (Skinner) toward thinking + learning + society.

4️⃣ Reconceptualization of Reinforcement (Very Important)

Traditional View (Skinner):

Reinforcement = reward after behavior → behavior increases

❌ Too narrow ❌ Too mechanical ❌ Ignores thinking