Albert Bandura

Albert Bandura: The Social Cognitive Theory

Jerry D. Nicholson

Liberty University

Student ID: 21273100

PSYC 341

October 7, 2007

Abstract

Albert Bandura is one of the pioneers in the study of human development. His biographical background lays a good foundation for the basis of his work as a psychologist. His social cognitive theory will be examined in detail to highlight the effect that environment has on behavior. There are four basic features to the theory introduced by Bandura that will be discussed; (1) observational learning, (2) self-regulation, (3) self-efficacy, and (4) reciprocal determinism. All four features combined will prove to offer a keen insight into the environmental aspect of our behavior.

Albert Bandura: The Social Cognitive Theory

Often the course of our lives can be altered through unexpected circumstances and events. The Bible clearly teaches that plans made for the future can certainly be rearranged at a moment's notice. Advice is given in the Scripture to make sure that reliance is not placed on a set agenda, but rather the will of God. James 4:13-14 says, "Go to now, ye that say, today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." There are occasions when chance encounters completely redirect the charted path that was originally intended to follow. These events play an important role in the basis for the social cognitive theory.

Albert Bandura, one of the architects of the social cognitive theory, was born in the small town of Mundare, Alberta on December 4, 1925. He grew up the only boy in a family of six. His parents immigrated from Poland and the Ukraine while he was still a child. His childhood was marked by strong support from his older sisters. They encouraged him to be independent and self-reliant. There were few teachers and little resources in the school that he attended, so he was forced to learn something about self-discipline and motivation. In that environment, learning was left up to the students, and this seemed to suit Bandura well. One interesting note from his school years is the fact that all of his fellow classmates went on to attend college.

After graduating from high school, Bandura spent the summer working on the Alaska highway. This particular experience allowed him to rub shoulders with different kinds of people. He came into contact with individuals who were dealing with financial and marital trouble. He also met those who were facing the possibility of being drafted into the military. These individuals displayed varying degrees of psychopathology. This experience in Bandura's life would eventually kindle his desire to become a psychologist. When his summer work was complete, he enrolled in the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Bandura believed that his decision to become a psychologist happened by accident. He chose to ride to school every day with a group of pre-med and engineering students. The students had a practice of waking early. Rather than making the decision to sleep late, and find an alternate means of transportation to school, he decided to enroll in a psychology class that was offered at the same time. His initial study of psychology fascinated him, and led him to the decision to choose it for his major. In retrospect, Bandura would later look back on this particular experience in his life as an important influence that helped to shape the career path he would eventually follow.

He graduated from college within the span of three years. After doing so, he began his search for a graduate program in clinical psychology that had a base with a strong learning theory. His academic advisor suggested that he consider the University of Iowa. Bandura made the decision to leave his beloved Canada, and continue his education in the United States. It was during this time when Bandura was involved in another chance encounter that shaped the course of his life. As a young graduate student, instead of spending one of his Sunday's on school work, he decided to enjoy a round of golf. After he and a friend arrived late for an original tee time, they were bumped to a later time slot. It was then that they found themselves playing behind two female golfers who were playing relatively slow. The two men decided to join the ladies, and in doing so, the relationship between Albert Bandura and Ginny Varns was sparked. The two married, and eventually had two daughters who became the product of a chance encounter.

Bandura earned his master's degree in 1951, and had a PhD in clinical psychology by the end of the following year at the young age of 27. Once his academic education was complete, he chose to spend a year in Wichita, Kansas involved in an internship at the Wichita Guidance Center. In 1953, he joined the faculty at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California where he has remained to this day.

Bandura wrote several publications early in his career. Most of these dealt with clinical psychology, and were primarily focused on psychotherapy and the Rorschach test. Then in 1958, he chose to collaborate with the late Richard H. Walters on a paper that centralized on the theme of aggressive delinquents. Walters was actually Bandura's first doctoral student at Stanford. One year later, their book, Adolescent Aggression, was published. During the course of his career, he showed a keen interest in working with his own students. Together, he and his students published works on a wide variety of subjects. Three of his most influential books are Social Learning Theory, published in 1977, Social Foundations of Thought and Action, published in 1986, and Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control, published in 1997.

Bandura served as president of the American Psychological Association in 1974, president of the Western Psychological Association in 1980, and honorary president of the Canadian Psychological Association in 1999. He has also held more than a dozen offices in other prestigious societies. His accomplishments also include more than a dozen honorary degrees from universities all around the world, as well as numerous other distinguished awards. He is one of the most decorated psychologists of our time.

The social cognitive theory was initially labeled by another name. Walter Mischel originally referred it as the cognitive social learning