Albert Bandura is considered one of the most important psychologists in the history of psychology. We can say that he is the fourth most cited psychologist in the literature around the world, behind BF Skinner, Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget.
But what else do we know about Bandura? Who was? Why has it been so important? How has his life been? What contributions did he make to psychology?
In this article we will briefly learn about his life, his academic and professional career and some of his most relevant contributions to the field of psychology, such as the Theory of Social Learning or his theories of aggression, thanks to the Bobo doll experiment.
Who was Albert Bandura?
Albert Bandura (1925-2021) was a Ukrainian-Canadian psychologist and pedagogue, author of such interesting theories as the theory of social learning or concepts such as self-efficacy.
He served as a professor at Stanford University (California, USA) throughout his life, since 1953, and until his recent death (2021), he held the position of emeritus professor there.
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origins
Bandura was born on December 4, 1925 in Mundare (Canada), into a large family of Ukrainian-Polish origin. He was the youngest of six children, and his parents quickly realized that he was a very independent child.
He lived in a small town and his teachers encouraged him to continue learning outside of school, independently.
Training at the university
Initially, Albert Bandura intended to study biology, although he eventually enrolled in Psychology at the University of British Columbia. From the beginning, he signed up for extra subjects.
In just three years, in 1949, he graduated as a psychologist, and later studied a master’s degree in clinical psychology at the University of Iowa, United States, where he also obtained the degree three years later. He later earned a doctorate in Psychology.
Professional scope and recognition
After finishing his studies, Albert Bandura obtained the opportunity to work as a professor at Stanford University, where he remains linked as professor emeritus.
In the beginning, Bandura combined the role of professor with the field of research, focusing on adolescent aggression. He especially studied the imitative behavior of human beings, in addition to the effects of reinforcement and punishment. As a result of these early investigations, he ended up developing what is now known as social learning theory, one of his most important and influential theories.
Albert Bandura was president of the APA in 1974, and has received numerous awards throughout his career. From the American Psychological Association (APA) he received two awards, thanks to his contribution to science: one in 1980 and one in 2004.
One of his most recent awards (2016) has been one of the awards, awarded by Barack Obama (USA). This medal is a presidential award that is awarded to professionals to recognize their work in fields such as mathematics, engineering, biology or psychology.
Social learning theory
One of Albert Bandura’s most important theories is social learning theory. Through this theory, Bandura establishes the following: learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context, and that is developed through: observation, direct instruction and/or reinforcement (rewards).
Learning, according to his theory, occurs even in the absence of motor reproduction or obtaining direct reinforcement. Thus, social learning theory suggests that social behaviors are learned behaviors.
How are they learned? Through the aforementioned mechanisms. And how are these behaviors, these learnings maintained? Thanks to reinforcement, that is, all those behaviors, objects, rewards, praise, etc., that increase the probability that the behavior will be repeated in the future.
The Bobo doll experiment to explain the learning of aggressive behavior
Another of Albert Bandura’s great contributions is related to the area of violence and aggressiveness. To demonstrate his theory in relation to this type of behavior, Bandura, in 1961, carried out a famous experiment, called the “Bobo doll experiment.” The Bobo doll was an inflatable plastic doll, five feet tall, which regained its balance when balanced.
With his experiment, Bandura set out to demonstrate the following: aggressive patterns are produced from and in childhood by imitation. Thus, according to his theory, children do what their reference models do (parents, siblings, teachers…).
A total of 36 boys and 36 girls between 3 and 5 years old participated in the experiment, all students at the Stanford University kindergarten. The children were organized into three groups:
- 24 were exposed to the aggressive model
- 24 to the non-aggressive model
- the rest, to the control group
The groups were divided by sex, and the researchers made sure that half of the children were exposed to the actions of adults of the same sex, and the other half to adults of the opposite sex.
Each child observed, before entering to play in a game room that we will now discuss, the behavior of an adult towards the Bobo doll.
Development of the Bobo doll experiment
Children exposed to the aggressive model witnessed the following: the adult began playing with the adults in the room for one minute; Immediately afterwards, he began aggressive behavior towards the doll (he hit it or hit its face with a toy hammer).
In contrast, children exposed to the non-aggressive model witnessed how the adult simply played with the doll. Finally, in the control group there was no prior observation of any interaction between the adult and the doll.
After these observations, the children went to the room with the toys and the doll. They were recorded to record their behavior. What results were obtained?
Results and conclusions of the experiment
After analyzing the recordings, Bandura was able to determine the following: children exposed to the adult’s aggressive model were more likely to act aggressively when playing with the doll, compared to children who were not exposed to said model.
Furthermore, in terms of gender differences, Bandura discovered how children were more influenced by models of the same sex.
Work and news
Albert Bandura has also written some books; Of them, one stands out in particular, from 1973, titled In this book Bandura focuses on the origins of aggression and the importance of imitation when learning, through vicarious learning, aggressive behaviors.
“The “Most of the images on which we base our actions are based on vicarious learning.”Albert Bandura.
His other great work also stands out, from 1977:, where Bandura explains in detail what his vision is about this way that we have of learning and that he has been defending throughout his entire career.
Albert Bandura recently passed away in Stanford, USA: on July 26, 2021. Before his death, he was still listed as professor of psychology emeritus at Stanford University, where he worked his entire life as a professor and researcher.
Bandura’s contributions have contributed to the cognitive revolution that began in the 1950s as an interdisciplinary study between the mind and its processes, with sciences such as psychology, computer science, anthropology and linguistics. This revolution gave rise to what we know today as cognitive science, a science in constant expansion.
Some famous phrases by Albert Bandura
Finally, we leave you some famous phrases that we hope will persist in the history of psychology, in order to nourish the memory of this famous psychologist.
- “Psychology cannot tell people how they should live their lives. However, it can provide them with the means to effect personal and social change.”
- “Trusting in yourself does not guarantee success, but not trusting yourself guarantees failure.”
- “Individuals are producers of their life circumstances, and not solely a product of them.”
- “Insecure people avoid social comparisons that pose a threat to their self-esteem.”
Bibliographic references:
- Bandura, A., & Walters, R.H. (1959). Adolescent aggression. New York: Ronald Press.
- Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 1–26.