Comparing Bandura's Observational And Social Learning Theory

1012 Words3 Pages

Any insight on human behavior and thoughts is essential to uncovering more information about human cognitive patterns. Psychologists spend years studying new theories and ideas that just scratch the surface on understanding how and why people behave a certain way. The most influential theories that give some perception to human behavior are Stanley Milgram’s theory of obedience, Konrad Lorenz’s theory of imprinting, and Albert Bandura’s theory of observational and social learning theory. Comprehending these theories can lead to a deeper explanation for why people do things based on their behaviors or thoughts. Of the three most important theories covered in the rotation, Stanley Milgram’s theory of obedience, Konrad Lorenz’s theory of imprinting, …show more content…

Bandura, who had began working in psychology in 1953, conducted the Bobo Doll Experiment. The experiment which involved children and their behavior, looked at how the children would respond and copy positive and aggressive behavior toward a blow up doll. He studied the children's behavior after they had watched an adult model act aggressively towards the doll, a toy that gets up by itself to a standing position when it is knocked down. The results of the experiment showed that the children are able to learn through the observation of adult behavior. This is very essential when understanding behavioral traits in general. According to the Albert Bandura fact sheet, “Social learning theory has often been called a bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories because it includes attention, memory, and motivation (5, Humphries, Leighton).” His theory combines many elements found in other psychologist's theories like how behavior is learned through conditioning and observing others. His theory is somewhat more credible since he worked alongside many other psychologists, and a “2002 survey ranked him as the fourth most influential psychologist of the twentieth century, behind only B.F. Skinner, Sigmund Freud, and Jean Piaget (29, Cherry).” The theory is more influential than the other two when studying human behavior and though since the social learning theory explains human behavior through evidence found in interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and environmental

Open Document