Dr. Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory

As one reflects over their childhood memories, the average recollection would hold both negative and positive memories. Negative encounters endured during childhood can produce damaging and lifelong affects to mental, social, and emotional growth. Unfortunately, child abuse incidents continue to occur throughout our nation. It is important to understand why this type of abuse takes place and how to break the cycle. The creator of the social learning theory, Dr. Albert Bandura, suggested that individuals learn by examining others. Bandura’s (1978) theory is conceivably one of the most instrumental theories regarding learning and development. Bandura’s approach to the social learning theory indicates we learn by observing and modeling the actions

The participants threw the doll in the air, kicked, punched and even used objects to hit the doll. The conclusion backed up Bandura’s Social Learning Theory and proved that aggression can be observed, acquired and imitated through the observation of another individual’s behavior. Bandura’s conclusion also suggested that the observed behavior of aggression allowed individuals to extract general strategies and approaches of behavior allowing them to develop new forms of aggression (Felson, 2009).

Becoming a parent is one of the greatest gifts in the world. Parents are given the opportunity to mold and shape their child into the image they desire. When that gift is tarnished by abusing the child, it can lead to devastating effects. Child abuse and child neglect both are an issue affecting children all over the world (Blair, McFarlane, Nava, Gilroy, & Maddoux, 2015). Children who experience abuse may exhibit a defective mental psyche that remains present way after the physical scars have

Department of Health and Human Services (2007), physical abuse is a non-accidental physical injury such as minor bruising, severe fractures, or death, as a product of punching, beating, kicking, biting, shaking, throwing, choking, burning, or harming a child. This is caused by a parental figure or other person of authority who is over the child. A parent or authoritative figure should take a step back and regain their composure before allowing themselves to lose control or reach their breaking point. There have been several strategies or techniques used to assist a parent in regaining their self-control. These approaches and/or methods include: breathing exercises, calling a friend to vent their anger, taking a walk, and listening to music or