The Significance of Albert Bandura's Social Behavior Theory

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Behavioral theories are very significant, but the social learning theory by Albert Bandura is one of the most valuable and influential theory out of them all. The social learning theory analyzes how humans learn through observing other people’s attitudes and behaviors. Adolf Hitler was the dictator of Germany and he was the founder and conductor of the Nazi Party. Accordingly, Adolf Hitler is related to the social learning theory because his actions were related with his life struggle. Many people wonder why Hitler killed so many innocent lives and the reality is that no one will ever know, but the social learning theory by Albert Bandura can help people briefly understand why humans perform cruel and inhumane behaviors. This theory does not excuse nor does it permits Hitler’s malicious behavior, but it provides a psychological view to his unnatural actions. Adolf Hitler was the main cause of World War II and the Holocaust; he was responsible for about 11 million deaths and approximately 1 million were children. During the Holocaust the Nazis focused on executing the Jews, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and disabled people. Moreover, Hitler also conducted the concentration camps, labor camps and extermination camps. In the camps Hitler kept as prisoners anyone who acted against him in any way and he also kept Jews. The concentration camp mainly forced people to do hard labor and slowly they would die of starvation, infections or murder; in the other hand, extermination camps were used to kill an immense cluster of people instantly. Also, Hitler permitted doctors that were part of the Nazi Party to performed medical experiments to the prisoners without their consent, basically the prisoners were used as lab rats and then they ...

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...med that violence was the cure to all his problems because he had experienced positive feedback when violence was presented as a behavior to gain his success. Another situation that explains Hitler’s actions is the following: he wanted to be part of the Austrian army, but was denied because he failed his medical exam; thence, he got accepted into the Germany army and was wounded several times. While he was recovering Germany surrendered; as a consequence, once again his positive actions were insignificant. Adolf Hitler was evil and malicious, but according to the social learning theory his behavior was a result of his attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. Hitler was tentative when his father was beating him so he retained that violence was the key to success, and then as a result he replicated those actions because he had more than enough motivation.

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