Bandura Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bandura - Essay Example Bandura has provided a framework for the understanding of behavior of individuals through his social learning theory, which has recently been renamed as the social cognitive theory. Bandura clearly suggests that human behavior is learned, and that this learning process is through observation. This process of human learning can be seen in his own words â€Å"Of the many cues that influence behavior, at any point in time, none is more common than the actions of others†. (Bandura, 1986, p.206). The social cognitive theory explains overt behavior displayed by an individual in terms of the motivational factors and the self-regulatory mechanisms involved in the behavior of the individual. This theory implies that human behavior is a result of a learning process. This learning according to the theory is called observational learning. This learning process need not be the result of self-experiences, but through vicarious learning, by observing the behavior of others, and the consequences of their behavior. This focus on learning through observation is the unique and distinctive feature of Bandura’s theory. According to Bandura most human behavior is the result of learning through example either intentionally or by accident, and then patterning behavior on what has been learnt. The advantage of this learning process is that unnecessary errors are eliminated. The strength of Bandura’s theory is that it is founded on observations made, has been proven through objecti ve experiments with children. Many of the children behavior patterns mimic those of their parents, and is the result of observed learning of the behavioral patterns of the parents and the benefits that it offers. Bandura postulates that there are four component processes that act within the observer at the time of exposure to a model of behavior. The initial component is the attentional process. Unless attention is paid by the subject to the model observational learning does not take place, and