Albert Bandura is considered to be one of the pioneers of social learning theory. His work has had a profound impact on psychology, and he is widely recognized as one of the most influential psychologists of all time. In this blog post, we will take a look at Albert Bandura’s biography, and explore the legacy that he has left behind. We will also discuss some of his major contributions to psychology, and explain why his work is so significant. If you are interested in psychology, then you definitely don’t want to miss this post!
What is self-regulation according to Bandura?
According to Bandura, self-regulation is “the process of managing one’s own behavior and emotions in order to achieve desired goals”.
Self-regulation includes both cognitive and emotional components. The cognitive component involves setting goals, planning how to achieve those goals, and monitoring progress. The emotional component involves regulating feelings (e.g., anger, anxiety) so that they do not interfere with goal attainment.
Albert Bandura’s Biography
Dr. Bandura was born in Mundare, Alberta, a small town of roughly four hundred people, as the youngest child and only son of six siblings. As a result of the severe limitations of education in a rural area like this, Bandura grew self-reliant and motivated to learn, and these traits were particularly beneficial in his lengthy career. Bandura’s parents were from Kraków, Poland, and Ukraine. His father was from Kraków, Poland, whilst his mother was from Ukraine.
His parents were a significant source of encouragement for Bandura to seek out enterprises beyond his small village. During his summer after high school, Bandura served in the Yukon to protect the Alaskan Highway from sinking. Bandura later attributed his interest in human psychopathology to his work on the northern tundra. During this period in the Yukon, he was introduced to a subculture of drinking and gaming, which broadened his viewpoint and perspective on life.
Bandura’s interest in academic psychology developed by chance; as a student with nothing to do in the early mornings, he took a psychology course just to pass the time and became enthralled with the topic. Bandura enrolled in the University of British Columbia in 1949 and received a B.A. in three years, winning the Bolocan Award in psychology along with it. He then moved to the academic center of theoretical psychology, the University of Iowa, where he got his M.A. and Ph.D., respectively, in clinical psychology in 1951.
Bandura began to support an approach of psychology that sought to study psychological phenomena via repeatable, experimental testing during his time at Iowa. His inclusion of such mental processes as imagery and representation, as well as his concept of reciprocal determinism, which argued for a link between an actor and its environment based on mutual impact, marked a significant shift from the prevailing behaviorism at the time.
His expanded toolkit of theoretical instruments allowed for more powerful modeling of such phenomena as observational learning and self-regulation, and it provided psychologists with a practical approach to theorize about mental operations in contrast to psychoanalysis and personality psychology’s mentalistic constructs.
His Contributions to Psychology
His biggest contribution to psychology was his social learning theory. This theory states that people learn by observing the behaviors of others, both positive and negative. Bandura also conducted groundbreaking research on self-efficacy, or a person’s belief in their ability to succeed. This work has been extremely influential in the field of psychology and has helped to change the way we think about human behavior.
Albert Bandura’s Books
Books authored by Albert Bandura;
- Albert Bandura (1997). Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: W.H. Freeman.
- Albert Bandura (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
- Albert Bandura & Walters, R.H. (1959). Adolescent Aggression. Ronald Press: New York.
- Albert Bandura (1962). Social Learning Through Imitation. University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln, NE.
- Albert Bandura and Walters, R. H.(1963). Social Learning & Personality Development. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, INC: NJ.
- Albert Bandura (1969). Principles of Behavior Modification. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
- Albert Bandura (1971). Psychological Modeling: Conflicting Theories. Chicago: Aldine·Atherton.
- Albert Bandura (1973). Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
- Albert Bandura & Ribes-Inesta, Emilio. (1976). Analysis of Delinquency and Aggression. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, INC: NJ.
- Albert Bandura (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
- Albert Bandura (2015). Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm and Live with Themselves. New York, NY: Worth.
Last Updated on December 11, 2022 by Lucas Berg
