In Bandura's view, internal reinforcement is a potent force for enhancing or bolstering the mental states of individuals. Hence a feeling of pride, satisfaction and accomplishment helps both to enhance the individual's cognitive development as well as the learning process.
3. Learning does not always precipitate change in behavior. In other words, people do not always act like drones whose main features are to respond in a particular way when they are stimulated by environmental factors. This explains why some people behave irrationally regardless of whether or not that form of behavior is punishable or may have unpalatable consequences. In other words, human beings are not always rational actors. Thus sometimes they are influenced by their "head" to make decisions that may, to a very significant extent, go beyond the intricacies of basic reward as well as unpalatable punishments.
In the preceding sections, I have elaborately explored the social learning theory of Albert Bandura. Before leaving this section, I will briefly touch on the modeling process used by Bandura to explain his social learning theory. According to him, when using the social learning theory, a four-step pattern will be set into operation. These include: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation (Bandura, 1977).
Attention in this regard means that human beings, as learners, generally notice things that occur in their environment. This means that, as learners, humans need to pay attention to the source of information in order to learn. Retention, on the other hand, means that people who are learners, more often than not, always remember what they noticed in their environment. Thus if a human being have enhanced capability to store information, he or she will learn more from the environment. Reproduction means that people sometimes attempts to reproduce those scenarios or whatever they observed taking place in their environment. And finally, motivation in this regard is used to explain the fact that people or the learner can be induced to reproduce what they observed in their environment if they are in favor of the consequences of the observed action or behavior (Newmann & Newmann, 2007; Bandura, 1977).
The next theory to be examined here includes the humanistic and the radical theories. This will be the topic of the next section. I will equally examine the connections among these theories in the following sections.
Humanistic and Radical Theories
An integral part of the humanistic theory is the belief that the ultimate goal of a typical human being is the desire to achieve personal growth as well as understanding. The humanist psychology thus seems to embody the view that an individual can attain a state of happiness by engaging in those activities that will ensure consistent improvement both personally and professionally (Elias & Merriman 1995). Hence the postulates of the humanist school clearly mirrored the fact that if a human being wants to be mentally healthy, then he/she must be willing and prepared to be responsible for the consequences of their actions irrespective of whether or not the actions could bring positive or negative outcomes. In addition, the humanists' believe system fit hand-in-glove with the idea that the "present" should be considered to be the most important aspect of every human being. In other words, the humanists' view resonate with the perspective that attaining stated goals and objectives "here and now" is more practical and realistic than delving in the past or engaging in activity that is perceived to be necessary for predicting the future. It can thus be inferred that the humanists' view about education revolves around ensuring that the educator do everything possible that will make the student to realize his or her potentials (Elias & Merriman 1995).
Abraham Maslow, who is one of the proponents of the humanistic theory, conducted extensive research in that area and was able to provide what can be considered to be both the best known and most widely discussed maxim in humanistic psychology. Among all Maslow's work, the one that contributed to humanistic psychology in a significant way is his needs hierarchy. In his explanation of this hierarchy, he noted that every human being has some specific needs. He equally stated that a human being can survive if, and only if, he can satisfy those needs (Maslow, 1971; Maslow,1978) .
The radical theories, on the other hand, is built on the foundation that education should be used as a means for motivating the students to partake in activities that will bring about significant social change. Thus the proponents of this school of thought believe that the purpose of education can only be achieved when it is used to raise awareness related to social justice. To this school of thought,...
Social Learning Theory Paragraph 1 (Summary of the Lessons Learnt from the Reading Material and Two Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Discussing (the Social Learning Theory) One Theory) When we are born into the world, we simply come here not knowing how to act or behave. Throughout my readings, in the textbook, Essential Criminology, and scholarly journal articles, I have found that the social learning theory explains how humans learn to behave
Bandura's theories can be applied to a number of fields other than the clinical setting. Social Learning and Social Work In the field of social work, Bandura's theory has sweeping consequences for workers and the clients that they serve. In the age of standardized tests, teachers must constantly struggle to understand the real meaning of assessment practices. With recent emphasis on assessment and standards-based instruction, it is important to keep the
Self-Regulation Bandura understands that the development of self is influenced by the environment but that the individual also has significant responsibility of determinism that makes the individual responsible for his or her behaviors. According to Boeree self-regulation is absolutely essential to behavior control and provides the backbone of human personality. Boeree describes the three steps that Bandura suggests that contribute to self-regulation; self-observation, or the process of observing our own behavior
Essay Topic Examples 1. Social Learning Theory: Explore how Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory has influenced modern psychology, focusing on the mechanisms of observational learning, modeling, and the role of reinforcement. 2. The Bobo Doll Experiment: Discuss the implications and findings of Bandura's famous Bobo Doll experiment, analyzing its impact on understanding aggression and the ethics of psychological research. 3. Bandura's Contributions to Education: Examine how Bandura's theories have shaped educational practices, particularly in terms of
Albert Bandura is renowned as the main motivator behind social learning for his introduction of the social cognitive theory. Even though he restricted his approach to the behavioral tradition, Bandura was mainly concerned with the influence of cognitive factors on development. Similar to other behaviorists, Bandura believes that cognitive development is not the only way for explaining changes in childhood behavior. Moreover, Bandura also believed that learning processes are basically
dominant models of human behavior by the late 1950s and early 1960s were based on Neo-Freudian models and B.F. Skinner's brand of operant behaviorism. However, there were theorists that rejected the mechanistic views of behaviorism and Freudian instinct-drive-based models. Perhaps the most influential of these theorists was Albert Bandura. Bandura had received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and had been exposed to the work of Robert Spears
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