Social Learning Theory of Albert Bandura a

The Social Learning Theory of Albert Bandura

Among the repertoire of human behaviors, none has aroused deeper concern than human aggressiveness (Bandura, 1973). This paper will analyze the social learning theory of aggression proposed by Albert Bandura. Bandura proposed that aggressive behavior can be acquired by others based on principles of operant conditioning and modeling. He conducted classic experiments dealing with how children acquire aggressive behavior based on the principles of operant conditioning (rewards and punishments) and modeling (Bandura, 1973). In addition, this paper will present the positive and negative aspects of his theory. It will also examine how others have defined aggression and the various theories that have been proposed to account for aggression.

Aggression, like most other concerns, has been characterized in many different ways. Many people describe aggression solely in terms of the attributes of the behavior. Other definitions of aggression emphasize the instigation of aggression, the emotional aspects, or the intent of the aggressive action (Bandura, 1977). Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mowrer, & Sears (1939) defined aggression as "any sequence of behavior, the goal-response to which is the injury of the person toward whom it is directed" (p. 9). However, a major criticism of such a definition is that it assumes that aggression serves only a single purpose, namely inflicting injury. If aggression is rest

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ple are neither driven by inner forces nor helplessly vulnerable to environmental influences. The environmental is not considered a fixed property that impinges on individuals and to which behavior eventually adapts. Bandura contended that behavior partly creates the environment and the environment influences the behavior. He proposed that patterns of behavior such as aggression could be acquired through direct experience or by observing the behavior of others. In addition, learning could be heavily influenced by the rewarding and punishing consequences that follow a given action. By the process of punishments and reinforcements, successful modes of behavior are eventually selected while ineffectual ones are discarded. Bandura contended that behavior could be shaped in different directions by rewarding and punishing consequences. However, learning would be extremely tedious and hazardous if it proceeded entirely by the principles of operant conditioning (Bandura, 1973). The majority of the responses that people display are learned: "Albert Bandura and other social-learning theorists . . . regard one person's imitation of another's behavior as involving a special kind of learning. They term it 'observation learning'"

Category: Psychology - S