THEORIES OF LEARNING

Theories of Learning

Theories of Learning

Albert Bandura

Born on December 4, 1925, in the small town of Mundare in northern Alberta, Canada, Bandura was educated in a small elementary school and high school in one, with minimal resources, yet a remarkable success rate. He received his bachelors degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia in 1949. He went on to the University of Iowa, where he received his Ph.D. in 1952. It was there that he came under the influence of the behaviorist tradition and learning theory.

A) Major Theoretical Concepts

Bandura and his colleagues called the phenomenon observational learning or modeling, and his theory is usually called social learning theory. Bandura did a large number of variations on the study: The model was rewarded or punished in a variety of ways, the kids were rewarded for their imitations, the model was changed to be less attractive or less prestigious, and so on (see Figure 1.). Responding to criticism that bobo dolls were supposed to be hit, he even did a film of the young woman beating up a live clown. When the children went into the other room, they proceeded to punch him, kick him, hit him with little hammers. All these variations allowed Bandura to establish that there were certain steps involved in the social modeling process: Attention, retention, and reproduction.

Bandura's Social Learning Theory examines the way a person behaves is dependant on how the personal, behavioral, observational and environmental factors interact and how they affect the learning process. Paul's characteristics have been primarily instigated through observation of his family, his peers and his social environments.

B) Observational Learning

The Observational learning theory in relation to offending behaviour suggests that observational learning takes place primarily in three contexts; the familiar influences, prevalent subculture influences and through symbolic modeling as part of the social environment. This essay will examine how these modeling practices have impacted upon a specific case study.

Observational learning theory can be separated into 3 principles. Bandura suggests that people are not born criminals any more than they are born with the ability to behave in any other sort of fashion, this like any other behaviour must be learned in one way or another. Through the process of acquisition they will first model their behaviour based on the three influences mentioned above or learn the behaviour by direct experience. The process then moves on to instigation where the behaviour is influenced by the models and inducements are offered. In order for the behaviour to continue in must then be regulated. This is a process of reinforcement and punishment by several means which sustains and maintains the conditions.

Social Cognitive Theory Jean Piaget

Piaget actually states the potential that a child should have at a certain age. As a child first enters the classroom, his/her senses are bombarded with the numerous stimuli that are around them. From then on, they are expected to grow and to comprehend the many ideas that Piaget states in his ...