Who was Albert?

Albert Bandura, born on December 4, 1925 in Mundare,

Canada was an American psychologist and originator of
the very famous "social cognitive theory." Albert is who
is best known for his modeling study on aggression,
referred to as the Bobo doll experiment, which
demonstrated that children can learn behaviours
through the observation of adults. After graduating from
high school in 1946, Bandura attended the University of
British Columbia in 1949, where he would earn his
bachelor's degree in psychology and would graduate
with the Bolocan Award in psychology. In 1951, Bandura
pursued his graduate work at the University of Iowa,
where he received a masters degree in psychology and
a year after, received his doctorate in clinical
psychology. Albert's success in his early life set the
stage for his future successful contributions in
psychology.

What did Albert contribute to the field

of psychology?

In 1961, Albert Bandura conducted the Bodo Doll

experiment to investigate if social behaviors such as
aggression can be acquired by observation and imitation.
Bandura tested 36 girls and 36 boys between the ages of
3-6 years old. 24 children, 12 boys and 12 girl, observed
a male or female play with the doll aggressively, while
the other group of 24 children watched a male or female
interact nicely with the doll. There was also a control
group of 24 children in the experiment. The overall result
of the experiment concluded that those who observed
the aggressive model in return made imitative
aggressive responses than those who were in the nonaggressive or control groups. This experiment created
Albert's "social-learning theory" which states that
behavior is learned from the environment through the
process of observational learning. This theory was one of
Albert's greatest contributions to the world of
psychology, and it is still prevalent in society today. It is
often applied to children who display unusual aggressive
behavior. If the child grows up with abuse in his or her
home, then odds are that they will exhibit the same
aggressive behavior when they are older . The social
learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous
reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and
environmental influences.

Famous Quotes by Albert Bandura