In terms of learning theory, we have established that an individual may learn through classical conditioning (Pavlov) or operant conditioning (Skinner). Throughout their research, learning theorists have attempted to develop a theory to account for all learning, but to date this goal has proved elusive. A third possibility accounting for learning has been described by Albert Bandura and associates, and is known as social learn- ing theory (Bandura, 1986).
Bandura (1971), and Bandura and Walters (1963) have developed a comprehensive theory to account for learning in terms of imitation. In 1963, Bandura and Walters wrote Social Learning and Personality
Development, broadening the scope of social learning theory with the now familiar principles of observational learning and vicarious reinforcement.
They argue that not all learning can be accounted for using explanations derived from classical and operant conditioning:
Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them of what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action.
(Bandura, 1977: 22) Their research has called attention to the importance of imitation and role models in learning. In what some psychologists have described as a classic study, Bandura et al (1963) set up a laboratory study where nursery school children watched a woman model play with toys and a life- size plastic doll (known as a 'Bobo doll'). In the experimental condition, the woman played quietly with the toys for a minute and then approached the doll and began to hit, kick and sit on it along with accompanying vocalizations such as 'Pow' and 'Sock him in the nose'. In the control con- dition she played quietly with the toys for the entire period. During both conditions neither the model nor the watching children were directly reinforced at any time. Later, after the model had left the room, each child in turn was left alone with the toys (including the doll). It was discovered that children who had observed the aggressive model were more likely than the control group of children to act aggressively in imitation of the model's aggressive behaviour. These results could not be predicted by operant conditioning theories since there was no apparent reinforcement for the children's behaviour.
Generally, Bandura believed that existing models of learning theory were too mechanistic in outlook: 'Much of the early psychological theorizing was founded on behavioristic principles that embraced an input-output model linked by an internal conduit that makes behavior possible but exerts no influence of its own on behavior' (Bandura, 2001: 2). In this view, human behaviour is shaped and controlled automatically and mechanically by environmental stimuli. That is, behaviourism is seen pri- marily as a theory of performance control, rather than a theory of learning.
While it can explain how learned imitative behaviour can be shaped by the prospect of a reward, it cannot explain how new response structures are developed as a result of observation. As such, mechanism undervalued the potential of individuals to affect their own behaviour. In Bandura's theory, psychological development is neither driven by inner forces nor shaped by external stimuli. Rather, symbolic, vicarious and self-regulatory processes play a significant role. For example, Dodge et al. propose that 'Social
learning theory posits that the experience of physical abuse will lead to later aggression to the extent that it makes aggressive responses salient in one's response repertoire as efficacious in leading to positive outcomes' (1990:259).
As reflected in his writings, by the 1970s Bandura was becoming aware that a key element was missing not only from the prevalent learning theories of the day but from his own social learning theory. In 1977 he published Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change, in which he identified the important piece of that missing element - self- belief. With the publication of Social Foundations of Thought and Action: a social cognitive theory, Bandura (1986) advanced a view of human function- ing that accords a central role to cognitive, vicarious, self-regulatory and self-reflective processes in human adaptation and change. People were viewed as agents who were proactive, self-reflecting, and self-regulating, and not simply reactive organisms shaped by environmental forces or driven by inner psychic impulses. Theoretically, human behaviour was viewed as the product of an interaction among personal, behavioural and environmental influences. For example, how people interpret the results of their own behaviour informs and alters their environments and the personal factors they possess which, in turn, inform and alter subsequent behaviour. This is the foundation of Bandura's (1986) conception of reciprocal determinism. This is the view that behaviour, personal factors (in the form of cognition, affect and biological events) and environmental influences create interactions that result in a triadic reciprocality. Bandura altered the label of his theory from social learning to social cognitive both to distance it from prevalent social learning theories of the day and to emphasize that cognition plays a critical role in people's ability to construct reality, self-regulate, encode information and perform behaviours.
Bandura has continued to develop his work, and has elaborated on the idea of human consciousness: 'Consciousness is the very substance of mental life that not only makes life personally manageable but worth liv- ing' (Bandura, 2001: 3). He posits that it is 'functional consciousness' that means the individual is very active in choosing, sorting, storing and access- ing the information needed to make choices regulating everyday living.
He has also focused, recently, on the concept of human agency:
To be an agent is to intentionally make things happen by one's actions. Agency embodies the endowments, belief systems, self regu- latory capabilities and distributed structures and functions through which personal influence is exercised, rather than residing as a dis- crete entity in a particular place.
(Bandura, 2001:2) He refers to a substantial body of research, which supports the view that perceived self-efficacy motivates and guides one's actions:
Perceived self-efficacy is defined as people's beliefs about their cap- abilities to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives. Self-efficacy beliefs deter- mine how people feel, think, motivate themselves and behave. Such beliefs produce these diverse effects through four major processes.
They include cognitive, motivational, affective and selection processes.
(Bandura, 2000: 75) Bandura (2001) is also particularly concerned about what he calls the 'biologizing of psychology' and the overemphasis on evolutionism (see Chapter 2). At the same time he is concerned that, in a similar vein 'the geneticization of human behavior is being promoted more fervently by psychological evolutionists than by biological evolutionists' (Bandura, 2001: 19).
Social learning theory has enjoyed wide application to various fields of the social sciences, such as education. For example, teaching is often a matter of modelling behaviours, and Bandura observed that people learn much more efficiently by the use of cognitive aids rather than by a tedious process of shaping and reinforcement (even though the latter have their place at times) (Bigge, 1982).
Conclusions
As we noted at the beginning of this chapter, mechanism has elicited strong and polarized opinion regarding its contribution to theoretical development and, more particularly, regarding its contribution to under- standing and explaining human development. There is certainly little doubt that the writings of various researchers have contributed a signifi- cant corpus of knowledge, and that this continues to be applied in areas such as clinical psychology, health and education. However, DeGrandpre (2000) has argued that, presently, behaviourism is being marginalized within the broad field of psychological science. He has argued (DeGrandpre, 2000: 721) that
although principles of operant psychology certainly are constrained in their ability to provide anything resembling a complete picture of psychological experience and action, psychological science has yet to exploit the full implications of basic operant principles, especially for a science of meaning.
While information-processing theories and Bandura's work both have their origins in the mechanistic school of thought, we have seen how these rep- resent a move towards greater organicism. Furthermore, in emphasizing the notion of personal agency, Bandura is attempting to provide a fuller and richer account of human development.
developing in a social world
Introduction
As we have seen in previous chapters, organicists such as Piaget viewed development as arising from children's own actions as they experiment with the world, while mechanists saw the child as a passive recipient of environ- mental influences. In stark contrast, Vygotsky, Rubinstein and Riegel devel- oped dialectical theories, based on the notion that development occurs as a result of a tension and interaction between internal and external influences.
The most influential of these theorists is Lev Semenovich Vygotsky. He was a Soviet psychologist who developed his ideas over just ten years between the two world wars before he died at an early age from tuberculosis, leaving many unpublished manuscripts. He thus had a very short time in which to elaborate his theoretical framework, in contrast with the long-lived Piaget, who spent decades revising his theory. Vygotsky's focus was upon the devel- opment of cognition under social influence. In this chapter, we outline the dialectical approach to development (especially Vygotsky's) and some ways in which it has influenced recent theorizing in development and education.