Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

Bandura’s social learning theory and how it applies to aggression can be exemplified in bullying. This theory of learning is an extension of operant conditioning though what really happens is the observer sees the model reap the awards of their behaviors. This can be applied to more pleasant scenarios as well, but it is important for anyone who might have children in school or want to work in a school to be familiar with this theory and how students are affected by imitation. So a student might see a bully picking on someone and receive certain rewards such as a higher social status and then later imitate this behavior. The four processes of this model are as follows: Attention or noticing the behavior being acted out by a model figure, Retention or memory of the behavior, Motivation or having some motive to copy the behavior and then finally Reproduction of the behavior by the observer.

Source: Bandura, A. (1978). Social learning theory of aggression. Journal of communication, 28(3), 12-29.