Albert Bandura

BANDURA, ALBERT (1925–)
Albert Bandura, who proposed the most comprehen-
sive and widely held theory of modeling, was born in
BANDURA, ALBERT  47Mundane, Alberta, Canada, in 1925. He initially
termed this social learning theory, but it is now identi-
fied as social cognitive theory. Bandura’s early school
years were spent in a small, understaffed school in
which students had to take a great amount of respon-
sibility for their own learning. This style of learning
helped to foster his desire for inquiry, which he has
maintained throughout his career.
Bandura attended the University of British Co-
lumbia, graduating in 1949 with the Bolocan Award
in Psychology. He received his master’s degree in
1951 and his Ph.D. in 1952 from the University of
Iowa, where he was strongly influenced by the work
of Neal Miller (1909–), an early proponent of social
learning as a way to explain human behavior. Shortly
after graduating, Bandura joined the faculty at Stan-
ford University, where he was promoted to full pro-
fessor in 1964 and awarded the David Starr Jordan
Endowed Chair in psychology in 1974.
In collaboration with his first doctoral student
Richard Walters, Bandura conducted research into
the role of modeling and observational learning in
child behavior. In 1963 they published Social Learning
and Personality Development, in which they stated that
Albert Bandura proposed the most comprehensive and accepted
modeling theory. (Archives of the History of American
Psychology)
an individual could model behavior by just observing
the behavior of another. Bandura later developed a
comprehensive social cognitive theory of human
functioning. In this theory, self-regulatory and self-
reflective processes enable the individual to adapt to
various situations. This interest in self-efficacy is a
central aspect to his theoretical position. This work
led to his publication of Social Foundations of Thought
and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory in 1986 and Self-
Efficacy: The Exercise of Control in 1997.
Bandura served as president of the American Psy-
chological Association in 1974, and he has earned
many awards, including the Distinguished Scientific
Contributions Award and the Thorndike Award for
Distinguished Contributions of Psychology to Educa-
tion by the American Psychological Association; the
William James Award of the American Psychological
Society; the James McKeen Cattell Award; and the
Distinguished Scientist Award of the Society of Behav-
ioral Medicine.
Bandura’s seminal research on the modeling be-
havior of children, self-efficacy, and social cognitive
theory made him a renowned researcher. His own ar-
duous work adds credence to his theoretical position
that belief in oneself can lead to success in life.
See also: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
Bibliography
Publications by Bandura
Bandura, Albert, and Richard H. Walters. Adolescent Aggression: A
Study of the Influence of Child-Training Practices. New York: Ron-
ald Press, 1959.
Principles of Behavior Modification. New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, 1969.
Psychological Modeling: Conflicting Theories. Chicago: Aldine-
Atherton, 1971.
Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pren-
tice-Hall, 1973.
Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1986.
Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: W. H. Freeman,
1997.
Robert C. Hardy