Albert Bandura's social learning theory and self-efficacy concept

Social Learning Theory

The Father of Social Learning Theory

Albert Bandura's "Social Learning Theory" represents one of the most important additions to the social sciences and an understanding of human behavior. Built on the foundation of early behaviorists, Bandura's theory discards the one size fits all attitude to human motivation that characterized its early roots. Bandura proposed that individual differences determine motivation and that the affects of an individual have reciprocal affects on others. The following will discuss these theories and the importance of them on modern social sciences. It will support the thesis that Bandura's Social Learning Theory is important in the field of social work today. It will support the concept that a social worker must keep the tenets of social learning theory at the forefront of client interactions in order to be effective.

Key Tenets of Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory stemmed from the works of early behaviorists such as Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner ("Social Learning Theory," 2008). Albert Bandura based his work on theories by Julian Rotter, which took into account the cognitive factors of human learning. These factors included the expectations that a person would have about an outcome and the importance that they placed on these outcomes ("Social Learning Theory," 2008). Bandura expanded on these theories to include the reciprocal nature of our thoughts and actions on the environment, and on the environment on our thoughts and actions ("Social Learning Theory," 2008). This serves as the basic tenet of Bandura's Social Learning Theory.

Bandura introduced the term "Self-efficacy" into the body of motivational theory. This idea means that in order for a person to be motivated into an action, they must first believe that they are able to succeed at the task. If the task is too difficult and they do not expect to succeed, they will not be likely to engage in the activity. Bandura's theory took into account personal values and expectation in the decision to undertake an activity. This personal factor was missing from the work of early behaviorists.

Bandura also introduced the concept of social modeling. This tenet holds that if a person behaves a certain way, they will be accepted and the behavior will be reinforced (Ormond, 1999). This explains how fashion develops. When a person dresses in the accepted fashion, they are accepted by the group. This reinforces this mode of dress (Ormond, 1999). The behavior becomes self-reinforcing and is likely to continue. However, Bandura also found that children will model a behavior and continue to model a behavior, even in the absence of reinforcement (Ormond, 1999). This tenet demonstrates that we learn much of our behavior through imitation.

Social Learning and Social Work

In the field of social work, Bandura's theory has sweeping consequences for workers and the clients that they serve. In the age of standardized tests, teachers must constantly struggle to understand the real meaning of assessment practices. With recent emphasis on assessment and standards-based instruction, it is important to keep the motivational constructs of Bandura in mind. According to motivational theory, testing and assessment can have a negative consequence on a child's concept of self-efficacy (Shephard, 2000). This could decrease their motivation to learn and to attempt to do well on tests in the future.

This same concept applies to juveniles and adults. The social worker must realize that harsh criticisms and continual punishment can lead to reduced self-efficacy. If this happens, the client may be set up for future failures. Eventually, they will believe themselves to be a failure and will no longer attempt to make improvements. This is seen in the criminal justice system in youth who see the jail cell as a revolving door.

It is important for the social worker to understand the lasting affect that their client interactions have on the person. They must include the concepts of Bandura in their treatment plan. If one applies Social Learning Theory to social work, it becomes apparent that reward is a much more effective tool than punishment. Bandura tells us that we are much more complex than Skinner's rats, or Pavlov's dogs. We do not only seek to avoid negative consequences, we seek reward. However, in order to seek reward, we must first believe that the reward has value and that we have the ability to obtain the reward through our actions. Continual criticism is not likely to gain produce the behaviors the desired outcomes in clients.

The social worker must also be aware of the affects of modeling. If the client is in an atmosphere where undesirable behaviors become self-rewarding, it can only be expected that regardless of what the social worker does, their efforts are being thwarted by the primary learning environment of the client. This factor is important in work involving criminal behavior (Akers & Jensen, forthcoming). The social worker must approach the problem holistically in order to provide better models for the client's behavior.

As one can see, the tenets established by Albert Bandura had a profound affect on many areas of social work. The application of Bandura's theories in the social work setting can help to avoid many negative consequences in clients. The social worker must understand the key factors that influence motivation and the importance of using reward over punishment. Behaviors become self-rewarding, even if the behavior itself if undesirable. The environment of the client must be conducive to success in order for therapies to have a significant impact on changing their lives. The social worker must be aware of the long-term consequences of constant evaluation and criticism. The effective social worker can apply Bandura's theories on a daily basis to create a positive atmosphere for modeling new behaviors and patterns. Bandura's work is one of the most important theories that influenced modern clinical pedagogy and forms one of the most important theories in social work today.