Bandura, Albert

Albert Bandura was born on 4th December in 1925 in Alberta, Canada where he was the youngest of six children. He grew up in a rural community where the opportunities for education were limited and very basic. As a result, Bandura took to teaching himself independently and was motivated to continue his education outside of his small community.

After graduating high school in 1946, Bandura enrolled at the University of British Colombia where he originally began studying biological sciences. During his time at university, Bandura took extra classes on a morning, which is where he discovered psychology and from that moment onwards he had found his career. Bandura excelled academically, and received the Bolocan Award for his outstanding work when he graduated in 1949. Bandura went on to complete his maters and Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Iowa before taking on a yearlong instructorship at Stanford University and eventually becoming a full-time professor there. It was at Stanford that Bandura conducted his famous Bobo Doll study.

In 1961 Bandura, along with two of his colleagues, conducted an experiment involving a Bobo doll exploring how aggressive behaviour is learnt and modelled in children. His study found that children were more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviour towards the doll after being exposed to an adult role modelling displaying aggressive behaviour than children who had not been exposed to aggressive behaviour. This research provided the foundation for Bandura’s Social Learning Theory – the idea that people learn through observation and imitation. This theory has had a significant amount of influence and practical applications, particularly as at the time it was published the Vietnam War was televised on many news channels, and this research highlighted the negative impact this may have on children. This is especially important when considering that before Bandura’s research, the common assumption was that consuming violent media actually acted as a relief for aggression and therefore would reduce the amount of aggressive behaviours people display. In fact, Bandura testified against televised violence before Capitol Hill, and became a prominent figure in restricting the amount of violence children are exposed to.

Bandura published Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis in 1973 and became chairman of the psychology department at Stanford University in 1976. The following year, Bandura published his book Social Learning Theory, one of the most influential pieces of work in psychology and human behaviour. Along with social learning theory, Bandura was well known for his work into self-efficacy, and how our perceptions and attitudes about ourselves influence our behaviour and thoughts, as well as our opinions of others. This was a huge milestone in understanding why people might justify committing immoral or criminal acts. Bandura achieved many awards throughout his long career, and in 2004 he was awarded the American Psychological Association award for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology, and in 2016 he received the National Medal of Science.

Albert Bandura died on 26th July, 2021, and until his death he held the title of most cited living psychologist for his many published works.