Albert Bandura, Awarded The National Medal Of Science
Albert Bandura the Ukrainian-Canadian psychologist and pedagogue who developed the Social Learning Theory, has been awarded the National Medal of Science of the United States. Bandura is professor emeritus at Stanford University, a position he has held since 1953.
The award is given annually and is presented directly by the President of the United States. The National Medal of Science recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to science, technology and engineering. In addition to Bandura, this year’s edition has eight winners including microbiologists, physicians and physicists. The winners will receive their medals from Barack Obama in January at a ceremony at the White House
Albert Bandura He has stood out as a theorist and experimenter of social learning theory His work has been pioneering in the research of learning based on imitation or vicarious learning. He has also been important in understanding the process of intrinsic motivation and the regulation of one’s own behavior, since in his theories he has paid attention to concepts such as expectations or self-efficacy beliefs.
Furthermore, he has also been interested in personality development and has promoted the so-called sociocognitive approach this. Bandura introduced the concept of “reciprocal determinism”, in which he explains that not only does the environment influence the person, but the person is also capable of influencing the environment.
On the other hand, Bandura has also trained in Clinical Psychology and has contributed significantly to psychological therapy, since he is responsible for the structuring of cognitive-behavioral techniques based on the observation of a model, for example to cure phobias. Bandura took a step forward to leave radical behaviorism behind.
You can read the following articles if you want to delve deeper into his theory:
Studies on aggression: the Bobo doll experiment
Bandura also became interested in the study of aggression, and tested his hypothesis that aggressive behavior can be learned by observing others. One of his most famous and best-known experiments in psychology is that of Bobo doll
Bandura used a doll named Bobo to demonstrate that learning depends on more than simple rewards and punishments. After showing a video to a group of children in which an adult appeared hitting a doll and yelling “stupid” at it, they were left in a small room where there was a Bobo doll. The children’s reaction was to whip the doll shouting “stupid.” On the contrary, a group of children who did not see the video were also left in the room, but they did not show aggressive behavior.
In this link you can view Albert Bandura’s famous experiment.
Bandura explained that he was surprised by the influence that his research has had, as it has been useful in addressing issues such as prevention of aggression by children. In fact, many investigations that have been carried out subsequently about the social models generated by the home, television or groups of friends were driven by her experiments.
Bandura feels very lucky to receive this award
Considered one of the most influential and important psychologists in history, his innovative line of research has enriched our understanding of learning and education. But in addition, other areas of application such as sports or coaching have also been nourished by concepts such as self-efficacy. The theory of self-efficacy has had a wide impact, pues has allowed us to know more about motivation, and has even been important in the field of well-being and health
Despite his great professional career, Bandura has been surprised. After learning that he will receive the National Medal of Science, he stated in a press release: “After realizing that the call was not a prank organized by my colleagues, I feel fortunate to receive this award.” And he added: “The Science Medal also recognizes psychology’s contributions to human betterment.”
