Albert Bandura
the most influential psychologist, but not a behaviorist.
Background information
He was born in Alberta, Canada.
He was, and still is, considered one of the greatest, and one of the most influential psychologists.
He worked as a professor at Stanford.
His first book, Adolescent Aggression, was publish shortly after he became a professor.
He is best known for his Bobo Doll Studies, Social Learning Theory, and Self-efficacy.
He was won awards from both the US and Canada.
Albert Bandura is still alive today, at the age of ninety.
Education
Bandura's elementary through high school education lacked resources, but he was successful nonetheless.
He received his M.A. from the University of British Columbia in 1949.
He attended the University of Iowa, obtained his M.A. in 1951 and his Ph.D in 1952. He found his interest in the behaviorist way of thinking, and the learning theory.
Work Experience
He worked in the Yukon to save an Alaskan Highway from sinking after high school
He also worked in the Northern Tundra in human psychopathology.
After college, Bandura went on to be a professor and Stanford University.
Awards recieved
He has sixteen honorary degrees from multiple universities.
He was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 1980.
He obtained the Distinguished Scientific Contribution award in 1980 from the American Psychological Association.
Bandura was awarded the lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy.
Psychological Perspective
Albert Bandura utilized the cognitive theory for his work.
He advanced the connections between human behavior and determining factors. (ex: environment, cognitive, and biological)
He is most widely known for his Bobo Doll study. This study has to do with the way children react to what they were shown, the video of the woman beating up the doll. They imitated what they had watched.
Later, he worked on self-efficacy. Self efficacy has to do with one's own control of behavior, motivation, and social environment.
Bandura studied the way phobias & trauma work.
He released a few books on his work. (Social Foundation of Thought and Action, Social Learning Theory, Social Learning and Personality Development, and Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis)
He does not believe that his work should be classified a Behaviorism.