About Albert Bandura...

 Introduction

The fact that our actions are not only determined by our behaviors, but others behavior too is interesting, isn’t it? This concept was bought by Albert Bandura, a renowned psychologist known for his contributions to the field of human behavior. Albert Bandura was a psychologist and a professor at Stanford University. He has made multiple contributions to the field of psychology including the social learning theory, personality psychology, and social cognitive theory. He influenced the transition from behaviorism to cognitive psychology. He also conducted the famous Bobo Doll experiment in 1961 where children were shown an adult beating a doll and having learned through observation, the children would do the same. This experiment helped in the understanding of observational learning. Albert Bandura was known as the most influential psychologist during his times and his contributions have led to new discoveries in the field of psychology. A survey in 2002, ranked Albert Bandura as the fourth most cited psychologist of all time.

Personal life

Albert Bandura was born on December 4th , 1925, in Alberta, Canada and was the youngest of six children. His parents were of Eastern European descent. His father was from Poland and his mother was from Ukraine and both of them migrated to Canada. After marriage, they settled in Alberta. Bandura faced limitations of education which motivated him to become independent in learning and this helped him in his lengthy career. Bandura’s parents encouraged him to find jobs outside of their suburb. He worked in the Yukon to protect the Alaska Highway from sinking. He later credited this work as the start of his interest in human psychopathology. The experience he had in Yukon helped him to expand his perspectives of views on life. Bandura came to the United States of America in 1949, got married in 1952 and had two daughters. 

Education:

Here is an interesting fact. Did you know that Bandura’s interest in psychology was formed by an accident? He was initially a student majoring in biological sciences. But since he was travelling to college with a group of students, he used to arrive earlier than required. So, to pass time, he took up “filler classes” during the early hours. Bandura elucidated, “One morning, I was wasting time in the library. Someone had forgotten to return a course catalogue, and I thumbed through it attempting to find a filler course to occupy the early time slot. I noticed a course in psychology that would serve as an excellent filler. It sparked my interest, and I found my career.” He then took up psychology courses in college and was very enthusiastic about the subject. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1949 with a B.A where he won the Bolocan Award in psychology. He then shifted to the University of Iowa and received his M.A in 1951 and Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 1952. Bandura’s academic advisor at Iowa was Arthur Benton, the famous neurologist who developed the Benton Visual Retention test. After his graduation, Bandura completed his postdoctoral internship at the Wichita Guidance Centre. He joined Stanford University in 1953 and became a professor emeritus in 2010. In 1974, he was elected as the president of the American Psychology Association (APA), which is the world’s largest association for psychologists. 

Albert Bandura has received more than 16 honorary degrees, including the those from the University of Rome, University of Ottawa, and University of Alberta. He was awarded the National Medal of Science by the President Barack Obama in 2016. He has received awards from American Psychology Association like the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions in 1980, Thorndike Award for Distinguished Contributions of Psychology to Education in 1999 and the Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology Award. He has also received many other awards like the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Advancement in Behavior Therapy (2001) and Western Psychology Association, the James McKeen Cattell Award from the American Psychological Society and the Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contribution to Psychological Science from the American Psychological Foundation.

Values and Morale:

Albert Bandura was a diligent researcher who spent a lot of time ensuring the validity of the research. His famous Bobo Doll experiment is a product of his commitment to the field of research and understanding human behavior. He was an innovative person who sought to expand the knowledge in psychology. He was also passionate about teaching young psychologists and guiding them. A few of his notable qualities as a person was that he was a curious person with perseverance, empathy and understanding. He also had a team spirit and used to work in teams for research. 

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