Who is the key figure in Social Learning Theory?

• A. Albert Bandura.
• B. B. F. Skinner.
• C. Jean Piaget.
• D. Carl Rogers.

Answer: (A)

Albert Bandura is the key figure in Social Learning Theory. He argued that people learn not only through direct reinforcement but by observing others, modeling their behavior, and receiving vicarious feedback. This observational learning process involves attention to the model, retention of what is observed, reproduction of the behavior, and motivation to imitate. Bandura’s experiments, including the Bobo doll study, showed that children can imitate aggressive actions after watching others, even without direct reinforcement. He also introduced ideas like reciprocal determinism, where behavior, personal factors, and the environment influence each other, and later the concept of self-efficacy, the belief in one’s own ability to succeed.

Skinner centers learning on operant conditioning with reinforcement and punishment as the primary drivers, not modeling from others. Piaget focuses on cognitive development and how children construct knowledge through stages, rather than social modeling as the main mechanism. Rogers emphasizes client-centered therapy and personal growth, which is not the social learning framework.