Healthbeautyidea.com – When it comes to education, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to end. That is because education has an important role in the establishment of a nation. Nevertheless, the problem in the classroom remains the authority of a teacher. Teachers can apply several learning theories that are in accordance with the conditions in their class. One of them is social learning theory. What does social learning theory mean? Want to know more? Check this out!
Social Learning Theory Definition
If humanistic learning theory emphasizes self-actualization during the learning process, that is not the case with social learning theory. Therefore, the notion of social and humanistic learning theory is different.
Social learning theory is a learning theory that promotes behavioral change through the process of observation. This theory assumes that there must be modeling that can later be used as observations by individuals who are studying. That’s why the social theory is the same as modeling theory.
In fact, learning theory is a form of development of behavioristic learning theory, where the main purpose emphasizes behavior change.
Among several other learning theories, this theory is relatively new, which was developed in 1986 by Albert Bandura, so it is commonly called Bandura social learning theory.
Basic principles of social learning theory
The basic principles of social learning theory put forward by Bandura are:
The principle factors that determine each other
Bandura states that a human self is essentially a system. As a system means that the behavior, the various factors in a person, and the events that occur in the person’s environment, together act as determinants or causes of one another. The following explains the interaction of various factors forming the self-system.
Information:
- B = Abbreviation of Berhavior or a person’s behavior
- P = Abbreviation of a person’s personality or personality
- E = Abbreviation of environment or outer environment
Interrelated systems such as those shown in the chart above describe three factors: personality factors, behavioral factors, and environmental factors. A pair of arrows in the opposite direction in each factor indicates that each factor can influence or can be a determinant of other factors reciprocally.
For example, a child named John is a person who has expectations and values in addition to certain personal styles or personalities, likes intellectual challenges or interacts with people around him (P / Personal).
As a consequence John continued his education at a university. Because John likes the lectures at the university, John showed a positive behavior (B / Behavior) and passionate in studying and practicing various courses that he took. Colleagues at John’s workplace and tutorial groups, as well as family and people around him, who know John’s personality (P / Personal) will react with certain reactions (E / Environment), such as friendliness and admiration for John’s ability to divide time between work, household, college, and society.
They also react (E/Environment) to John’s behavior (B/Behavior). If John does a strange or unexpected act (B / Behavior), then they will react to John’s actions. Their reaction (E / Environment), reciprocally affects John’s behavior (B / Behavior), in addition to impacting John’s personality (P / Personal).
If they stop being friendly to John (E / Environment), for example, because John is too busy studying and working so he forgets his family or friends, John may become moody (P / Personal), because his family or friends / neighbors begin to be indifferent because they are not noticed. So, John is a system and factors inside or outside himself (personal, behavior, environment), impacting one another.
Ability to create or understand symbols/signs/emblems
Bandura states that people understand the world symbolically through cognitive images, so people react more to cognitive images of the world around them than the world itself. That is, because people have the ability to think and use language as a tool for thinking, the things that have passed can be stored in memory and things that will come can also be “tested” symbolically in the mind.
The behaviors that may be exhibited will be expected, feared, and tested symbolically first, in the mind, without having to experience them physically first. Because the thoughts that are a symbol or cognitive picture of the past and the future are what influence or cause the emergence of certain behaviors.
Ability to think ahead
Besides being able to remember things that have been experienced, the ability to think or process the symbol can be used to plan for the future. One can guess how others can react to someone, be able to set goals, and plan the actions that must be taken to achieve those goals. This is called forward thinking, because usually the mind initiates action.
The ability to experience what others are experiencing
People, moreover, children are able to learn by paying attention to others behaving and paying attention to the consequences of such behavior. This is called learning from what others experience.
Ability to organize themselves
The next principle of social learning is that people generally have the ability to control their own behavior. How often people work and study, how many hours people sleep, how to behave in public, whether people do college work regularly, etc., are examples of controlled behavior. This behavior is not carried out not always to satisfy others, but based on self–determined standards and motivations. Of course people will be influenced by the behavior of others, but the main responsibility remains on them.
This last principle explains that most people often do reflection or contemplation on their personal abilities. They are generally able to monitor their ideas and assess the appropriateness of those ideas while assessing themselves. Of all self-assessments, the most important is the assessment of any component or how capable they think they can do a task successfully.
Influence mental state
In addition, Bandura also emphasized that environmental factors are not the only factors that affect the way humans behave. Other factors can be sourced from within the (intrinsic) child. Mental state and motivation also determine whether a child adapts a behavior or not.
This intrinsic factor can be a sense of pride, satisfaction, to the achievement of certain targets. With internal thinking and cognition, it will help connect social learning theory with cognitive.
The combination of these two things, referred to by Bandura as social cognitive theory.
