Albert Bandura receives the National Medal of Science

Albert bandura, the Ukrainian-Canadian psychologist and pedagogue who developed the Theory of Social Learning, has been awarded the National Medal of Science from the United States. Bandura is Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, a position he has held since 1953.

The award is presented 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 features 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's contributions to psychology

Albert bandura has excelled as a theorist and experimenter of social learning theory. His works have pioneered the investigation of learning based on imitation or vicarious learning. He has also been important in understanding the intrinsic motivation process and the regulation of one's own behavior, since in his theories he has paid attention to concepts such as expectations or beliefs of self-efficacy.

In addition, he has also been interested in the development of personality and has promoted the call sociocognitive approach this. Bandura introduced the concept of "reciprocal determinism", in which he explains that not only does the environment influence the person, but that the person is also capable of influencing the environment.

On the other hand, Bandura has also been trained in Clinical psychology and has contributed notably to the psychological therapy, since the structuring of cognitive-behavioral techniques based on the observation of a model is owed to him, for example to cure phobias. Bandura stepped forward to leave radical behaviorism behind.

You can read the following articles if you want to delve into his theory:

• "The Theory of Social Learning of Albert Bandura"

• "The Self-Efficacy of Albert Bandura: Do you believe in yourself?"

• "The Personality Theory of Albert Bandura"

Aggression Studies: The Bobo Doll Experiment

Bandura too became interested in the study of aggression, and he tested his hypothesis that aggressive behavior can be learned by observing others. One of his most famous and well-known experiments in psychology is that of the bobo doll.

Bandura used a doll named Bobo to show that learning depends on more than just rewards and punishments. After showing a video to a group of children in which an adult appeared beating a doll and yelling "stupid" at it, they were left in a little room where there was a Bobo doll. The reaction of the children was to whip the doll to the cry of "stupid." On the contrary, a group of children who did not see the video were also left in the living room, but they did not show aggressive behavior.

On this link you can visualize the famous Albert Bandura experiment.

Bandura explained that he was surprised by the influence that his research has had, as they have been useful in addressing issues such as prevention of aggression by children. In fact, much subsequent research has been done on models generated by the home, television or groups of friends were driven by their 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 sport or the coaching They have also been nurtured 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. Upon learning that he will receive the National Medal of Science, he has stated in a press release: "After realize that the call was not a prank staged by my colleagues, I feel lucky to receive this prize". And he added: "The science medal also recognizes the contributions of psychology to human betterment."