Albert Bandura

People who believe they have the power to exercise some measure of control over their lives are healthier, more effective and more successful than those who lack faith in their ability to effect changes in their lives. -Albert Bandura
It all started in Mundare, Canada on December 4, 1925, when the next brilliant mind of psychology, Albert Bandura, was born. Bandura grew up in a small farming community where his Polish parents grew wheat. Growing up he had attended a small high school with only two teachers and twenty students. He then attended the University of British Columbia where he received his B.A. In 1952, Bandura received his doctorate from the University of Iowa. While studying at the University of Iowa he developed the social learning theory. Following his graduation from the University of Iowa, in 1953, he accepted a position as a psychology professor at the University of Stanford and to this day this is where he is still employed.
During Albert Bandura’s lifetime, he is now 87, he has witness many tragedies and victories. To start with the first significant event that might have affected him and his upbringing would be the Great Depression. Although he grew up in Canada, it is stated in an online website, MetrolandCommunities, that “The Great Depression hit Canada the hardest.” He was also alive during World War 1, the greatest conflict between humans in history, witnessed segregation; Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Many more events occurred, but these are just a few of the most significant ones. It is not stated that any of these events changed or affected his way of thinking or helped shaped it, but it could very well be assumed that these events did have some sort of impact and that it is just not stated in writing.
Bandura has been awarded many significant honors and achievements from fellow psychologist. In 1972, he received a distinguished achievement award from the American Psychological Association and a Scientist Award from the California State Psychological Association. In 1974, he was elected the president of the American Psychological Association. In 1977, he became recognized as the Father of the Cognitive Theory. In 1980, he was elected the president of the Western Psychological Association. In 1989, he was employed to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
Albert Bandura is responsible for many books and articles that have been used in psychological research. He collaborated with Richard Walters and created his first book, in 1953, titled “Adolescent Aggression.” He then went on to write, in 1973, “Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis.” His most prominent book is the “Social Learning Theory.” These are only three of the many books he is responsible for, but these have similar theme of determining aggression and deviance, something Bandura was famous for researching.
It can be argued that Bandura his famous for many things, but what he is most famous for “the social learning theory, the behavior theory most relevant to criminology” (The Social Learning Theory Margaret Delores Isom). He believes “aggression is learned through the process called Behavior modeling” (Isom). This theory suggests that aggression assisted by family members is an outstanding foundation of behavior modeling. He states that children are likely to mimic the aggressive attitude their parents perform when dealing with other people. Bandura says, “In order to control aggression...the problem should be diagnosed and treated during one’s childhood” (Isom). Like I previously stated, Bandura believes children learn to act aggressively because they model their behavior after adult’s behavior, therefore, if one is acting violently then the child with behave the same way. A good example of learned behavior followed by action is “the boys who witness his father repeatedly strikes his mother will more than likely become an abusive parent and