524 Part VI Learning-Cognitive Theories
sound procedure increases the likelihood that his hypotheses will yield positive
results and that his theory will generate additional testable hypotheses.
The usefulness of Bandura’s personality theory, like that of other theories,
rests on its ability to generate research, to offer itself to falsification, and to organize
knowledge. In addition, it must serve as a practical guide to action and be internally
consistent and parsimonious. How does Bandura’s theory rate on these six criteria?
Bandura’s theory has generated several thousand research studies and thus
receives a very high rating on its capacity to generate research. Bandura and his
student colleagues have conducted much of the work, but other researchers, too,
have been attracted to the theory. Bandura may be the most meticulous writer of
all personality theorists. His carefully constructed formulations lend themselves to
the formation of numerous testable hypotheses.
On the standard of falsifiability, we rate Bandura’s theory high. Self-efficacy
theory suggests that “people’s beliefs in their personal efficacy influence what courses
of action they choose to pursue, how much effort they will invest in activities, how
long they will persevere in the face of obstacles and failure experiences, and their
resiliency following setbacks” (Bandura, 1994, p. 65). This statement suggests several
areas of possible research that could lead to falsification of self-efficacy theory.
On its ability to organize knowledge, Bandura’s theory receives a high rating.
Many findings from psychology research can be organized by social cognitive
theory. The triadic reciprocal causation model is a comprehensive concept that
offers a viable explanation for the acquisition of most observable behaviors. The
inclusion of three variables in this paradigm gives Bandura’s theory more flexibil-
ity to organize and explain behavior than does Skinner’s radical behaviorism,
which relies heavily on environmental variables.
How practical is Bandura’s social cognitive theory? To the therapist, teacher,
parent, or anyone interested in the acquisition and maintenance of new behaviors,
self-efficacy theory provides useful and specific guidelines. In addition to present-
ing techniques for enhancing personal and collective efficacy and for efficient use
of proxies, Bandura’s theory suggests ways in which observational learning and
modeling can be used to acquire behaviors.
Is the theory internally consistent? Because Bandura’s social cognitive theory
is not highly speculative, it has outstanding internal consistency. Bandura is not afraid
to speculate, but he never ventures far beyond the empirical data available to him.
The result is a carefully couched, rigorously written, and internally consistent theory.
The final criterion of a useful theory is parsimony. Again, Bandura’s theory
meets high standards. The theory is simple, straightforward, and unencumbered by
hypothetical or fanciful explanations.Concept of Humanity
Bandura sees humans as having the capacity to become many things, and
most of these things are learned through modeling. If human learning were
dependent on direct experience of trial and error, it would be exceedingly
slow, tedious, and dangerous. Fortunately, “humans have evolved an advanced