faced with environmental factors we cannot control. We often create our own
opportunities and defeats, but they can also be created for us.
Imagination and Self-Regulation
Bandura identifies several features unique to humans that must be consideredto understand personality. Unlike lower animals, people use symbols and
forethought as guides for future action. Instead of working our way through
rewards and punishments in a trial-and-error fashion every time we face a
new problem, we imagine possible outcomes, calculate probabilities, set goals,
and develop strategies. We do all of this in our mind without engaging in ran-
dom actions and waiting to see which will be rewarded or punished. Ofcourse, past experiences with reinforcements or punishments affect these judg-
ments. But think about the way you prepare for a vacation. Most likely you
think about several options of where and when to go, how to get there, who
to go with, what to bring, what to do when you arrive, and so on. By imagin-
ing what a vacation will be like at various locations and with various people,you don’ t have to literally try out each option to see if the experience will be
reinforcing or punishing.
Bandura also argues that most behavior is performed in the absence of
external reinforcements and punishments. Our daily actions are largely con-
trolled by what he calls self-regulation . Although we often strive to obtain
external rewards, we also work toward self-imposed goals with internal
Albert Bandura
1925 –
Albert Bandura was born in
Mundare, a small farmingcommunity located amongthe wheat fields of Alberta,Canada. His parents had
emigrated from EasternEurope when they were
teenagers. They had no formal schooling themselves,but communicated to their son the high value theyplaced on education. Bandura attended the only schoolin the area, a combined elementary and high schoolwith a total of about 20 students and two teachers.Summer jobs included filling in holes in the highwaysof the Yukon. He stayed in Canada for his
undergraduate education, receiving a bachelor ’s degree
from the University of British Columbia in 1949. Hehad intended to major in a biological science, but hebecame enamored with psychology after enrolling in anintroductory course one term simply because the early-morning class fit his schedule.Bandura chose the University of Iowa for graduate
work, in part because of its strong tradition in learning
theory. Among the Iowa faculty members whoinfluenced Bandura was the learning theorist KennethSpence. The faculty at Iowa also emphasized the need
for empirical research. This training left Bandura withthe conviction that psychologists should “conceptualize
clinical phenomena in ways that would make themamenable to experimental tests ”(as cited in Evans,
1976, p. 243). He received his PhD in 1952.
After a year of clinical internship in Wichita,
Bandura accepted a position at Stanford University in1953 and has remained there ever since. While atStanford, he has continued to build bridges betweentraditional learning theory and cognitive personalitytheories and between clinical psychology and
empirically oriented approaches to understanding
personality. Bandura has received numerousprofessional honors, including election to thepresidency of the American Psychological Associationin 1974.
Linda A. Cicero/Stanford News ServiceSocial-Cognitive Theory 355