Self efficacy refers to an individual's belief in their ability to successfully accomplish goals and overcome challenges. Self-efficacy is created through an individual's social experiences. 

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Albert Bandura was a psychologist who is known for his work in social-cognitive theory and self-efficacy. He is also famous for his Bobo doll experiment and its significance in observational learning. 

Albert Bandura 

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Self Efficacy 

Albert Bandura's social-cognitive theory posits that personality develops through learning, a view he shared with Skinner. However, Bandura diverged from Skinner's strict behaviorism by emphasizing the critical role of cognitive processes like thinking and reasoning. This theory identifies three core concepts that interact to shape personality: reciprocal determinism, observational learning, and self-efficacy.

Social-Cognitive Theory of Personality (Bandura)

Albert Bandura's key contribution to learning theory was the concept of vicarious learning, more commonly known as observational learning. This process involves learning by observing the behavior of another person, or model, and the consequences of that behavior. Bandura proposed that this form of learning is crucial for personality development, as individuals acquire not just single actions but entire patterns of behavior by watching others. Unlike learning through direct experience, observational learning allows for the acquisition of complex behaviors without personal trial and error.

Observational Learning (Vicarious Learning)

A young child, who has never been explicitly taught how to comfort someone, observes their parent gently patting a crying sibling on the back, which successfully calms the sibling. A week later, the young child sees a friend fall and cry on the playground and responds by gently patting their friend's back. Which of the following principles best explains the child's comforting behavior?

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