Behavior and Social Learning

   

 Children learn how to behave by imitating the behavior they see. It is not human nature to automatically do the right thing we have to be taught. A parent's expectations help to shape a child's behavior. Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory states that behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning. Bandura believes that people are information processors and that they think about their actions and its consequences. Children have many models in society such as athletes, TV shows, cartoon characters,etc... The child will also consider what consequences the model has after certain behavior. This also influences a child's behavior. This is called vicarious reinforcement.
   Reinforcement can be either positive or negative but either way it will cause a change in behavior. Children want the approval of their parents and the feeling of disappointment from parents can sometimes be enough to deter the behavior

     When I become a teacher it is important for me to understand why children behave the way they do, and how I can change their behavior. It is very possible that I will have students in my class that are disobedient. There are many causes for this but the main one being a lack of discipline and expectations from the parents. In a class with twenty kids there has to be discipline. I want my students to understand that I have expectations of them and if they do not behave there will be consequences. 
(McLeod, S. A. (2011). Bandura - Social Learning Theory. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html).