Question

All of the following statements about Bandura's social learning theory are true except one. Which statement is FALSE?

A) Bandura's social learning theory emphasizes the importance of observational learning.
B) According to the theory, individuals can learn new behaviors by observing the actions of others.
C) Bandura introduced the concept of self-efficacy, which refers to an individual's belief in their ability to perform a specific behavior.
D) Social learning theory asserts that reinforcement and punishment have no impact on the acquisition of new behaviors.

Answer 1

The false statement about Bandura's social learning theory is that it asserts that reinforcement and punishment have no impact on the acquisition of new behaviors, which is not true as these factors can influence imitation and learning.

Step-by-step explanation:

The false statement among the given options about Bandura's social learning theory is: D) Social learning theory asserts that reinforcement and punishment have no impact on the acquisition of new behaviors.

This statement is false because Bandura's social learning theory actually emphasizes that reinforcement and punishment can influence whether an individual chooses to imitate a model's behavior. Even though Bandura indicated that learning can take place in the absence of reinforcement, he acknowledged that seeing a model being rewarded or punished can affect the observer's tendency to imitate that behavior. His concept of observational learning involves attention to a model's behavior, retention of the information, reproduction of the behavior, and motivation, which can be influenced by observations of reinforcement and punishment of the model's actions.

Beyond observational learning, Bandura also introduced the concept of self-efficacy, which is an individual's belief in their ability to perform a task or a behavior. This belief can affect whether or not the individual will choose to engage in certain behaviors after observing a model.