Question

Generally, at parties you stand near the back, preferring to observe the action. A new friend waves you over to a group of people you don't know, so you head over and make conversation. According to Bandura, what explains this?

Answer 1

Bandura's theory of observational learning can explain why you decided to join a group of people at a party instead of observing from the back. It emphasizes learning through observing others' behavior and the influence of reinforcement or punishment on our decision to imitate certain behaviors.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Bandura, the behavior you exhibited of standing near the back at parties and preferring to observe can be explained by observational learning. Bandura proposed that much learning is vicarious, meaning we learn by observing someone else's behavior and its consequences. In this case, you observed others who were socializing at the party and decided to join the conversation based on what you saw.

Bandura also emphasized the role of reinforcement or punishment in determining whether we imitate a model's behavior. If you see others being rewarded for engaging in social interaction at parties, it can influence your decision to participate as well.

Overall, Bandura's theory suggests that our behavior in social situations is influenced by what we observe and the consequences we perceive from those behaviors.