Vicarious learning is explained in the Social Cognitive Theory which was theorized and expanded upon by Albert Bandura.
He explains that people are able to acquire and maintain certain behavioral patterns through observation. These behaviors are developed through varying factors such as social and physical environments which include friends and family members (Bandura, 1999). For example, younger children tend to “take in” the actions and perspectives of their parents.Whenever parents express conflicts in front of their children, it results to erratic thinking, emotional instability and hyperactivity.
Some children may be very sensitive even to mild disagreements. They may also be prone to confused feelings. In many cases, children tend to imitate their parents actions. This leads to emotionality and uncertainty which are connected to volatile and erratic behaviors.
Imitation of parental behavior is common among children who are introduced to parents’ disagreements and conflicts.Moreover, they not only imitate their parents’ behavior but they also tend to employ competitive escalation, which means outdoing their parents. They learn to express themselves in a similar volume, tone, rate and pitch (Garner, 2002). In my opinion, the Social Cognitive Theory by Albert Bandura best explains how individuals develop delinquent behaviors. For instance, younger children tend to copy their peer’s habits which lead to delinquent behaviors.
It is quite clear that in most cases, peers are usually the cause of most antisocial and negative behaviors.Parents, scientists and educators know that one of the most powerful predictors of adolescents’ involvement in risky behaviors is the influence of their friends who engage in similar acts, as most children are vulnerable to their peers’ influence. Although every individual has different views and reactions to the world, which is according to perceptions and beliefs, it cannot be denied that the world we live in is a big part of who we are, how we perceive things, why we believe in things and how we react to it (Bandura, 1995).The act of punishment or negative reinforcement is different across people- it may vary on how frequently it is administered, how forcefully it was administered or how emotionally aroused a person was when it was done. These then determine the outcome it will have on the person it was administered to.
In most cases, there are many bad effects it will have on a person’s behavior (Garner, 2002). For example, a child who is punished every time he commits a mistake is most likely to suffer from a range or psychological and behavioral problems.These can be from mild to severe, both in either short or long terms. This includes anxiety, depression, violence and suicidal possibilities.
This is because adolescence is a vital part of a person’s growth and this is where a person starts to develop his or her personality. On the other hand, positive punishment increases the possibility of a person to have high self esteem and discipline. For example, a student studies so she gets a better grade on her exam. Since positive punishment is about “rewarding a behavior”, that person then becomes inspired to do better as his actions will be rewarded.
