Biography: Albert Bandura (1925-present)
Albert Bandura was born on December 4th, 1925, in Mundara, a small town in Alberta, Canada. He was the only son, with five elder sisters. The elementary and high school he studied in was the one and only school in the area, with only two teachers managing the whole school and therefore "the students had to take charge of their own education." Looking for an intellectual, kindly environment, after graduation, he attended the University of British Columbia.
He decided to attend a course on psychology to occupy a time slot in his schedule, and soon became very interested in the subject. He decided to concentrate on it, and in three years time, he graduated with the Bolocan Award in psychology.
Afterwards, he went to University of Iowa to further his studies. During that time, the Department of Psychology was a lively place with many dedicated researchers, testing competing theories and investigating fundamental problems. In 1951 and 1952, Bandura received his M.A. degree and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Iowa.
During the times when he was still a graduate student at the University of Iowa, he met his wife, Virginia Varns, who was a member of the teaching staff of the College of Nursing. He and Virginia soon became married and gave birth to two daughters, Carol and Mary. Each fall, the family would to San Francisco Opera to enjoy themselves. From time to time, the family would go hiking in the majestic Sierras or the coastal ridges and headlands of California. "To place petty concerns into their cosmic perspective, " says the professor, "nothing beats a few days communing with the muses on top of a mountain".
