Albert Bandura's Personality Theory (continued)
Responses already in an observer's repertoire may be strengthened by modeled behaviors. Modeled behaviors may also strengthen or weaken an observer's inhibitions against performing socially unacceptable behavior, depending on whether the model is rewarded or punished.
Symbolic modeling as in television and movies, can have strong effects on observers' behavior. The observer's attention, an important factor in learning, is determined by the consequences of a model's behavior for the model and the personal characteristics of both model and observer. Personal characteristics of model and observer often interact to determine whether a model will be imitated.
An emotional response can be classically conditioned by vicarious means. Undesirable behaviors can be extinguished both directly and vicariously.
The basic problem in anxiety or fear reaction is not emotional distress but the belief that one cannot cope effectively with a particular situation.
Participant modeling, the most effective technique for extinguishing undesirable behavior, enables people to become progressively more and more dependent on their own efforts, increasing their sense of self-efficacy.
The microanalytic approach in research entails making detailed assessments over time so as to achieve congruence between self-perception and behavior at each step of task performance.
