Who is renowned for the concept of self-efficacy and for demonstrating observational learning in a famous experiment?

• A. Albert Bandura
• B. Albert Ellis
• C. John Krumboltz
• D. John Holland

Answer: (A)

Self-efficacy refers to a person’s belief in their own ability to succeed at tasks and influence events that affect their lives. Observational learning is learning that happens by watching others perform a behavior and then imitating it. Albert Bandura brought these ideas together in his social cognitive theory and demonstrated them in the famous Bobo doll experiment, where children who watched an adult behave aggressively toward a doll were more likely to imitate that aggression themselves. This work shows how seeing others model a behavior can shape what we learn and how confident we feel about performing it. The other names contributed important theories and therapies, but they did not originate the concepts of self-efficacy or the specific observational-learning demonstration.