Early Childhood Education (ECE) NOCTI Practice Exam

Who believed that children learn by watching adults and others or through modeling?

1. Jean Piaget

2. Lev Vygotsky

3. B.F. Skinner

4. Albert Bandura

The correct answer is: Albert Bandura

The belief that children learn by observing and imitating others is a fundamental principle of Albert Bandura's social learning theory. Bandura proposed that learning occurs not only through direct experiences but also through modeling, where individuals learn behaviors, skills, and attitudes by watching others. This process entails attention to the behavior being modeled, retention of the observed behavior, reproduction of the behavior, and motivation to adopt the behavior. In Bandura's experiments, such as the famous Bobo doll study, it was demonstrated that children who observed adults behaving aggressively towards a doll were more likely to imitate that aggression, showcasing that observation significantly influences their learning. This idea emphasizes the importance of role models in children's development, as they absorb social cues and behaviors from their environment, shaping their own actions and understanding of the world. In contrast, other theories focus more on cognitive or behavioral aspects of learning, such as Piaget's emphasis on stages of cognitive development, Vygotsky's focus on social interaction and cultural context, or Skinner's behaviorism centered on reinforcement and punishment, which do not specifically highlight the role of modeling in the same way Bandura's theory does.