Which idea reflects Albert Bandura's social learning theory?

• A. Genetic determinism
• B. Language development
• C. Sensory motor interaction
• D. Observation and imitation

Answer: (D)

Learning by watching others and copying their actions is what Bandura's social learning theory is all about. He emphasized that people can acquire new behaviors by observing models in their environment and then reproducing what they observed, not just through direct reinforcement. This process relies on paying attention to the model, remembering the behavior, being able to reproduce it, and having motivation to imitate, which can come from seeing the model rewarded or punished. The classic experiments with children show this idea in action: after watching an adult behave aggressively toward a doll, children often imitate that behavior themselves, even without being directly rewarded for it. The other ideas point to different topics—genetic determinism looks at inherited traits, language development focuses on how language is learned, and sensory motor interaction involves learning through perception and movement—none capture the specific emphasis on learning by observing and imitating others.