The children in Bandura’s studies observed an adult acting violently toward a Bobo doll. In his famous "Bobo doll" studies, Bandura demonstrated that children learn and imitate behaviors they have observed in other people. The first is the idea that people learn through observation, known as observational learning (Cherry). There are three core concepts in social learning theory (Cherry).
From this point, toddlers are constantly learning behavior throughout the rest of their developmental years, until roughly the age of 18, modeling their behavior upon the behavior they see their idols, mentors, and family members emulating (Hall).
When they reach conscious awareness, which happens around 12 months, babies can see and understand most human emotions and begin developing social skills as toddlers (Kids’ Development, 2010). Babies begin learning at birth, if not before. It is through these interactions with others, that we form our own individuality. The theory asserts that behavior is a thing that we learn through our experiences and the system of rewards or punishments that come with our particular lifestyles. His theory is based on the assumption that if we do not learn from one another then we would never accomplish anything (Hall). Bandura believed that direct reinforcment could not account for all types of learning (Cherry).
This theory has become the most influential theory of learning and development (Cherry). Social learning theory was developed in 1977 by psychologists Albert Bandura (Hall).