Who is known for proposing the concept of modeling in learning?

Albert Bandura is renowned for proposing the concept of modeling in learning through his social learning theory. This theory emphasizes that individuals can learn new behaviors by observing others, rather than solely through direct experience or reinforcement. Bandura's famous "Bobo doll" experiment demonstrated that children could imitate aggressive behaviors observed in adults, highlighting the impact of observational learning.

Modeling, according to Bandura, involves four main processes: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. For someone to learn through modeling, they must first pay attention to the behavior being demonstrated. Then, they need to retain the information in memory to reproduce it later. Finally, an individual must have the motivation to perform the observed behavior, which can be influenced by factors such as expectancy of reinforcement.

This foundation laid by Bandura has been crucial in understanding social and cognitive aspects of learning and has wide implications in various fields, including education, psychology, and therapy.