social learning theory

n. Social learning theory is a collection of theories that share the common goal of describing and explaining how the social environment influences individuals' behavior and how individuals affect their social environment. These bidirectional effects are believed to occur on a more or less continuous basis and to change dynamically as behavior and context change and evolve over time. This process is sometimes referred to as dynamic reciprocal determinism. Social learning theories differ fundamentally from psychodynamic theories, in which individuals' behavior is viewed as being influenced by psychic forces outside their control, and classic behaviorist approaches, in which behavior is considered to be controlled solely by environmental stimulus conditions. In social learning theories, individuals are seen 
as agentic and active in their planning and pursuit of life goals and in thinking about themselves, others, and the world. Early social learning theories were advanced in the 1950s and 1960s by psychologists such as Albert Bandura (e.g., social modeling of aggressive behavior) and Julian Rotter (e.g., locus of control). These early theories paved the way for later, more cognitively oriented approaches to understanding social behavior and personality, social cognitive theories. – WGS