Blog Post One: Social Learning
Since graduating high school, my time playing organized sports has come to an end and my focus has shifted to competing in triathlons. Over the past two years, I've watched my mom train for (and absolutely kill) two Ironman races, which has been a powerful example of social learning in my own life.
Albert Bandura developed social learning theory, which suggests that people learn by observing others (https://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html). If you're unfamiliar, an Ironman is a race consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run. It takes several months to get ready for and requires a lot of discipline. By observing my mom's training sessions, recovery routines, and how she was able to balance training, work, and her personal life, I was able to gain a lot of insight into what it takes to prepare for such a big race. I paid close attention to her habits, from things like nutrition and sleep to how she was able to push through the mental blocks that inevitably presented themselves.
Without even realizing it at first, I began to pick up on the way she approached her training and found myself mimicking some of her routines. For example, a lot of her workouts consisted of a bike ride followed by a run right after. I started to do this with her and copy her training schedule to better understand how she trained. We also signed up for a few races to do together to help her prepare, including a 2.4 mile ocean swim. Watching my mom even created my own goal to complete an Ironman in the near future.
Social learning theory also considers how environmental factors influence human learning and behavior. Living in an environment where my mom's life essentially revolved around training for this race played a key role in the social learning that occurred. Since I had direct exposure to her routines and habits, I adopted similar behaviors and the training became more normal to me.
This is a prime example of Bandura's social learning theory in action. Observing and living with my mom shaped my behaviors, beliefs, and goals.
Source:
McLeod, Saul. "Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory." Simply Psychology, 3 Jan. 2024, www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html.
That’s such a great example of social learning theory! It’s amazing how watching your mom train and stay disciplined inspired you to take on similar habits and goals. You clearly learned a lot just by being around her and seeing her routines up close, which really shows how powerful observation can be. It’s cool that this experience has motivated you to do an Ironman yourself—best of luck with your training!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great example of social learning theory in action. It’s cool how just watching your mom go through the training process gave you a better understanding of what it takes, and how that ended up influencing your own habits. It’s not always something we realize in the moment, but being around someone so focused can really push us to adopt similar behaviors. I like how you mentioned copying her training schedule and even doing some races together that definitely shows how observation and environment play a big role.
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