Albert Bandura (1925-2021)

Memorializes Albert Bandura (1925-2021). Bandura is internationally recognized as one of the world's most influential psychologists. Often compared in significance to Skinner, Freud, and Piaget, he is one of the most frequently cited psychologists of all time. His social cognitive theory of human functioning, emphasizing an agentic perspective toward self-development, adaptation, and change has had a profound effect across psychology, revolutionizing theories of behavior change and shaping education, public health, parenting, clinical health practice, and public policy. He served as President of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1974 at a time when psychologists were facing negative publicity about the dangers of behavior modification and Nixon administration cuts in funding. He presided over the founding of the Association for the Advancement of Psychology, seeing it as a vehicle to utilize psychological knowledge in developing public policy. Bandura died on July 26, 2021, at his family home. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).