Bandura argues that retention (aka memory) is crucial for learning by imitation. Imagine you're trying to learn a cool skateboard trick 🛹 you saw on TikTok. If you don't remember the trick, how are you going to try it out, right? So, retention is the mental "bookmark" we need to refer back to when we want to replicate something we observed before.

Reproduction refers to our ability to perform a task we've learned. This ties in with the concept of self-efficacy – our belief in our ability to nail that task. Imagine you're playing a video game 🎮 and you've just seen a strategy on YouTube to defeat a difficult boss. High self-efficacy is like having an invisible "I've got this!" sticker on your forehead; it means you believe you can implement the strategy and beat that boss!

However, if your self-efficacy is low (imagine that sticker now reads "I can't do it 🙁"), you're likely to avoid even trying the strategy. Bandura identified four things that can juice up our self-efficacy

• Mastery Experiences: It's like having a track record of wins 🏆. Past successes make you think, "I've done it before, I can do it again!" But beware, a past failure can decrease your belief in succeeding, especially if it occurs before you've had any wins.

• Vicarious Experiences: Here, role models play a vital role. Seeing others (preferably similar to us) succeed makes us think, "Hey, if they can do it, so can I!" 🤩

• Social Persuasion: It's like having your own cheer squad 📣. When others convince you that you can do it, you're more likely to put in effort and keep going, compared to receiving negative feedback or no feedback at all.

• Emotional and Physical States: Our moods and how we feel physically can affect self-efficacy. Picture this: you've just aced a test, you're feeling awesome and thinking, "I can conquer anything!" 💪 On the flip side, feeling down or unwell can decrease self-efficacy.