Big Idea: Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory suggests that we learn from observing others. It can explain behaviors in real-life situations, such as marital violence, aggression in school children, and the development of prosocial skills.

Key Point: Violence is a learned behavior, often passed down through generations. Bandura's theory helps explain this.

Example: Mihalic and Elliott's 1997 study found that people who experienced more physical violence as children had higher rates of marital violence as adults. This is because children learn what's "acceptable" in relationships by observing their parents and other role models. Think about it like a twisted "monkey see, monkey do" - if a child sees their parents resorting to violence to achieve goals, they may grow up believing that this is acceptable behavior in their own relationships.