Abstract: Three characteristics of Bandura's theory of observational learning-integration of reinforcement and cognition, behavioral constructivism and reciprocal determinism were discussed in the paper.The present writer considers Bandura's outstanding contribution to psychology is that he investigated the observational learning which had been neglected by other learning theorists In. the author's opinion, in his reseach of observational learning,Bandura emphasized the function of social influewce, expounding the processes and functions of observational learning in cognitive terms and lay stress on experiments in which human beings were used as subjects. All of these rendered Bandura's theory of observational learning to play an important role in the development of learning psychology.

Key words: observational learning, learning theory, behaviorism, cognitive psychology, Bandura, A