Saturday, July 31, 2010

Bandura's Four Stages of Learning

I don't know if you are aware or not but there exists a theory by the name of "Bandura's Four Stages of Learning". Bandura says that there are four stages to learn a skill. They are 1) Unconscious Incompetence 2) Conscious Incompetence 3) Conscious Competence 4) Unconscious Competence. Let me explain with an example.

You wish to ride a bicycle. When you look at other people doing it you think its easy and can be done (Unconscious Incompetence or Ignorance). When you try yourself and fall on your buttocks you realize its not so easy (Conscious Incompetence or Realization). You keep trying it again and again (Conscious Competence or Practice). And now you can do it flawlessly without thinking too much (Unconscious Competence or Skill). Bandura was so right. It applies to other skills such as driving, swimming (provided you don't drown during the first stage. You would really get stuck in the unconscious stage), effective communication, business writing etc.

What I was thinking was 'Is Bandura always right?'

Lets take 'Sex' for example. Well obviously everybody goes through the ignorance stage. Men think they are James Bond and women literally are in the 'Ignorant' stage. The second stage would be the most embarrassing I would say. I would rather fall on my buttocks a 100 times (from a bicycle...refer to above!!). The best stage would be the third one. The practice one. Conscious competence (  :p ). What I wonder is what if you reach the fourth stage?Unconscious Competence. What then? You would be able to do it without thinking or any bloody realization (pun unintended). Might as well ask Bandura to do it.   

Bandura obviously didn't know what he was talking about. Take farting for instance. Think what would you do to yourself in the second stage and what would you do to the world in the fourth stage

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