Michael Dinoff Memorial Lecture to be Hosted by UA Psychology Department

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama psychology department is presenting Dr. Albert Bandura, David Starr Jordan Professor of Social Sciences in Psychology at Stanford University, for the annual Michael Dinoff Memorial Lecture on Friday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. in 208 Gordon Palmer Hall.

Bandura will discuss “The Role of Selective Moral Disengagement in the Perpetration of Inhumanities” in the public lecture. His talk will document some of the psychological mechanisms that can lead otherwise considerate people to behave inhumanely toward one another.

Bandura received his bachelor’s degree from the University of British Columbia in 1949 and his doctorate in 1952 from the University of Iowa. After completing his doctorate, Bandura joined the faculty at Stanford University where he has spent his academic career. He has authored numerous articles and nine books on a wide range of issues in psychology.

His most recent book, “Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control” explains how belief in one’s own efficacy serves as the foundation of human motivation, performance attainments and emotional well-being. Bandura’s contributions to psychology have been recognized with the Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award of the American Psychological Association, the Thorndike Award of the APA for Distinguished Psychological Contributions to Education, and the Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contribution to Psychological Sciences. He is also the recipient of 17 honorary degrees.

The Dinoff Memorial Lecture is given in memory of Dr. Michael Dinoff who was a professor and director of the University’s Psychological Clinic from 1963 until his death in 1982.