4.2.1 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY Flashcards
who developed the social learning theory and when?
why did they develop it?
- Bandura developed it in the 1960s
- expands on behaviourist theories
what are the assumptions?
- agrees that people can learn by conditioning
- claim they learn a lot from role models (observation and imitation of others’ behaviour)
- some mediation (cognitive) processes are also involved between the stimulus and the response
- mediational processes are cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response
-> including attention / retention / motor reproduction / motivation
how is behaviour learnt through modelling?
involves observing and imitating another person (the model)
- also involves identification with the model
-> certain attractive qualities and characteristics are picked up on
reinforcement
- positive and negative reinforcement makes the behaviour more likely to happen again in the future
vicarious reinforcement
- seeing others being rewarded for a behaviour influences someone to choose whether they imitate the behaviour
how is behaviour mediated through cognitive processes?
1) attention
- you have to pay attention to learn behaviours
- once you notice your role model you have to pay full attention and attend to their behaviour
2) encoding / retention
- you need to remember what you observed to be able to model it
- storing observed behaviour in the LTM
3) reproduction
- you judge whether you have the ability to reproduce the behaviour
- if you can reproduce it, you’re far more likely to do it
4) motivation
- you evaluate the direct / indirect results of imitating the behaviour
- if it results in good reward you’re more likely to imitate it
what did Bandura et al (1961) show?
- showed successfully how children imitate and can be influenced by adult role models
- aggressive behaviour is learned through imitation of others behaving aggressively
what was the method of Bandura eat al’s study?
- 36 girls and 36 boys with a mean age of 52 months took part
- matched ppts design
-> matched on ratings of aggressive behaviour shown at their nursery to a Bobo doll - had 3 conditions
group 1: 12 girls + 12 boys) children observed aggressive adult models playing with the Bobo doll
group 2: 12 girls + 12 boys) children observed non-aggressive models playing with other toys + ignoring the Boba doll
group 3: 12 girls + 12 boys) control condition =
- children had no exposure to the models
- children’s behaviour was then observed for 20mins in a room containing aggressive toys and non-aggressive toys
- then the children were taken to a room with some attractive toys but told not to play with them (aggression arousal)
- children were taken individually in a room containing a bobo doll, non-aggressive toys and aggressive toys
what were the results?
BANDURA
- children exposed to aggressive models imitated a lot of aggressive behaviour (group 1)
-> more aggressive then the kids from the other groups - children in the non-aggressive + control conditions showed barely any aggressive behaviour
- aggressive behaviour was slightly higher in the control condition than non-aggressive behaviour
- boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls
- no difference between verbal aggression in boys and girls
what was the conclusion?
BANDURA
CONCLUSION
- supports SLT as it shows that children imitate behaviour of role model even if the behaviour is aggressive
what are the pros?
BANDURA
1) this study provides evidence about social learning theory
2) there was a strict control of the variables
- increases validity and study can be replicated
what are the cons?
BANDURA
1) low ecological validity
- ppts weren’t in a natural situation
2) difficult to generalise the results because limited sample was studied
- kids were all from the same school
3) study encouraged aggression in children
- ethical problem
what did Bandura and Walters (1963) study?
METHOD
- repeated the bobo doll experiment
- the three groups were exposed to an aggressive model
- saw different consequences for the model:
group 1: the model was praised
group 2: the model was punished (told off)
group 3: no consequences for the aggressive behaviour
what were the results?
BANDURA AND WALTERS
- when left on their own to play
- the children in group 1 showed the most aggression followed by group 3
- group 2 was the least aggressive
what are the applications of the social learning theory?
used to explain the influence of the media on behaviour
- has been used in court in the case of Jamie Bulger’s murder (1990)
-> the perpetrators = were children
-> claimed that they’d been influenced by the film Child Play 3
-> they came from a disturbed family
-> might have witnessed real life violence and social deprivation
what are some strengths of the social learning theory?
1) social learning theory is supported by research Bandura at al. (1961) and Badura and Walters (1963)
2) can explain the difference of behaviour between different cultures as if a behaviour isn’t displayed it cannot be imitated
- can explain why groups such as Amish are non-violent
3) can be used to explain the influence of media on aggressive behaviour
4) more complete explanation of human behaviour than conditioning
- takes into account cognitive factors in learning
what are some limitations of the social learning theory?
1) the supporting studies were lab experiments
- the task didn’t reflect the way the ppts behave in their normal life
2) doesn’t take into account free will and moral values
3) doesn’t explain why the boys imitated the physical aggressive behaviour more than the girls
- other factors may be involved
- biological factors like testosterone
4) children were aggressive towards a doll which they know doesn’t feel pain and can’t retaliate
- their behaviour may be different towards another child
4) the children were in an unfamiliar environment
- may have thought they were expected to behave like the model
(demand characteristics)
- low ecological validity
5) ppts were young children
- older kids and adults may not have imitated the aggressive behaviour
- they haven’t developed moral values
