Aggression: Social Learning theory Flashcards
What’s SLT?
Learning through observing and imitating behaviours that are seen to be reinforced.
Explain how vicarious reinforcement impacts aggressive behaviour.
When observing behaviours:
Rewards - increase likelihood of aggressive behaviour in future.
Punishments - decrease likelihood of aggressive behaviour in future.
How do mental representations influence aggressive behaviour.
Through observation, a schema about aggressive behaviour’s expected outcomes is formed.
If expected reward of aggressive behaviour > expected punishment, aggressive behaviour will be repeated.
When this is internalised, ‘the script’ forms to determine common patterns of aggressive behaviour.
Describe
self-efficacy (an individual’s belief in their capacity to execute certain behaviours)
in relation to aggression.
Children develop confidence in their ability to carry out aggressive acts, leading to behaviour being repeated.
This can be formed through direct reinforcement.
Describe the importance of the mediational processes in relation to aggressive behaviour.
Attention - to aggressive act
Retention - of aggression in memory
Reproduction - ability to repeat aggression
Motivation - reason to be aggressive
Processes must take place for behaviour to be repeated.
Who investigated whether aggressive behaviours can be acquired by observation and imitation?
Bandura
Describe procedures of Bandura’s observation in a lab.
Bobo doll
36 boys 36 girls (3-6) from Stanford Uni nursery.
IV - type of model to bobo doll- manipulated in 3 ways:
Aggressive (physical and verbal)
Non-aggressive
No model (control)
Children taken to bobo doll room with toys they cannot play with.
What did Bandura find?
Children in aggressive condition far more likely to imitate aggressive responses than non-aggressive and control groups. Boys imitated physical aggression more than girls, verbal was similar.
AO3: SLT
+Strength of Bandura’s research
+research support for social learning theory and aggression
+/-Consequences (positive and negative) of SLT and aggression in the real world
-methodological issues with Bandura’s research
(+AO3) What is a strength of the Bandura bobo doll study?
Inter-observer reliability 0.89
High inter-observer reliability.
0.89 is well above 0.80 threshold. Suggests limited influence of bias and observations of aggressive behaviour were real and true.
Suggests high internal validity, meaning different behaviours were due to IV manipulation.
(+AO3) Explain further research support for social learning theory and aggression.
Gee and Leith 200 games of North American ice hockey games.
Found North American players more likely to display aggressive behaviour than players born in other countries. Believed it was a result of North American players being exposed to more aggressive role models and less likely to be punished for aggressive behaviour in childhood.
Shows importance of role models.
(+/-AO3) What are the consequences (positive and negative) of SLT and aggression in the real world?
Negative - exposure to aggressive role models as a child can lead to overly-aggressive adults. Crime and social disorder, costs to economy etc.
Positive - American Psychological Association funded intervention programme to educate parents about dangers of this. Encourages them to be and provide positive role models (TV and no physical punishment).
Shows importance of theory and research
(AO3) Describe methodological issues with Bandura’s research.
Lack of mundane realism.
E.g. Bobo doll is not a real person. Aggressive behaviour in real life may be very different.
But, Bandura found children imitated aggressive behaviour when shown recordings of adults hitting real clown. But demand characteristics remain an issue.
