Approaches in Psychology - Social Learning Theory Flashcards
Who developed the SLT?
Albert Bandura
What did Bandura argue?
That classical and operant conditioning could not account for all human learning
What was the SLT concerned with?
Human behaviour rather than animal behaviour
What does the SLT say that learning occurs through?
The observation and imitation of role models
Pavlov’s classical conditioning
The association is formed by you
Skinner’s operant conditioning
Learning directly through consequences
Bandura’s social learning theory
Learning through imitation. Direct as you are watching what happens as a result of someone else’s behaviour
What is most of what a child learns acquired through?
Imitation of the behaviours and attitudes modelled by their parents
When is imitation more likely to occur?
If we identify with the role models
What is modelling?
Identifying with the role model and seeing them share similar characteristics
Who can model behaviour?
Anyone
What does the SLT focus on?
The mental processes involved in learning
Vicarious reinforcement
When you learn about the consequences of behaviours from others as they receive rewards through their behaviour
What did Bandura do in his Bobodoll experiment?
He recorded the behaviour of young children who had watched an adult behave in a specific way towards a bobodoll
Conditions of Bandura’s bobodoll experiment
Aggressive model, non-aggressive model and no model (control condition)
What was each condition made up of?
24 children - 12 male and 12 female
Method used in experiment
Controlled observation as the toys in the room were controlled
For modelling to occur what must there be (4 things)?
- Attention to the role model
- Retention of the observed behaviour
- Reproduction of the target behaviour
- Motivation to imitate observed behaviour
Example of modelling processes (ARRM)
Attention - You see your friend score a good goal in football
Retention - You think about his goal and try to remember exactly how he did it
Reproduction - You try to recreate it
Motivation - As you get better at recreating the goal, you build motivation to show others
Meditational processes
Processes that occur between stimulus and response (E.g. memory)
Strengths of SLT
-Considers role of cognitive factors in learning
-Based on lab experiments
-Explains learning of complex behaviours
Weaknesses of SLT
-Doesn’t take into account influence of biological factors on behaviour
-Doesn’t take into account free will and moral values
Results may be influenced by demand characteristics
Ethical guidelines- Protection from harm
The children weren’t protected from any psychological harm
Ethical guidelines- Informed consent
Parents had to give permission
Ethical guidelines- Right to withdraw
Parents can withdraw their child at any time
Ethical guidelines- Deception
Participants can’t be lied to
Ethical guidelines- Confidentiality
The participants’ privacy is protected
