Approaches in psychology - Social Learning theory Flashcards
What are the basic assumptions of SLT ?
Observation -> we learn behaviour through the environment + things we observe
it takes thought processes into account
If we see other people being positively reinforced we are then influenced to imitate their behaviour
Who is the learning theorist ?
Bandura
What does the learning theorist do with skinners ideas ?
Challenges the idea that reward + punishment will prompt / stop behaviour automatically
What does Bandura think instead of skinner’s idea?
Reinforces + punishment merely inform the individual of likely consequences + it is down to the individuals to whether their behaviour is affected by the potential consequences
What is social learning theory also known as ?
Social cognitive theory
What is Banduras idea?
We learn behaviour by observing the positive + negative consequences of someone else’s behaviour
What is vicarious reinforcement ?
When we indirectly learn from the consequences of other people actions
What experiment did Bandura, Ross + Ross carry out in 1961?
Bobo doll experiment
What does Bandura’s idea mean?
We learn the behaviour vacorisously.
we don’t receive the rewards / punishment directly, the person who is modelling the behaviour does. So these people are referred to as the role models.
Meaning that we learn indirectly from role models
What was Bandura’s experiment designed to do?
Examine the role of a model on influencing an observer’s behaviour -> to what extent will a role models’ behaviour effect an individual
Once the role model is no longer present will behaviour continue
What was the aim of the Bandura’s experiment ?
To examine if the sex of the role model influenced same sex / opposite sex pmts to a different degree
Explain Bandura’s experiment
Children either observed an adult role model being aggressive or non aggressive towards a bobo doll.
Children were put in another room + exposed to mild frustration. then put into another room with the doll + aggressive / non-aggressive toys
What were the results of Bandura’s experiment ?
Children who observed the adult being aggressive went on to imitate the aggression on the doll.
Less aggression was seen in the group who watched the non-aggressive adult behaviour.
What part of the Bandura’s results would biological psychologists disagree with?
The fact that the boys being more aggressive was due to observation, they would say it was due to boys having higher levels of tesorterone than girls
What conclusion did Bandura come to?
Children exposed too aggressive role models are likely to imitate their behaviour.
They are more likely to imitate same sex role models
Evaluate the Bobo doll experiment
Long term effects are not shown as experiment was not repeated or followed up
Behaviour could have been interpreted wrong as Bobo doll is designed to be hit, so validity is affected
Cant be generalised as we dont know if they would act this way towards humans
What are the key concepts if social learning approach ?
Imitation
Identification
Modelling
Vicarious reinforcement
Define imitation
Individual observes a behaviour from a role model + copies it
What form of copying behaviour is imitation and why?
Short term because it cannot be copied exactly, it is just a simulation
What is meant by identification?
Individual influenced by another person because they are in some way similar / wish to be like them
What type of copying behaviour is identification?
Long term
In identification what are the factors which influence the choice of role models ?
Gender
Ethnicity
High status
Greater expertise
When does identification only occur?
When there is a reason
When learning theories refer to modelling what do they mean?
When the individual imitates a persons behaviour later on
What are the 4 mediating processes ?
Attention
Retention
Reproduction
Motivation
What are mediating processes ?
Our thoughts prior to imitating a behaviour
Explain attention as a mediating process
the behaviour has to grab our attention, so it is pivotal in whether a behaviour has an influence on it being imitated
Explain retention as a mediating process
for a behaviour to be imitated, there needs to be a memory of it so it can be reproduced
Explain the mediating process reproduction
we are limited by our physical ability, so we cant carry out everything that we see + desire to do. So, this is a major influence on our decision
Explain motivation as a mediating process
us as observers consider the rewards + punishments that allow a behaviour. If we see that there is no overall reward we won’t carry it out
What are the strengths of social learning theory ?
Thought processes + the role they play in deciding whether to carry out a behaviour are taken into account
Can successfully explain the imitation of certain behaviours
Use experimental methods -> scientific
What are the weaknesses of social learning theory ?
Not a full explanation of behaviour, there are no apparent role model in the person’s life to imitate for a given behaviour
Range of scientific methods are used, including observation which is said to be unscientific
