Approaches- Social Learning Theory

Question 1

Social learning theorist

Answer 1

Albert Bandura

Question 2

Socialist learning theorist agreed with which theory but developed further?

Answer 2

SL theorist agreed with behaviourism principles but argued understanding human behaviour requires recognizing learning as a cognitive process which happens in a social content

Question 3

What serves as a template from our actions?

Answer 3

Observing others

Question 4

Which type of reinforcement is a key principle of the social learning theory?

Answer 4

Vicarious reinforcement

Question 5

Vicarious reinforcement

Answer 5

when we see someone rewarded for a behavior, we are more likely to mimic it

Question 6

Vicarious punishment

Answer 6

Witnessing someone punished for an action makes us less likely to adopt that behaviour

Question 7

Modelling

Answer 7

individuals we observe and emaluate are referred to as models; live models include parents, friends and family members.

Question 8

Learning through characters in movies or books is called?

Answer 8

Symbolic models

Question 9

Identification

Answer 9

not all models have the same likelihood of being imitated

we are more likely to imitate models with similar characteristics such as gender and age or people perceived to be attractive or high status

Question 10

What are mediatational processes?

Answer 10

ARRM

attention
retention
reproduction
motivation

and must happen between observing a model perform a behaviour (stimuli) and imitating that behaviour (response)

Question 11

Mediational processes and SL theorists

Answer 11

Social learning theorists argue that human behaviour could not be fully understood without including the tile of cognitive processes that happen between stimuli and response - ARRM

Question 12

Attention

Answer 12

in order to learn from a model, individuals mst pay attention to the model by focusing on specific behavior

Question 13

Retention

Answer 13

the ability to remember the observed behaviours, this involves encoding the observed behaviour into memory so it can be retrieved later

Question 14

Reproduction

Answer 14

The individuals’ belief in their ability to replicate the behavior that the model demonstrated. This depends on the individual’s’ physical capabilities as well as the remembered details of the behaviour

Question 15

Motivation

Answer 15

The willingness to perform the behaviour, which is influences by the expected outcomes, such as rewards or punishments, based on observing the consequences of behaviours in others

Question 16

Mediational processes explain why

Answer 16

individuals do not automatically mimic every behaviour they observe, is any of the 4 ARRM mediational processes are missing, the behaviour won’t be imitated

Question 17

Learning and what are not the same?

Answer 17

Learning and performance are not the same

Question 18

Explain learning and performance are not the same

Answer 18

For behaviourist an immediate response to stimuli indicates learning, equating learning directly w/ performance

HOWEVER

Social learning theory disti=nguisges betweenlearnig and perofrmance, arguing that observed behaviours are internalises -meaning that they are stores as memories fro use when needed, potentially long after the initial observation

Question 19

How was the SLT concepts of modelling and imitating tested?

Answer 19

Through Bandura (1961)’s experiment conducted to see if children would copy aggressive behavior demonstrated by an adult towards an inflatable toy known as the Bobo doll

Question 20

Bandura Bobo Doll (1961)
Procedure

Answer 20

Ps (children) aged 3-6
were divided into 2 groups

1st group observe an adult demonstrating physical and verbal aggression towards a bobo doll in a room filled with toys

2nd group watched an adult interact non-aggressively w/ different toys

an experimenter observed and recorded the children’s physical and verbal aggression from behind a one-way mirror

Question 21

Bandura Bobo Doll (1961)
Findings

Answer 21

Findings revealed that children exposed to an aggressive model were more likely to be aggressive themselves

additionally the results highlighted the role of identification, particularly among boys, who were more likely to mimic aggression after observed a male model compared to those who saw an aggressive female model

Question 22

1963 variation
of Bandura Bobo Doll (1961)

Procedure

Answer 22

Symbolic models

children were exposed to a live aggressive adult, a recording of an adult or a cartoon featuring an aggressive cat

-all aggression was directed towards a Bobo doll

Question 23

1963 variation
of Bandura Bobo Doll (1961)

Findings

Answer 23

indictaed comaprabled levels of aggression across allgroups, illustrating that modelsm wteher lvie orsymbplic. (recorded or animated), are imitated

Question 24

1965 variation
of Bandura Bobo Doll (1961)

Procedure

Answer 24

Vicarious Reinforcement

children witness adults acting aggressively towards a Bobo doll ,followed by the adults receiving (sweets), punishment (being hit w/ a wooden club) or neither

Question 25

1965 variation
of Bandura Bobo Doll (1961)

Findings

Answer 25

Indicated that children who observed the adult being punished displayed significantly less aggression towards the Bobo doll compared to children in other conditions

Question 26

Evaluation
robust

Answer 26

strength of SLT is it is supported by robust evidence

-e.g Bobo doll study has high internal validity due to its lab setting

-this tsudy ensure nevironemntlas ocntorl by havign Ps follow the same procedure in the same room w/ access to identical toys

-it also used matched pair design to control Ps variables, assessing children’s pre-existing aggression level to ensure each group contained an equal mix of aggressive children

Question 27

Evaluation
ecological validity

Answer 27

Bandura’s rs only demonstrated short-term social learning

aggression may not be imitated weeks or months after observation

the study’s ecological validity can also be question , as the aggression observed in a controlled lab setting may not directly translate to real-world scenarios, such as imitating televised violence in school environments

these concerns raise doubts about the applicability of SLT processes to everyday life

Question 28

Evaluation
Inferences

Answer 28

rs supporting slt relies on inferences

processes such as identification w. a model vicarious reinforcement, and mediating cognitive factors are not directly observable but are inferred from behavior shown by the child Ps

-these inferences might be incorrect; mediating cognitive factors could have less impact than assumed, nand the true causes of behaviour could be significantly different

Question 29

Evaluation
less reductionist

Answer 29

-advantage of SLT - is less reductionist than behaviourism

-giving a more detailed a potentially more valid understanding of human behaviour

-SLT acknowledges the role of consciousness and rationality

-proving a more believable explanation for complex behavior sliek aggression

-behaviourisms focus on simplistic stimulus-response mechanisms man only be appropriate is explaining the learning of basic behaviours

Question 30

Evaluation
reciprocal determinsim

Answer 30

SLT’s concept of ‘reciprocal determinism’ is a potentially more valid perspective tna simpler deterministic approaches

-bandura argues that behavior is not only influenced by the environment but also shapes it

-e.g a child’s study habits can alter their reinforcement, achieving an A grade and receiving praise from teacher

-the positive feedback loop then acts as further motivation for the child to increase their effort