Approaches: Social Learning theory Flashcards
What is the social learning theory?
suggests that social behaviour is learned by observing and imitating the behaviour of others.
what are the social learning theory assumptions?
- behaviour is learned through observation/ imitation of others
- SLT suggests operant and classical conditioning happens directly and indirectly.
what is vicarious reinforcement?
the learning of a behaviour by observing the positive and negative consequences of the actions of others.
(this is a key factor in imitation)
what is mediating processes?
thought processes happening between observation(stimulus) and imitation(response) that affects the likelihood of it being imitated
List and explain the mediating processes in learning.
- Attention = for a behaviour to be imitated it has to grab out attention.
- Retention = how well the behaviour is remembered.
- Reproduction = the ability of the observer to perform behaviour
- Motivation = the will to perform the behaviour, often determined by whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished.
what is identification?
this suggests children are more likely to imitate people they identify with.
Explain Bandura’s Research on social learning theory.
aim - to investigate if social behaviours can be acquired by observation and then produced by imitation.
method - 36 boys, 36 girls aged 3 to 6.
recorded the behaviour of young children who watched an adult behave in an aggressive way towards Bodo Doll. The adult hit the doll with a hammer and shouted abuse at it.
Results - When these children were later observed they behaved more aggressively towards the doll and the other toys than those who had observed the non-aggressive adult.
conclusion = children are able to learn social behaviour such as aggression through the process of observation learning.
Evaluation of SLT
P - one strength of slt is that there is research evidence to support its beliefs.
E - for example, Bandura found that children would imitate aggressive role models and display novel behaviours they had observered them previously, particularly if the role model was similar to them
E - This is a strength as it improves the vadility of the approach
L - Meaning that slt can effectively explain some forms of human behaviour
P - one weakness of slr is that it only focuses on the role of nurture on our behaviour.
E - This is because the founders of slt focuses on the roles of learning through observation of others in our environment rather than the impact of any biological mechanisms
E - This is a weakness because there is evidence that there are biological mechanisms that affect our behaviour, such as genetic and hormones
L - meaning slt does not support the idea that psychology as a science
P - one weakness of slt is that it is not as scientific as the other approaches
E - This is because it recognises the role of mediating processes, thought processes that can not be obbserved, which makes them harder to study objectively
E - This is a weakness because it could weaken psyhcology’s reputation as a discipline
L - meaning that slt ignores other siginificanr factors that affect our behaviour
P - one strength of slt is that it can be seen as less deterministic than some other approaches
E - This is bevause it accepts that the role of thinking through the mediating processes which means that to some extent we do choose our behaviour
E - This is a strength because it suggets that humans have free will to at least some extent
L - meaning slt accurately reflects the human experience of decision making
