Approaches: Social Learning Theory Flashcards
what are the assumptions about the social learning theory?
people learn behaviours through observation and imitation of others within a social context. learning can occur directly and indirectly through classical and operant conditioning.
what’s vicarious reinforcement?
for indirect learning, an individual observes behaviour of others. the learner must imitate the behaviour but only if the behaviour is seen being rewarded. the learners observes the behaviour but also observes the consequences of the behaviour.
what’s mediational processes?
mental factors mediate in the learning process to determine whether a new responses is acquired. attention = the extent to which we notice certain behaviours. retention = how well the behaviour is remembered. reproduction = the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour. motivation = the will to perform the behaviour.
what’s identification?
people are more likely to imitate behaviour from people they identify with, role models. this process is modelling. a person becomes a role model if they possess similar characteristics to the observer. role models don’t have to be physically present, could be on social media.
what’s the importance of cognitive factors in social learning theory? (A03)
humans store information about behaviour and make judgements about when is appropriate to peform certain actions. social learning theory provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognising the role of mediational processes.
what’s the over-reliance on evidence from lab studies? (A03)
many of Bandura’s research was developed through observation of young chlidrens behaviour in lab settings, which are criticised for their nature to reveal demand characteristics. in the Bobo doll’s case, the main purpose was to strike the doll, the children behaved the way they thought was expected. this research says little about how children actuallu learn aggression.
how does the social learning theory underestimate the influence of biological factors? (A03)
Bandura makes little reference to the influence of biological factors of social learning. one consistent finding in the Bandura’s study was boys were more aggressive than girls regardless of the situation. this can be explained by hormones such a difference in testostrone levels, which makes more appearance in boys and linked to aggressive behaviour. this important influence isn’t accounted for.
