Apptoaches: Social Learning Theory Flashcards
Assumption of the SLT
- Mediational processes occur between stimuli and responses (cognitive thoughts)
- Behaviour is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning, identification, imitation and reinforcement
- in vicarious reinforcement, reproduction of behaviour can be motivated when learners observe role models receiving reinforcement.
- laboratory experiments, so quantifiable behaviour is observed
observational learning
where individuals learn and adopt behaviours by observing others.
involves modelling of those who are similar, high-status, knowledgeable, rewarded or nurturing figures in our lives
- emphasis the importance of environment and reinforcement in learning (like the behaviourist approach)
- acknowledges the important role that mental processes play in interpreting the environment and planning new actions even though it does not study them in detail. (like the cognitive approach)
identification
People (especially children) are much more likely to imitate (copy the behaviours of others) the behaviours of people who they identify with and call role models.
This process is called modelling, A person becomes a role model if they are seen to posses similar characteristics to the observer and/or are attractive and have high status.
Bobo Doll experiment - process
Bandura (1961) conducted a controlled study to investigate if social behaviours (i.e., aggression) can be acquired by observation and imitation.
- 36 boys, 36 girls, aged 3-6
- children were individually shown into a room containing toys and they played for 10 minutes.
- 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) watched a male or female model behaving aggressively towards a toy called a “Bobo doll”. The adults attacked the Bobo doll in a distinctive manner – they used a hammer in some cases.
- Another 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) were exposed to a non-aggressive model who played in a quiet and subdued manner for 10 minutes (playing with a tinker toy set and ignoring the bobo-doll).
- The final 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) were used as a control group and not exposed to any model at all.
The children were taken to the next room along, which contained some aggressive toys and some non-aggressive toys. E.g. Crayons vs dart guns AND a Bobo Doll. The child was left in the room for 20 minutes, and their behaviour was observed and rated though a one-way mirror.
Bobo doll experiment results
- Children who observed the aggressive model made far more aggressive responses than those who were in the non-aggressive or control groups.
- Boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls.
Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls.
Bobo doll experiment conclusion
- The Bobo doll experiment demonstrated that children are able to learn social behaviour such as aggression through the process of observational learning, through watching the behaviour of another person.
The findings support Bandura’s Social Learning Theory.
positives of the bobo doll experiment
- Experiments are the only means by which cause and effect can be established. Thus, it could be demonstrated that the model did have an effect on the child’s subsequent behaviour because all variables other than the independent variable are controlled e.g. the gender of the model, the time the children observed the model, the behaviour of the model, and so on.
Experiments can be replicated
. Standardized procedures and instructions were used, allowing for replicability. In fact, the study has been replicated with slight changes, such as using video, and similar results were found (Bandura, 1963).
- To test the inter-rater reliability of the observers, 51 of the children were rated by two observers independently, and their ratings were compared. These ratings showed a very high-reliability correlation (r = 0.89), which suggested that the observers had a good agreement about the behaviour of the children.
negatives of the bobo doll experiment
- Many psychologists are very critical of laboratory studies of imitation – in particular, because they tend to have low ecological validity. The situation involves the child and an adult model, which is a very limited social situation and there is no interaction between the child and the model at any point; certainly the child has no chance to influence the model in any way.
- Cumberbatch (1990) found that children who had not played with a Bobo Doll before were five times as likely to imitate the aggressive behaviour than those who were familiar with it; he claims that the novelty value of the doll makes it more likely that children will imitate the behaviour.
- It is possible to argue that the bobo doll experiment was unethical. For example, there is the problem of whether or not the children suffered any long-term consequences as a result of the study. Although it is unlikely, we can never be certain.
Vicarious reinforcement definition
Reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour.
So we not only watch what people do, but we watch what happens when they do things. This is known as vicarious reinforcement. We are more likely to imitate behaviour that is rewarded and refrain from behaviour that is punished.
Vicarious reinforcement highlights the more sophisticated nature of SLT compared to behaviourism as it involves a degree of cognition. People are required to process what they have seen and imagine themselves gaining a similar reward for the specific behaviour
vicarious reinforcement experiment
Bandura (1965) used a similar experimental set up to the one outlined above to test vicarious reinforcement.
- The experiment had different consequences for the model’s aggression to the three groups of children.
- One group saw the model’s aggression being rewarded (being given sweets another group saw the model being punished for the aggression (told off ), and the third group saw no specific consequences (control condition).
- When allowed to enter the playroom, children in the reward and control conditions imitated more aggressive actions of the model than did the children in the punishment condition.
- The children in the model punished group had learned the aggression by observational learning, but did not imitate it because they expected negative consequences.
mediational processes
ARRM
- Attention - noticing the behaviour, and being aware of it
- Retention - remembering the behaviour and the mechanisms involved in it
- Reproduction - imitating the behaviour, reproducing key features of it
- Motivation - the desire to perform the behaviour, the need to be rewarded for the behaviour
attention
Attentional processes are crucial because mere exposure to a model doesn’t ensure that observers will pay attention. The model must capture the observer’s interest, and the observer must deem the model’s behaviour worth imitating. This decides if the behaviour will be modelled. The individual needs to pay attention to the behaviour and its consequences and form a mental representation of the behaviour.
retention
- This is where individuals symbolically store a model’s behaviour in their minds. It’s about how well the behaviour is remembered. The behaviour may be noticed, but it is not always remembered, which obviously prevents imitation.
Motor Reproduction
- This is the ability to perform the behaviour that the model has just demonstrated. We see much behaviour daily that we would like to be able to imitate, but this is not always possible. Our physical ability limits us, so even if we wish to reproduce the behaviour, we sometimes cannot. This influences our decisions whether to try and imitate it or not. Imagine the scenario of a 90-year-old lady who struggles to walk while watching Dancing on Ice. She may appreciate that the skill is desirable, but she will not attempt to imitate it because she physically cannot do it.
Motivation
This refers to the perceived favourable or unfavourable consequences of mimicking the model’s actions that are likely to increase or decrease the likelihood of imitation. In other words, the will to perform the behaviour. The observer will consider the rewards and punishments that follow a behaviour. If the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived costs (if any), the observer will more likely imitate the behaviour.
SLT evaluation positives
The high quality of bandura’s research
- Highly controlled, lab based, observational study
- High control over variables to enable cause and effect to be established
- Matched pairs designed ○ Matched children based off their typical level of aggression § To prevent any individual differences to be extraneous variables - Able to conclude that the aggression was directly caused by SL instead of their natural aggression - They also had multiple observers active during the experiment, to allow the comparison of results ○ Increased reliability ○ Level of agreement was a correlation coefficient of 0.89 = a strong positive correlation = strengthening the findings
Power and influence of role models
- Advertising
○ Celebrities in adverts
§ Increas the likelihood for audience to purchase the product
- False news
○ Harmful
§ Eg racial minorities during the covid times
In comparison to behaviourism, SLT is more specific and comprehensive of the processes of learning behaviour
- It is more cognitive as it explains the need for individuals to retain and memorize the behaviour before reproducing it,
○ More active
○ Considered cognitive processes
- Where as behaviour only considers the passive connection between a stimulus and response
- Behaviourism research was conducted on animals, where as SLT was carried out on humans as the need to consider cognitive processes
SLT negatives
- **Issues with sampling **
○ The children were very young (3-5 years old)
§ Could be argued that younger children are more likely to copy adult behavior
§ The older children get, the more independence they want.
○ Low generalizability.-
Artificial tasking
○ Unlike real life
○ Cumberbatch 1997
§ Argued that the bobo dolls were an unfamiliar object hence it would obviously interest the children more
§ He carried out an additional study between children who had and hadn’t played with the bobo dolls before
□ He found that children who played with the bobo dolls before were 5x less violent
§ The novelty of bobo doll may have influenced the level of aggression shown
○ Low ecological validity - Due to these limitations bandoras theory are questioned
-
Artificial tasking
research in support of SLT
- Principles of social learning theory has been applied to increase our understanding of human behaviour : eg. Criminal behaviour
○ .Akers (1998) suggest that the probability of someone engaging in criminal behaviour increases when they are exposed to modules who commit criminal behaviour.
§ They identify with these modules and develop the expectation fo positive consequences for their own criminal behaviour.- Extended research that supported SLT
○ Observing a model similar to yourself should lead to more learning than the latter
○ Fox and Bailenson (2009) found evidence for this using a computer generated ‘virtual’ humans engaging in excersize or merely loitering
○ Participant who viewed their vitual model excersizing engaged in this activity in the following 24 hrs were more when the models were similar to themselves
○ They concluded that greater identification w the model leads to more learning because it is easier to visualize yourself in that place. - MEDIA HAS SHOWN THAT MODELS SIMILAR TO TARGET AUDIENCE ARE MORE LIKELY TO CHANGE THEIR HEALTH BEHAVIOURS
- Andsager et al 2006
○ Said that perceived similarity to a model in an anti-alcohol advertisement was positively related to the message’s effectiveness
- Extended research that supported SLT
