AS APPROACHES - SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

Question 1

Describe the assumptions of SLT

Answer 1

• Beh is learned from experience w/in a social env
• Beh is learned through observing and imitating, and by observing the consequences of others’ beh
• Mediational processes (attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation) occur bet stimulus and response and are crucial to beh acquisition

Question 2

Describe the 4 mediational processes

Answer 2

Attention: noticing a role model’s beh

Retention: remembering the beh

Motor reproduction: the consideration of whether the imitator is able to imitate the beh

Motivation: the desire to replicate the beh (often determined by rewards/punishment)

Question 3

Describe vicarious reinforcement, identification and modelling

Answer 3

Vicarious reinforcement: indirect reinforcement; we will be more likely to replicate a beh if we see it reinforced in the role model, and will be less likely to do so if we see it punished

Identification: we’re more likely to imitate ppl who we find attractive, are of high social status or have similar characteristics to us

Modelling: from role model’s POV, its displaying the beh, from the observer’s POV, it’s replicating the beh

Question 4

Describe Bandura’s research

Answer 4

Bandura (1961): showed kids a video of a man playing with a bobo doll. C1 saw aggressive play whilst C2 saw gentle play. C1 were much more aggressive when given their own bobo doll to play with compared to C2; shows observational learning

Bandura and Walters (1963): showed all kids a video of a man playing aggressively with a bobo doll. C1 saw the man praised for his actions, C2 saw him punished and C3 saw no response. C1 were far more likely to play aggressively with their own bobo doll; shows vicarious reinforcement in behavioural acquisition

Question 5

Evaluate SLT

Answer 5

(+) Can explain cultral differences in beh
(+) Accounts for mediational processes bet stimulus and response, which behaviourism didn’t
(-) Ignores biological factors; Bandura noted that boys were more aggressive than girls; could be due to hormone differences
(-) Based on lab studies; demand characteristics