Assumptions & Key Concepts of SLT (approaches | LA: Social Learning Theory)

Question 1

Social learning theory (SLT) was proposed by

Answer 1

Bandura (1972) as a more nuanced explanation of behaviourism

Question 2

SLT takes the core principle of

Answer 2

behaviourism - people are shaped by their environment - and refines it to include the mechanisms of how people (particularly children) learn from others

Question 3

SLT posits the idea that children learn via: observation

Answer 3

of role models, particularly parents but also other significant people such as teachers, older siblings, celebrities
- role models tend to be older, influential figures who have high status or possess qualities the child aspires to e.g. being good at football

Question 4

SLT posits the idea that children learn via: imitation

Answer 4

of the behaviours observed from role models

Question 5

SLT posits the idea that children learn via: social contexts

Answer 5

i.e. learning is not innate but is absorbed via the child’s environment such as the home, school, peer groups

Question 6

The concept behind SLT: the child

Answer 6

observes the behaviour of a role model

Question 7

The concept behind SLT: if the behaviour

Answer 7

is observed frequently the child imitates that behaviour

Question 8

The concept behind SLT: the imitated

Answer 8

behaviour is performed in different contexts e.g.
- a child observes domestic violence at home and goes on to imitate this sort of behaviour at school (bullying)

Question 9

It is more likely that

Answer 9

a child will imitate the behaviour of role models with whom they identify or who have similar characteristics to them e.g. same-sex parent or sibling, an attractive celebrity

Question 10

Reinforcement plays a role in

Answer 10

SLT but it tends to be indirect, vicarious reinforcement rather than direct reinforcement

Question 11

Reinforcement plays a role in SLT but it tends to be indirect, vicarious reinforcement e.g, the child observes

Answer 11

a specific behaviour from a role model e.g. an aggressive parent

Question 12

Reinforcement plays a role in SLT but it tends to be indirect, vicarious reinforcement e.g, the child sees that

Answer 12

the aggressive parent is rewarded e.g. they have power over the other parent

Question 13

Reinforcement plays a role in SLT but it tends to be indirect, vicarious reinforcement e.g, the aggressive parent

Answer 13

experiences positive direct reinforcement e.g. they got what they wanted, they feel good

Question 14

Reinforcement plays a role in SLT but it tends to be indirect, vicarious reinforcement e.g, the child identifies

Answer 14

with the aggressive parent and internalises what they have just seen e.g. ‘I want to feel like that’

Question 15

Reinforcement plays a role in SLT but it tends to be indirect, vicarious reinforcement e.g, vicarious reinforcement

Answer 15

has taken place

Question 16

Reinforcement plays a role in SLT but it tends to be indirect, vicarious reinforcement, vicarious reinforcement has taken place, the child has

Answer 16

observed the reward gained by the aggressive parent and is motivated to behave similarly to gain such a reward for themselves

Question 17

Reinforcement plays a role in SLT but it tends to be indirect, vicarious reinforcement, vicarious reinforcement has taken place, the child may then

Answer 17

go on to behave aggressively towards other children, particularly those who appear to be vulnerable

Question 18

Vicarious reinforcement highlights

Answer 18

the more sophisticated nature of SLT compared to behaviourism as it involves a degree of cognition

Question 19

Vicarious reinforcement highlights the more sophisticated nature of SLT, people are required to

Answer 19

process what they have seen and imagine themselves gaining a similar reward for the specific behaviour

Question 20

The cognitive element of SLT can be summed up via the

Answer 20

mediational processes involved

Question 21

The cognitive element of SLT can be summed up via the mediational processes involved:

Answer 21

Attention-Retention-Reproduction-Motivation (ARRM)

Question 22

Attention

Answer 22

noticing the behaviour, and being aware of it

Question 23

Retention

Answer 23

remembering the behaviour and the mechanisms involved in it

Question 24

Reproduction

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imitating the behaviour, reproducing key features of it

Question 25

Motivation

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the desire to perform the behaviour, the need to be rewarded for the behaviour

Question 26

Attention and retention refer to

Answer 26

the learning of the behaviour

Question 27

Reproduction and motivation refer to

Answer 27

the performance of that behaviour

Question 28

Learning and performance of the behaviour are not

Answer 28

required to occur at the same time e.g. aggression observed in one setting may not be performed until some time later and in a different setting

Question 29

The mediational processes in SLT (ARRM) diagram

Answer 29

Question 30

Evaluation of assumptions & key concepts of SLT
Strengths
- SLT provides

Answer 30

a more ‘rounded’ explanation of how the environment shapes behaviour than that offered by behaviourism

Question 31

Evaluation of assumptions & key concepts of SLT
Strengths
- SLT provides a more ‘rounded’ explanation of how the environment shapes behaviour than that offered by behaviourism, this means that SLT is

Answer 31

less reductionist than behaviourism

Question 32

Evaluation of assumptions & key concepts of SLT
Strengths
- SLT provides a more ‘rounded’ explanation of how the environment shapes behaviour than that offered by behaviourism, this means that SLT is also

Answer 32

less deterministic than behaviourism as mediational processes imply that the individual has some choice over their behaviour

Question 33

Evaluation of assumptions & key concepts of SLT
Strengths
- SLT has good

Answer 33

application to the use of token economies in prison or health settings

Question 34

Evaluation of assumptions & key concepts of SLT
Strengths
- SLT has good application to the use of token economies in prison or health settings, the prisoner/patient is

Answer 34

rewarded for ‘good’ behaviour with tokens

Question 35

Evaluation of assumptions & key concepts of SLT
Strengths
- SLT has good application to the use of token economies in prison or health settings, observation of fellow prisoners/patients

Answer 35

receiving rewards encourages good behaviour from others

Question 36

Evaluation of assumptions & key concepts of SLT
Strengths
- SLT has good application to the use of token economies in prison or health settings, observation of fellow prisoners/patients receiving rewards encourages good behaviour from others, thus

Answer 36

the theory has good external validity

Question 37

Evaluation of assumptions & key concepts of SLT
Limitations
- SLT cannot

Answer 37

account for behaviours which are observed frequently and are not imitated e.g. a child who frequently observes domestic violence may never be violent towards anyone else

Question 38

Evaluation of assumptions & key concepts of SLT
Limitations
- SLT cannot account for behaviours which are observed frequently and are not imitated e.g. a child who frequently observes domestic violence may never be violent towards anyone else, this means

Answer 38

that SLT can offer only a limited explanation of behaviour as it does not acknowledge the role of individual differences as a factor

Question 39

Evaluation of assumptions & key concepts of SLT
Limitations
- Research into SLT tends to consist of

Answer 39

lab experiments

Question 40

Evaluation of assumptions & key concepts of SLT
Limitations
- Research into SLT tends to consist of lab experiments, this is a limitation as

Answer 40

SLT is an explanation of behaviour within social contexts

Question 41

Evaluation of assumptions & key concepts of SLT
Limitations
- Research into SLT tends to consist of lab experiments, the controlled

Answer 41

conditions of a lab experiment cannot hope to replicate real life thus such research lacks ecological validity