Explain one study of Social Cognitive Theory Flashcards
Intro
One study of Social Cognitive Theory was carried out by Bandura. This study had the aim to determine whether children would learn aggressive behavior by imitating an adult model.
SCT (1)
Social Cognitive Theory - also called “observational learning” - is the idea that people learn by imitating the actions of others. There are three conditions to this, attention, retention, motivation.
SCT (2)
Attention: In order for the learning to happen, attention must be paid to the model; this can be affected by the
authority, attractiveness or the desirability of the model’s
behavior or the outcome of said behavior. If the model is seen as being rewarded for a behavior, the observer will also want to receive such a reward. This is known as
vicarious reinforcement.
SCT (3)
Retention: Following the observation, the learner must be
able to retain and remember the behavior
SCT (4)
Motivation: Finally, the learner must have the motivation to repeat the behavior based on the outcome expectancy. Several factors affect the learner’s motivation to replicate
behavior, such as the likeability of the model, identification with the model and the consistency of the behavior. In addition, the individual must feel that he can actually do what the model can do - in other words, there must be a feeling of self-efficacy.
procedure of Bandura (1)
The study was made up of 3 - 5-year-old children. They were first evaluated to determine their level of aggression. Bandura then used a matched-pairs design to make sure that the different levels of aggression were evenly distributed in the groups.
variables of bandura
There were three independent variables in this study: whether the children were exposed to violence or not, the gender of the child, and the gender of the model.
procedure of bandura (2)
The children then watched either a male or a female model either act aggressively (bashing the Bobo with a baseball bat and yelling at the Bobo), act passively (assembling toys), or they had no model. This served as the control group to see what children would do when simply but with the Bobo.
procedure of bandura (3)
The children were then individually invited into a room full of toys. After they saw all the toys, they were told that they were not allowed to play with them since they were for other children. This caused all of the children to feel frustrated. This was important because Bandura wanted to make sure that they all had the same level of arousal.
results of bandura (1)
The results were that all of the children showed some level of aggression against the Bobo. However, the group that saw the aggressive model was the most aggressive. Those that saw the control were second, and those who saw the passive model showed the least aggression.
results of bandura (2)
In addition, the boys were the most violent. They tended to imitate both the male and the female models, though they commented that the woman’s behavior was not acceptable, saying “Ladies should not behave that way.”
results of bandura (3)
Girls tended to imitate the verbal aggression of the male - and imitated the female model more directly. This shows that each gender identified more with the same-sex model.
demonstrate sct (1)
This study demonstrates SCT. First, the children appear to have learned the behavior by watching the models.
demonstrate sct (2)
Secondly, since there was no punishment for the models’ actions (and it looked like they enjoyed it), the children imitated it. They had been vicariously reinforced.
demonstrate sct (3)
Lastly, the fact that they imitated the same gender makes sense. Since the children would identify with the same gender and they would feel that if they can do it, so can I (self-efficacy), then they are more likely to imitate them.
