jones - social learning theory

Question 1

What is social learning theory?

Answer 1

-agrees to behaviourism (classical and operant conditioning)
-but adds mediational processes into learning
(thinking and analysing!!)

Question 2

What is imitation?

Answer 2

copying the behaviour of others (anyone! doesn’t have to be role models)

Question 3

What is identification?

Answer 3

when an observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like them
-> can be physically or mentally present
-> role model is usually attractive / have a high status / have similar characteristics

Question 4

What is modelling?

Answer 4

observer: imitating behaviour of role model

role model; precise demonstration of a specific behaviour that may be imitated by an observer

Question 5

What is vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 5

indirect learning through observing someone else’s behaviour

Question 6

What are mediational processes?

Answer 6

cognitive factors (eg thinking) that influence learning and come between stimulus and response

Question 7

What are the four mediational processes?

Answer 7

1) attention
2) retention
3) motor production
4) motivation

Question 8

What is attention?

Answer 8

observer needs to pay attention carefully to the role model and be intrested or else little will be learned

Question 9

What is retention?

Answer 9

how well the observer remembers and recalls the behaviour of the model and its consequences

Question 10

What is motor production?

Answer 10

behaviour needs to be easy enough to intimate ie observing an international tennis player perform a difficult shot

Question 11

What is motivation?

Answer 11

rewards or punishments when a certain behaviour is performed

Question 12

What is the name of the experiment that Albert Bandura conducted?

Answer 12

Bobo Doll

Question 13

What is the aim of the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 13

to investigate if social behaviours (eg aggression) can be acquired by observation and imitation

Question 14

How many boys and girls were used?

Answer 14

36 boys and 36 girls
-> 72 children in total

Question 15

How old were the kids?

Answer 15

3-6 years old

Question 16

Which school were the kids from?

Answer 16

Stanford university nursery school

Question 17

How did the researcher pre test the children for how aggressive they were?

Answer 17

observed in nursery and judged aggressive behaviour with four five point rating scales

Question 18

What experimental design was used in the study and why?

Answer 18

Matched pair design
-> ensure they had similar levels of aggression

Question 19

How did Bandura ensure that he had inter observer reliability?

Answer 19

The child was rated by two observer independently and their ratings were compared

Question 20

What type of experiment was the study?

Answer 20

lab controlled

Question 21

What was the process of the study?

Answer 21

1) children were split into three groups (24 children each): aggressive model / non-aggressive model / no model shown (control group)

2) mild aggression arousal: when the child started to play with the attractive toys, the experimenter told the child that these were the experimenter’s very best toys and the child had to reserve them for others

3) children were then put into a room with some aggressive toys (tea set, crayons and plastic farm animals) and some non-aggressive toys (dart guns and bobo doll)
-> for 20 minutes
-> behaviour was observed and recorded through a one sided mirror and made at five second intervals (240 response units in total)

Question 22

What were three main findings within the experiment?

Answer 22

1) children who observed the aggressive model made far more imitative responses than those who were in the non-aggressive or control groups

2) boys were more likely to imitate same sex models than girls (evidence for girls wasn’t strong)

3) boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls (slight difference between verbal aggression)

Question 23

What was the conclusion of the study?

Answer 23

Children learn social behaviour such as aggression through the process of observation

Question 24

What are some strengths of the experimental method?

Answer 24

1) extraneous variables are controlled (high internal validity)

2) cause and effect can be established

3) experiments can be replicated

Question 25

What are some limitations of the experimental method?

Answer 25

1) low ecoloogical validity
-> model and child are strangers (unlike normal modeling - family)

2) demonstrations are measured almost immediately
-> cannot determine if a single exposure will have long term effects

3)cumberbatch: children which have not played with a bobo doll before were five times as likely to imitate the aggressiveness behaviour than those who were familiar with it

Question 26

What is a strength of the social learning theory?

Answer 26

importance of cognitive factors
-> SLT considers learning and cognitive factors to provide an explanation to behaviour which neither classical or operant conditioning does
-> SLT provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning when recognising the role of mediational processes

Question 27

What are some weaknesses of the social learning theory?

Answer 27

1) over reliance on evidence of lab studies
-> ideas were developed through observations in a lab so participants might respond to demand characteristics (children might be behaving in a way that they believe was expected - strike the bobo doll)
-> lacks external validity
-> tell us little about how children actually learn aggression in everyday life

2) underestimation of the influence of using biological factors
-> little reference to biological factors such as testosterone levels (boys greater)
-> important influence on behaviour is not accounted in SLT