L4 - Social Learning Theory

Question 1

What are the key assumptions?

Answer 1

Behaviour is learned through experience, specifically through observation and imitation within a social context

Question 2

What is needed for social learning (MIIV)

Answer 2

Modelling - Models must carry out the behaviour for it to be learnt. A live model could be a parent. A symbolic model could be a media figure

Imitation - People learn behaviour by copying behaviour that is modelled

Identification - People are more likely to imitate a model they admire/similar/relate to. To identify with the model, observers must feel they are similar enough that if they performed the same behaviour, the consequences would be the same

Vicarious Reinforcement - Individuals learn by observing behaviour of others and whether they are rewarded/punished. They do not need to directly experience the consequences to lean from them. They may learn behaviour but not perform it as they have learned it will be punished is displayed.

Question 3

What are Mediational Processes (ARRM)

Answer 3

Cognitive factors occur between the stimulus and the response.

Attention - Observer must be attentive to the model
Retention - Observer must be capable of remembering the behaviour
Reproducing- Observer must be physically and psychologically capable of reproducing the behaviour.
Motivated - Observer must be motivated to imitate the behaviour so they get the same reward

People can learn a behaviour but not reproduce it as they are not motivated or capable

Question 4

Describe Bandura’s experiment (1961)

Answer 4

• 36 male + 36 female children aged 3-7 years
• Children observed model acting either aggressively or not with a Bobo doll
• Some children saw a same sex model and others didn’t
• In one condition, a model displayed aggressive acts towards the bobo doll by striking it with a mallet and shouting ‘POW’
• The children were made frustrated by taking them to a room with toys but they were not allowed to play with them.
• One by one, the children were taken to a room which had toys inc a bobo doll. The children were observed for 20 minutes

Question 5

Results of Bandura’s experiment

Answer 5

• Children who saw the aggressive model reproduced the same behaviour towards the bobo doll
• The children who saw the non-aggressive version showed no aggression to the bobo doll.
• 33% of children who observed/heard aggression repeated what they had seen.
• 0% of children in the non aggressive group displayed verbal aggression
• Boys were more aggressive than girls
• Imitation of aggression was greatest when the model was same-sex as the observer (identification)

Question 6

Evaluation of Social Learning Theory

Answer 6

+ Recognises importance of behavioural & cognitive factors when examining how people learn new behaviours unlike the behaviourist approach

• Mediational factors have to be inferred so we cannot measure the extent of influence. Doesn’t try to explain mediational processes
• SLT does not take into account cause and effect. Young people with deviant attitudes seek out peers with similar attitudes
• Environmentally determined and ignores role of biology in behaviour. Boys may be more aggressive because of higher testosterone levels.
• Can explain behaviour like aggression but not abstract notions like fairness and justice which can’t be observed directly