Learning Approach - SLT Flashcards
What did Bandura suggest
In the 1960s Albert Bandura suggested that as well as learning directly through operant conditioning processes, individuals also learn indirectly by observing the behaviour of other people in a process called social learning theory.
In his Social learning theory Bandura proposed that an individual observes the behaviour of someone they identify with. Identification means that we associate ourselves with someone else and want to be like them. They are usually people with similar characteristics to ourselves who are attractive and have status and are our role models. Role models can be parents, media personalities or even fictional characters.
The individual pays attention to what happens to the role model, whether they gain rewards in response to their behaviour. In this way the observer experiences vicarious reinforcement through watching the direct reinforcement that the role model receives.
The individual imitates or copies the behaviour they have observed if they have noted that the role model gains positive reinforcement. This imitation by the observer is called modelling. If the role model specifically demonstrates behaviour for the observer to learn from, then the role model is modelling the behaviour.
basic assumptions of social learning theory (SLT)
- Like the Behaviourist approach, SLT also suggests that behaviour is learned through stimulus-response links and reinforcement. However, SLT also considers the role of cognitive processes in learning.
- Learning occurs through observational learning – via the observation of role models.
- Observational learning can take place without any reinforcement. Simply observing a role model is enough for learning to occur.
- Cognitive processes (such as memory) determine whether a learned behaviour is actually imitated. These processes occur between stimulus and response and are known as mediational processes.
- Psychologists should adopt an objective and scientific approach to understand behaviour. Common research methods used include laboratory experiments using human participants.
Role of mediational processes
Bandura incorporated elements of thinking into social learning theory in a departure from the traditional learning approaches. Bandura called these mediational processes. This new way of explaining behaviour represented a bridge between Behaviourism and the Cognitive Approach which heavily focuses on internal mental processes.
Mediational processes are the factors that come between observation (stimulus) and imitation (response) and they influence whether behaviour will be learned and imitated. They include:
- Attention – how much we focus on or notice behaviour in a role model.
- Retention – how well the behaviour shown by the role model is remembered
- Motor reproduction – how capable we are to perform the role model’s behaviour.
- Motivation – how much we want to perform the role model’s behaviour. This is likely to be based on the likelihood of us gaining pleasant consequences.
Bandura research
In 1961 Albert Bandura carried out various lab experiments using a Bobo Doll.
Procedures:
One group of young children watched an adult punch and hit a blow-up doll with a hammer. Another group watched an adult play in a non-aggressive manner with the doll. The children were then taken individually to a room full of toys, including the Bobo Doll, and observed through a one-way mirror.
Findings: The children who had observed aggressive behaviour from the adult were more aggressive than the other children.
1963
Procedures:
Young children were shown a video of an adult behaving aggressively towards a Bobo Doll. One group of children saw the adult being praised for their aggression whilst another group saw the adult getting told off for their aggressive behaviour. A Control group saw the adult neither praised or told off.
Findings:
The first group of children displayed most aggression when later allowed to play with a Bobo doll. The second group showed the least amount of aggression.
Conclusion:
This study suggests that observation of role models and vicarious reinforcement are powerful influencing factors in behaviour. It supports the claims made by SLT.
Evaluation of Bandura’s research, strength
- A strength of Bandura’s research is that he used lab experiments to study behaviour. Lab experiments are easier than some other methods to replicate because standardised procedures are used. For example, Bandura used the same script and checklist categories for all participants in the conditions. The lab setting also allowed him to use two observers behind the one-way mirror and to film the studies allowing the data to be checked for inter-rater reliability. This means that we can have greater confidence in the conclusions drawn by Bandura about the imitation of role models.
Evaluation of Bandura’s research, criticism
- A criticism of all Bandura’s studies is that the conclusions may lack accuracy. The children were put in a strange situation, exposed to some unusual adult behaviour and given toys to play with which could have encouraged them to act in a particular way. A Bobo Doll is designed to be hit and knocked over (it bounces back upright) therefore children might assume that the experimenters wanted them to play with the Bobo Doll in this way. This suggests that the children’s behaviour may be due to demand characteristics, rather than imitation of the aggressive role model as suggested by Bandura.
Evaluation of Bandura’s research, ethical issues
- There are many ethical issues with Bandura’s studies. The major issue is harm and the wellbeing of participants. The children may have been distressed by the aggressive behaviour they witnessed and the aggressive behaviour they learned from the study may have stayed with them for some time after the study. Although the children could not give valid consent to take part, their nursery teachers agreed and it is assumed the children’s parents agreed to; this is presumptive consent. Nonetheless, the children could not withdraw from the study and no effort seems to have been made to debrief them afterwards, for example by explaining that the aggressive adults were only pretending. However, it could be argued that the benefits to society outweighed the risks to any of the children that took part. Bandura’s research has shown us the influence that role models could have on aggressive behaviour, especially role models on TV and film. This has been an important contribution to the debate over censorship in TV, films, videos and games.
Evaluation of social learning theory, strength
- A strength is that SLT provides a fuller explanation of behaviour than classical or operant conditioning as it encompasses the role of thinking processes. It accounts for the mechanisms of storing and then choosing to reproduce observed behaviours at appropriate times as seen in many animals and humans. It is therefore a stronger explanation than the early behaviourist ideas of simply responding to experiences without thought. As a result, we might argue that it is a more accurate explanation than those proposed by other approaches.
- SLT is also less deterministic as it allows a little more for conscious decision making and free will in our behaviour than the early behaviourists. The role of mediational processes in the theory means that an individual has some conscious input into their behaviour. Many psychologists prefer explanations that say that human behaviour is the product of active conscious decisions rather than passive responses to events making this a better explanation than either classical or operant conditioning.
Evaluation of social learning theory, criticism
- A criticism of SLT is that the theory ignores biological factors. In the Bobo doll studies for example the boys were more aggressive than the girls regardless of the situation they observed. This suggests that behaviour such as aggression is also influenced by biological factors and the theory does not acknowledge this. Other behaviour such as male and female gender roles have also been shown to be influenced by biological factors as well as social experiences. This means that social learning theory neglects an important influence on behaviour and weakens it as an explanation for why we behave as we do.
Evaluation of social learning theory, practical application
- SLT provides us with important practical applications for reducing behaviours such as aggression. For example, we could reduce aggression by not reinforcing it in the media or by censoring it. Age certifications for video games / films have been introduced in line with this. Alternatively, films and games could be made to show the real, negative consequences of violence rather than the rewards. This could help reduce violent crime.
