Social Iearning Theory

Question 1

What is vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 1

Observing others serves as a template for our actions. When we see someone rewarded for a behaviour, we are more likely to mimic it,

Question 2

What is vicarious punishment?

Answer 2

Witnessing someone punished for an action makes us less likely to adopt that behaviour,

Question 3

What is role models

Answer 3

A person we look up to and emulate their behaviours
Two types of role models:
- live models: parents, friends…
- symbolic models e.g. Characters from movies and books

Question 4

What is identification?

Answer 4

Not every one will imitate a role model they are more likely to imitate models with similar characteristics e.g. Gender and age

Question 5

What did SLT theorists argue about meditational factors?

Answer 5

human behaviour couldn’t be fully understood without including the role of cognitive processes (how the Brian works to remember things) that happen between stimuli and responses. The mediational processes are attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation, and must happen between observing a model perform a behaviour (stimuli) and imitating that behaviour (response). -[ if any of those 4 mediational processes are missing then benaviour won’t be imitated

Question 6

Attention

Answer 6

In order to learn from a role model individuals must have payed attention to the model by focusing on specific behaviours

Question 7

Retention

Answer 7

• The ability to remember the observed behaviours [ it involves encoding the observed behaviour into memory so it can be retrieved later

Question 8

Reproduction

Answer 8

The ability to remember the observed behaviours. This involves encoding the observed behaviour into memory so it can be retrieved later.

Question 9

Motivation

Answer 9

The willingness to perform the behaviour, which is influenced by the expected outcomes, such as rewards or punishments, based on observing the consequences of behaviours in others.

Question 10

Bandura’s research [ the boba doll study]

Answer 10

To test the SLT concepts of modelling and imitation, Bandura (1961) conducted an experiment to see if children would copy aggressive behaviour demonstrated by an adult towards an inflatable toy known as a Bobo doll.
Procedure: The participants, children aged three to six, were divided into two groups. The first group observed an adult demonstrating physical and verbal aggression towards a Bobo doll in a room filled with toys. The second group watched an adult interact non-aggressively with different toys. An experimenter observed and recorded the children’s physical and verbal aggression from behind a one-way mirror.
Findings: The findings revealed that children exposed to an aggressive model were more likely to be aggressive themselves. Additionally, the results highlighted the role of identification, particularly among boys, who were more likely to mimic aggression after observing a male model compared to those who saw an aggressive female model.

1965 Variation: Vicarious Reinforcement: Children witnessed adults acting aggressively towards a Bobo doll, followed by the adult receiving rewards (sweets), punishment (being hit with a wooden golf club), or neither. The findings indicated that children who observed the adult being punished displayed significantly less aggression towards the Bobo doll compared to children in the other conditions.

Answer 11

1963 Variation: Symbolic models: Children were exposed to a live aggressive adult, a recording of an aggressive adult, or a cartoon featuring an aggressive cat. All aggression was directed towards a Bobo doll. The findings indicated comparable levels of aggression across all groups, illustrating that models, whether live or symbolic (recorded or animated), are imitated.

Answer 12

1965 Variation: Vicarious Reinforcement: Children witnessed adults acting aggressively towards a Bobo doll, followed by the adult receiving rewards (sweets), punishment (being hit with a wooden golf club), or neither. The findings indicated that children who observed the adult being punished displayed significantly less aggression towards the Bobo doll compared to children in the other conditions.

Question 13

Social learning theory evaluations [strengths]

Answer 13

• Supported by robust evidence e.g. Into Bobo doll study has high internal validity due to its lab settings
• uses matched pairs design to control participant variables as sensing the children’s pre-existing aggression levels to ensure each group has an equal mix of aggressive children
• ## less reductionist approach than behaviourism give s a more detailed understanding of human behaviour

Question 14

SLT ev/ AO3 (limitations)

Answer 14

• Bandura’s research demonstrated only short-term social learning, with aggression unlikely to be imitated after weeks or months. The study’s ecological validity is questionable, as aggression in a controlled lab may not reflect real-world behaviors like imitating televised violence at school.
• Social Learning Theory’s applicability to everyday life is also debated. Research like the Bobo doll study relies on inferences about processes like identification, vicarious reinforcement, and mediating cognitive factors, which are not directly observable. These inferences may be flawed, as mediating factors could have less impact than assumed, and behavior might stem from different causes