Social Learning Theory Flashcards
What did Bandura argue?
Classical and operant conditioning couldn’t account for all human learning
What did Bandura believe?
There are important mental processes that lie between stimulus and response proposed by behaviourist approach
What does the social learning theory suggest?
Behaviour is learnt from experience but in a social context
How does learning occur?
Through observation of behaviour of others and the rewards and punishments they receive for that behaviour.
What does learning through observation mean?
Humans can also learn indirectly as well as through behaviourism
What does the social learning theory see people as?
Active manipulators of own environment
What is the SLT more concerned with?
Human rather than animal behaviour
Key concepts of SLT
Observational learning Modelling Identification Imitation Vicarious reinforcement
Observational learning
Process of learning through watching others, retaining the information then replicating behaviours that were observed.
Modelling
Can occur when an observer imitates a role model
Identification
Associating with a role model and adopting their behaviour because we can’t to be like them
Imitation
Way in which an individual copies the behaviour of a role model
Vicarious reinforcement
Learning through observation of consequences of actions of other people
What are mediational processes?
Cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response
What are the 4 mental processes that must happen?
Motivation
Attention
Retention
Motor reproduction
Motivation
Motivated to copy someone admire and identify with, if they have no value to you you won’t copy
Attention
Attention is drawn to what they are doing and you copy it
Retention
Have to have a memory of the behaviour to repeat it
Motor reproduction
Ability to perform the behaviour demonstrated
What if these 4 processes don’t happen?
Won’t copy the behaviour
underestimates the influence of biological factors
Bandura makes little reference to the impact of biological factors on social learning. One consistent finding in the Bono doll experiments was that boys were often more aggressive than girls regardless of the specifics of the situation. This may be explained by hormonal factors, such as different levels of testosterone, a hormone that is greater in boys and linked to increased aggressive behaviour. This means that this important influence on behaviour is not account for in SLT. However, Bandura emphasised reciprocal determinism in the sense that we are not just influenced by the external environment but also exert an influence upon it. This suggests that there is some free will in the way we behave.
explains cultural differences in behaviour
social learning theory has the advantage of being able to explain cultural differences in behaviour. social learning principles can account for how children learn from other individuals around them and this can explain how cultural norms are transmitted through particular societies. This has proved useful in understanding a range of behaviours, such as how children come to understand their gender role
over reliance on evidence from lab studies
Many of Banduras ideas were developed through observation of young childrens behaviour in lab settings. Lab studies are often criticised for their contrived nature where participants may respond to demand characteristics. it has been suggested in relation to the bobo doll, research thta because the main purpose of the doll is to strike it, the children were simply behaving in a way that they thought was expected. Therefore, the research may tell us little about how children actually learn aggression in everyday life.
