Social Learning Theory Flashcards
The Assumptions of Social Learning Theory
- Classical and operant conditioning could not account for all human learning
- There are important mental processes that lie between the simple stimulus and response process proposed by behaviorist approach - combines both behaviorist and cognitive ideas
- SLT suggests behavior is learned from experience but in a social context
- Learning occurs through the observation of the behavior of others (role models) and the rewards and punishments they receive for their behavior - humans learn directly and indirectly
- Concerned with human rather than animal behavior
- Learning and performance are not the same activity
- SLT sees people as active manipulators of their own environment rather than passive receivers of experiences
Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura founded this approach on the basis of the behaviorist (and some cognitive) principles, which he combined together to create the approach.
Bandura’s Bobo Doll Study
- This experiment involved showing children aggressive or non-aggressive adult role models and were then tested for imitative learning in the absence of the model.
- Half of the children were exposed to adult role models interacting aggressively with a life-sized Bobo doll, and the other half were exposed to adult models interacting non-aggressively with it
- The aggressive role model displayed the distinctive physically and verbally aggressive acts towards the doll; following exposure to the role model, the children were frustrated by being shown attractive toys which they were not allowed to play with, and then they were taken to a room with the Bobo doll in
Bandura’s Bobo Doll Study Pt.2
- They found that children who observed the aggressive role model reproduced a good deal of physically and verbally aggressive behavior resembling that of a role model
- Children who observed the non-aggressive role model exhibited virtually no aggression towards the Bobo doll
- About 1/3 of children who observed the aggressive role model also repeated the verbally aggressive remarks, with none of the children who observed the non-aggressive role model did the same
- In a follow-up study, Bandura and Walters found that children who saw the role model being rewarded for aggressive acts were more likely to show a high level of aggression in their own play.
What Bandura’s Bobo Doll Study tells us
- The children behaved the way they did as they had observed role models acting aggressively and so they imitated the behavior they thought was the correct behavior
- If reward was given, they are more likely to act aggressively
- If they identified with the role model they were more likely to imitate also (gender, age, authority, attractiveness, status, ethnicity)
Social Learning Theory
Learning takes place in a social context - it occurs via the observation of role models and the rewards and punishments observed for that behavior (this is known as vicarious reinforcement; the reinforcement of correct behavior learned through observing someone else exhibiting behavior and the response towards that behavior)
The Process of Social Learning (Theory)
- Other people act as role models who model an attitude or behavior to be learned - these can be live (present in environment) or symbolic (e.g. in the media)
- The characteristics of the role models influence the likelihood of imitation of the modeled behavior - if the observer identifies with the role model, they are attractive, or of a higher status, imitation is more likely
- When the role model models the behavior, observational learning occurs (the observer learns the behavior from watching)
- This behavior may be imitated by the observer - learning and performance are different activities; if the role model is rewarded for behavior, imitation is more likely and if they are punished, imitation is less likely (vicarious reinforcement)
Social Learning Key Roles in Bandura’s Bobo Doll Study
- Role model = adult (and their behavior)
- Imitation = the child carrying out the adult’s behavior
- Identification = Identifying the adult is of a higher status and should be copied (dressed as parental figures etc)
- Vicarious reinforcement = The child observes the adult being punished or rewarded and would learn whether or not to imitate it - viewing and learning from the adult’s behavior and consequences
- Modeling = The adults model the behavior
Vicarious Reinforcement
An individual observes a role model behave in a certain way and experience the consequences of that behavior (reward or punishment) in order to learn the behavior they should be imitating
The role of meditational processes
These are cognitive processes that occur between stimulus and response that affect whether the learned behavior is produced
The meditational processes -
- Motivation -> The will or desire to perform the behavior, linked to vicarious reinforcement
- Attention -> Noticing and paying attention to the behavior of the person they wish to imitate
- Retention -> Remembering the behavior so that they can repeat it
- Reproduction -> consideration of our own ability to perform the behavior
Stimulus in SLT - the observation of the role model’s behavior
Response in SLT - Imitation
Ongoing Development of Behavior
- Behavior is observed; behavior displayed by role model considered to be worth imitating - identification
- Behavior is imitated; there needs to be self-efficacy, or the belief that behavior can be imitated
- Behavior is reinforced; if the behavior is punished it won’t be repeated etc
- Behavior is repeated; Provided the outcome is positive
- Behavior is internalized; becomes part of the persons repertoire of behaviors
(cycle repeats)
Evaluation of social learning theory approach
- Cannot explain more abstract concepts ie justice
Bandura research used controlled variables & demonstrated behaviour was imitated. - SLT’s inclusion of internal mental processes is an improvement in explaining human behaviour, due to personal experience of having internal mental processes;face validity
- Cognitians used in SLT are not observable directly, making SLT less scientific than behaviourists who only studied objectively measurable S-R mechnaims.
- SLT sees behaviour as environmentally determined (nurture) but some behaviours may be innate (nature) and better explained by biological explanations or a combination of both.
Tabula Rasa
Blank slate - an idea in social learning theory that given enough time and enough resources someone can socially learn anything.
