Social learning theory

Question 1

key assumptions

Answer 1

1) behaviour is learned from the environment (genetic influences are disregarded)
2) Behaviour is learned from observing others and the reinforcement or punishment they receive
3) Behaviour that is observed being rewarded, is limited

Question 2

How does social learning theory differ from traditional behaviourism (operant and classical conditioning)?

Answer 2

Unlike the behaviourist approach, social learning theory considers cognitive processes and views humans as active information processes rather than passive learners (SLT is less reductionist and deterministic).

Question 3

define modelling

Answer 3

a form of learning - individuals learn a particular behaviour by observing another individual perform that behaviour ( a role model) and later imitating it.

Question 4

define imitation

Answer 4

the action of copying an observed behaviour

Question 5

define identification

Answer 5

the extent to which an individual relates to a model and feels that he/she is similar (eg. same gender) or wishes to be like them.
= more likely to imitate behaviour

Question 6

define vicarious reinforcement

Answer 6

observing the positive consequences of a models behaviour i.e him/her receiving a reward, making imitation more likely

Question 7

define meditational processes

Answer 7

are Internal processes that exist between observing a behaviour and imitating it or not.

Question 8

what are the meditational processes?

ARRM

Answer 8

attention
retention
reproduction
motivation

Question 9

define attention

Answer 9

closely observe the behaviour of the model

Question 10

define retention

Answer 10

forming a memory of the behaviour observed

Question 11

define reproduction

Answer 11

thinking if it is physically possible to imitate the behaviour

Question 12

define motivation

Answer 12

if the perceived rewards out weigh the perceived costs (outcome expectancies), then the individual is more motivated to imitate the behaviour.

Question 13

who is the theorist in the Bobo Doll experiment

Answer 13

Bandura et.al

Question 14

what is the aim of the Bobo Doll experiment

Answer 14

to examine the role of a model on influencing aggressive behaviour in children. To examine if the gender of the model influenced same gender and opposite gender children differing degree

Question 15

what is the Bobo Doll experiment?

Answer 15

Bandura (1961) conducted a controlled experiment study to investigate if social behaviors (i.e., aggression) can be acquired by observation and imitation.

Question 16

what is the sample of Bobo Doll experiment

Answer 16

Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1961) tested 36 boys and 36 girls from the Stanford University Nursery School aged between 3 to 6 years old.

The researchers pre-tested the children for how aggressive they were by observing the children in the nursery and judged their aggressive behavior on four 5-point rating scales.

It was then possible to match the children in each group so that they had similar levels of aggression in their everyday behavior. The experiment is, therefore, an example of a matched pairs design.

Question 17

what was the method used for the Bobo Doll experiment

Answer 17

A lab experiment was used, in which the independent variable (the type of model) was manipulated in three conditions:

Aggressive model is shown to 24 children
Non-aggressive model is shown to 24 children
No model shown (control condition) - 24 children

Question 18

what are the 3 stages

Answer 18

1) Modelling
2) Mild agression arousal
3) Test for delayed imitation

Question 19

what is the stage 1 (modelling?)

Answer 19

In the experimental conditions children were individually shown into a room containing toys and played with some potato prints and pictures in a corner for 10 minutes while either:

24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) watched a male or female model behaving aggressively towards a toy called a ‘Bobo doll’. The adults attacked the Bobo doll in a distinctive manner - they used a hammer in some cases, and in others threw the doll in the air and shouted “Pow, Boom.”

Another 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) were exposed to a non-aggressive model who played in a quiet and subdued manner for 10 minutes (playing with a tinker toy set and ignoring the bobo-doll).

The final 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) were used as a control group and not exposed to any model at all.

Question 20

what is the stage 2 (mild aggression arousal)?

Answer 20

All the children (including the control group) were subjected to ‘mild aggression arousal.’ Each child was (separately) taken to a room with relatively attractive toys.

As soon as the child started to play with the toys, the experimenter told the child that these were the experimenter’s very best toys and she had decided to reserve them for the other children.

Question 21

what is the stage 3 (test for delayed imitation)?

Answer 21

• The next room contained some aggressive toys and some non-aggressive toys. The non-aggressive toys included a tea set, crayons, three bears and plastic farm animals. The aggressive toys included a mallet and peg board, dart guns, and a 3 foot Bobo doll.
• The child was in the room for 20 minutes, and their behavior was observed and rated though a one-way mirror. Observations were made at 5-second intervals, therefore, giving 240 response units for each child.
• Other behaviors that didn’t imitate that of the model were also recorded e.g., punching the Bobo doll on the nose.

Question 22

what are the results of the Bobo Doll experiment?

Answer 22

• Children who observed the aggressive model made far more imitative aggressive responses than those who were in the non-aggressive or control groups.
• There was more partial and non-imitative aggression among those children who had observed aggressive behavior, although the difference for non-imitative aggression was small.
• The girls in the aggressive model condition also showed more physical aggressive responses if the model was male, but more verbal aggressive responses if the model was female. However, the exception to this general pattern was the observation of how often they punched Bobo, and in this case the effects of gender were reversed.
• Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls. The evidence for girls imitating same-sex models is not strong.
• Boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls. There was little difference in the verbal aggression between boys and girls.

Question 23

what is the conclusion of the Bobo Doll experiment?

Answer 23

Bobo doll experiment demonstrated that children are able to learn social behavior such as aggression through the process of observation learning, through watching the behavior of another person. The findings support Bandura’s (1977) Social Learning Theory.

This study has important implications for the effects of media violence on children.

Question 24

what are the strengths of the Bobo Doll experiment?

Answer 24

1. Experiments are the only means by which cause and effect can be established. Thus, it could be demonstrated that the model did have an effect on the child’s subsequent behavior because all variables other than the independent variable are controlled.
2. It allows for precise control of variables. Many variables were controlled, such as the gender of the model, the time the children observed the model, the behavior of the model and so on.
3. Experiments can be replicated. Standardized procedures and instructions were used, allowing for replicability. In fact, the study has been replicated with slight changes, such as using video and similar results were found (Bandura, 1963)

Question 25

what are the limitations of the Bobo Doll experiment?

Answer 25

• Many psychologists are very critical of laboratory studies of imitation - in particular because they tend to have low ecological validity. The situation involves the child and an adult model, which is a very limited social situation and there is no interaction between the child and the model at any point; certainly the child has no chance to influence the model in any way. Also, the model and the child are strangers. This, of course, is quite unlike ‘normal’ modeling, which often takes place within the family.
• Cumberbatch (1990) found that children who had not played with a Bobo Doll before were five times as likely to imitate the aggressive behavior than those who were familiar with it; he claims that the novelty value of the doll makes it more likely that children will imitate the behavior.
• A further criticism of the study is that the demonstrations are measured almost immediately. With such snap shot studies, we cannot discover if such a single exposure can have long-term effects.
• It is possible to argue that the bobo doll experiment was unethical. For example, there is the problem of whether or not the children suffered any long-term consequences as a result of the study. Although it is unlikely, we can never be certain.

Question 26

one strength of SLT?

Answer 26

one strength of the SLT would be that Bandura’s research was supported by evidence of identification. Bandura found out that boys were more likely to copy the aggressive behaviour from the male role models, whereas the girls showed more attention towards the female role model. This showed us that aggressive behaviour was copied and repeated from adult role models.

Question 27

one limitation of SLT?

Answer 27

One limitation many factors were underestimated, even Bandura underestimated the influence of scientific factors. Bandura didn’t take into account that boys had testosterone. This means that hormones make them naturally more aggressive than others and therefore the aggression in boys may not always be learned from the aggressive role models.