social learning theory Flashcards
SLT
- social psychological explanation
- aggression can be learnt INDIRECTLY
- through observational learning + imitating behaviour from significant others
- aggressive acts carried out by a role model
= internalised + reproduced by an individual - if behaviour is seen to be rewarded, child will learn through vicarious reinforcement, behaviour is acceptable + get what they want
- 5 stages
- family members + media = main sources of behaviour modelling
- supported by the bobo doll experiment
5 stages of SLT (mediational processes)
- attention
- retention
- motor reproduction
- motivation
- self efficacy
attention - 5 stages of SLT
- a person must attend to the aggressor
- pays attention to the act being modelled by the role model
retention - 5 stages of SLT
- to model the behaviour, it needs to be placed into the LTM
- enables the behaviour to be retrieved
= child needs to be remember the aggression they’ve witnessed
motor reproduction - 5 stages of SLT
- individual needs to be able to reproduce the behaviour
e.g. have the physical capabilities
motivation - 5 stages of SLT
- an individual must be expecting to receive positive reinforcement
- child must expect that they will get some kind of reward from carrying out aggression = through vicarious reinforcement
self efficacy - 5 stages of SLT
- individuals must believe that their behaviour will attain a goal
- must have confidence in their own ability to carry out the action + they’ll be rewarded
- must be confident that there will be a positive outcome
most prominent source of modelling
- family members = parents, through observation + identification
- media = role models are a source of vicarious reinforcement
research study support
bobo doll experiment:
- matched pairs design
- 72 3-5 year olds (36B + 36G)
- exposed to 1/3 conditions:
- condition 1 = male + female adult role model behaving aggressively towards a bobo doll
- condition 2 = male + female adult role model not behaving aggressively towards a bobo doll
- condition 3 = control group where children didn’t observe any adult role model
- all children were then taken to a room one by one
= exposed to attractive toys BUT told they can’t play with them
= get a baseline frustration level (mild)
- finally, all children taken one by one in a room + allowed to play with the toys + bobo doll
= findings showed that the children who had seen the adult role model behaving aggressively towards the bobo doll, also copied the behaviour
ads of SLT
- cartoon model
- practical model
disads of SLT
- biological factors
- cultural bias
- reactive
cartoon model - ads of SLT
- abundance of research support
- Bandura undertook a number of studies that support the role of social learning in aggressive behaviour
- in one study, consisted of 3 experimental conditions
- filmed aggressive role model
- cartoon aggressive role model
- live aggressive role model
- no aggressive role model
- matched pairs design w/ 96 children matched for baseline aggression levels
- children were allowed to play w/ bobo doll + aggressive actions counted
= concluded that viewing of aggression was not cathartic BUT led to modelling of aggressive behvaiour - supports SLT
practical application - ads of SLT
- practical application in reducing aggression
- children readily imitate models they observe being rewards
- applies to modelling aggressive behaviour
- through rewarding non-aggressive role models
= same learning processes can also produce non-aggression - e.g. form friendships gives more opportunities to model non-aggressive behaviours
= SLT used to reduce development of aggressive behaviour
biological factors - disads of SLT
- SLT underestimates the influence of biological factors
- e.g. neural, hormonal, genes
- research has shown that aggression is instinctive behaviour + more based on a person’s biology rather than environment
- means hormones e.g. testosterone could be more powerful than SLT
cultural bias - disads of SLT
- not as simple as stated
- psych studied the Kung San people of the Kalahari Desert
- found that aggressive behaviour was very rare in this society
- Kung San parents don’t use physical punishment + no value placed on aggressive behaviour
= no cultural norms
= shows social learning is complex
= may only be applied to western cultures
= cultural bias in SLT
