social learning theory

Question 1

what are the 4 main assumptions?

Answer 1

• learning occurs through observation, imitation and reinforcement
• behaviour is learnt indirectly by observing the consequences of other people’s actions (vicarious reinforcement)
• focuses on how cognitive factors (mediational processes) affect learning
• behaviour is more likely when observing a role model you identify with

Question 2

what is observational learning?

Answer 2

• learning occurs from observing and imitating role models behaviour in a social environment
• a role model is someone a person identifies with, the observer may associate with the qualities and characteristics of the role model
• if the observed behaviour is rewarded, imitation is more likely

Question 3

mediational processes

Answer 3

• the 4 mediational processes are attention, retention, motivation and reproduction. if they are implemented then imitation occurs

Question 4

bandura’s bobo doll experiment

Answer 4

• investigate if aggression can be learnt via slt principles
• 72 children were put into 1 of 3 models. in the aggressive model, the child observed the adult hit and shout at the doll. in the non-aggressive model, the child observed the adult play calmly with a construction set. in the control group the children saw no model and were then given aggressive and non-aggressive toys and the bobo doll
• those who saw the aggressive model acted more aggressively. boys imitated same sex models more. girls with male models imitated physical aggression more, verbal aggression with female models
  aggression can be learnt via observation and imitation

Question 5

give a strength of the slt
1/3

Answer 5

lots of research support: fox and bailenson (2009) found people were more likely to imitate virtual humans that are similar to them. and myers (2015) confirmed the importance of vicarious reinforcement for the effectiveness of workplace teams. studies support different aspects of slt, adding credibility and reliability

Question 6

give a strength of the slt
2/3

Answer 6

real life applications: it’s been a feature in explaining criminal behaviour, has been used to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of advertising, and it can help combat problems like alcoholism and phobias

Question 7

give a strength of the slt
3/3

Answer 7

recognises multiple factors that can influence behaviour, that it is caused by outside forces like modelling as well as cognitions in the form of mediational processes. doing this rejects the notion that learning is the result of only a stimulus response association like the behaviourist approach. it provides a more complete understanding of human behaviour and takes a soft deterministic stance

Question 8

give a limitation of the slt
1/2

Answer 8

bandura used lab experiments which are artificial and highly controlled, which creates the potential for demand characteristics where children behave in a way they believe is expected of them, lowering the internal validity of the study. so participants may have acted aggressively as they thought it was expected of them, rather than it being a learnt behaviour. the study also lacks ecological validity meaning the findings cannot be applied to behaviour in real life.

Question 9

give a limitation of the slt
2/2

Answer 9

issue of causality: it isn’t clear if people learn behaviour from models, or seek out models who portray similar behaviours to them. e.g. it’s suggested that young people with deviant attitudes will associate with similar peers. additionally, children are exposed to multiple influences growing up, so it’s hard to distinguish behaviours that develop from slt from behaviours that develop from other factors