Social Learning Theory

Question 1

Albert Bandura suggested what?

Answer 1

he suggested that people learn through observation and imitation of others (role models) within a social context and particularly if reinforcement is involved.

Question 2

what is social learning theory?

Answer 2

a way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors.

Question 3

what is imitation?

Answer 3

copying the behaviours of others.

Question 4

what is identification?

Answer 4

when an observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like the role model

Question 5

what is modelling?

Answer 5

from the observers perspective, modelling is imitating the behaviour of a role model. However, from the role models perspective, modelling is the precise demonstration of a specific behaviour that may be imitated by an observer.

Question 6

vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 6

reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour.

Question 7

what is a key factor in imitation?

Answer 7

vicarious reinforcement.

Question 8

what are mediational processes?

Answer 8

cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response.

Question 9

what was the findings of the study from Bandura and Walters (1963)

Answer 9

the group who saw the model being rewarded with praise showed the most aggression, followed by the group with no consequences and the least aggression shown was by the group of children who saw that the model was being told off for being aggressive.

Question 10

explain why the children / groups in Banduras experiment acted that way

Answer 10

it is presumed to be because of the children becoming aware of the consequences of this behaviour and sought to be praised (group 1) or to avoid negative consequences (group 2)

Question 11

what are the four mediational responses Bandura identified

Answer 11

attention, retention, reproduce and motivation

Question 12

what is attention?

Answer 12

the extent to which we notice certain behaviours

Question 13

what is retention?

Answer 13

how well the behaviour is remembered

Question 14

what is reproduction?

Answer 14

the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour

Question 15

what is motivation?

Answer 15

the will to perform the behaviour, often determined by whether it was rewarded or punished

Question 16

when does a person become a role model?

Answer 16

they become a role model if they are seen to possess similar characteristics to the observer, attractive and/or have high status.

Question 17

one strength of social learning theory

Answer 17

can explain cultural differences in behaviour: the principles of SLT can account for how children from people around them and how different cultural norms are transmitted through societies which has helped to understand behaviours such as gender role differences.

Question 18

another strength of social learning theory

Answer 18

neither classical conditioning or operant conditioning can offer an adequate account of learning on their own. Humans and other animals store information about the behaviour of others and use this to make judgements about other appropriateness of performing actions. Therefore, set gives us a more comprehensive explanation of human behaviour.

Question 19

one limitation of social learning theory

Answer 19

Many of banduras ideas were developed by observing young children’s behaviour in laboratory settings. These are contrived situations therefore the children may have responded to demand characteristics. In Bandura and Watsons experiment the children hit the doll mainly because that is what it is designed for which does not give much information on how they would behave in a real situation.

Question 20

another limitation of social learning theory

Answer 20

Bandura does not acknowledge the influences of biological factors. In the bobo doll experiment, studies show that the boys were more aggressive towards the doll than the girls regardless of the conditions of the experiment, which may be due to higher testosterone levels in the boys.