Social Learning Theory

Question 1

who proposed the social learning theory

Answer 1

albert bandura

Question 2

explain what observational learning is

Answer 2

• where children observe the people around them behaving in various ways
• these are called models
• chldren pay attention to some of the models and retain their behaviour

Question 3

if we are similar to our role models, we can describe this as …….. with them

Answer 3

identification

Question 4

explain 3 processes that make it more likely a child will reproduce a behaviour they have observed

Answer 4

• the child is more likely to imitate those people it perceives as itself. Eg, the same gender
• the people around the child will respond to the behaviour it imitates with either reinforcement or punishment. If the consequences are rewarding then the child is likely to repeat
• the child will also take into account what happens to other people when deciding wether or not to copy someones actions. This is known as vicarious reinforcement

Question 5

what are the 4 mediational processes proposed by bandura

Answer 5

• attention
• retention
• reproduction
• motivation

Question 6

explain the attention mediational process

Answer 6

the individual needs to pay attention to the behaviour and its consequences

Question 7

explain the retention mediational process

Answer 7

a memory of the behaviour is formed

Question 8

explain the reproduction mediational process

Answer 8

the ability to perform the behaviour

Question 9

explain the motivation mediational process

Answer 9

the rewards and punishment that follow a behaviour will be considered. If the perceived rewards outweigh the cost then the behaviour will be more likely to be imitated

Question 10

what was banduras key study called

Answer 10

the bobo doll experiment

Question 11

what was the 3 different conditions in the bobo doll experiment

Answer 11

1. aggressive model is shown to 24 children
2. non aggressive model is shown to 24 children
3. no model is shown to 24 children (control group)

Question 12

modelling

explain stage 1 of the bobo doll experiment

Answer 12

• 24 children watched a male or female model behaving aggressively towards a bobo doll
• 24 children watched a non-aggressive male or female model who played with the bobo doll
• final 24 children were not exposed to any model at all

Question 13

aggression arousal

explain stage 2 of the bobo doll experiment

Answer 13

• all the children were subjected to mild aggression arousal
• as soon as the child started to play with the toys, the experimenter told the child that they were the very best toys and they were reserved for other children

Question 14

test for delayed imitation

explain stage 3 of the bobo doll experiment

Answer 14

• the next room contained aggressive and non-aggressive toys
• the child was in the room for 20 minuted and their behaviour was observed and rated through a one way mirror

Question 15

what were the results of the bobo doll experiment

Answer 15

• children who observed the aggressive model made far more aggressive responses
• the girls showed more physcial aggression if the model was male but more verbal aggression if the model was female
• boys were more likely to imitate same sex models
• boys were more physical

Question 16

give a strength of social learning theory

PEEL

Answer 16

• explains cultural differences in behaviour
• eg, SLT principles can account for how children learn from individuals around them
• this can explain how cultural norms are transmitted through societies. This is useful in understanding a range og behaviours
• SLT can explain the differences in behaviour between cultures

Question 17

give a limitation of social leanring theory

PEEL

Answer 17

• reliance on evidence from lab studies
• participants may have demand characteristics
• this means the children were only behaving simply in a way they thought was expected
• therefore, the research may tell us little about how children learn aggression in everyday life. Lacking ecological validity