social learning theory Flashcards
1
Q
What are the assumptions of the Social Learning Theory?
A
- a way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, but combines this with the role of cognitive factors
- people learn through observation and imitation of others within a social context
- social learning: learning occurs directly, through operant conditioning, but also indirectly, through observing other people –> vicarious reinforcement
- Bandura agreed with behaviourists that much of our behaviour is learned from experience
2
Q
What is imitation?
A
- an individual observes a behaviour from a role model and copies it
- it’s more appropriate than copying as the behaviour is often not able to be copied exactly - it’s merely a situation
3
Q
What is identification?
A
people are much more likely to imitate the behaviour of people who they identify with, called role models –> process called modelling
4
Q
What is a role model?
A
- someone who possess similar characteristics to the observer and/or are attractive and have high status
- role models may not necessarily be physically present in the environment, this has important implications for the influence of the media on behaviour
5
Q
What is a model and what is modelling?
A
- a model is when someone is influential on an individual in some way
- if the individual then imitates that person’s behaviour later, it’s called modelling (the behaviour) - the term is only used when referring to behaviour that is imitated
6
Q
What is vicarious reinforcement?
A
- describes the reinforcement the observer sees the model receiving, they don’t receive the reward themselves; they see someone else get it
- a reinforcement such as a reward, makes a behaviour more likely to happen again
- the person learns by observing the consequence of another person’s behaviour
7
Q
What are the 4 mediational processes?
A
- attention
- retention
- reproduction
- motivation
8
Q
What is the medial process attention?
A
- for a behaviour to be imitated it has to grab our attention
- attention is an extremely important factor in whether a behaviour has an influence in others imitating it
9
Q
What is the mediational process retention?
A
- the behaviour may be noticed, but not always remembered which prevents imitation
- it is important that a memory of the behaviour is formed to be performed later by the observer
10
Q
What is the mediational process reproduction?
A
- we see much behaviour on a daily basis that we would like to be able to imitate but this is not always possible
- we are limited by our physical ability so even if we wish to reproduce the behaviour we cannot- this influences whether to try and imitate it or not
11
Q
What is the mediational process motivation?
A
- the rewards and punishments that follow a behaviour, will be considered by the observer
- if the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived costs (if there are any) then the behaviour will be more likely to be imitated by the observer
- if the vicarious reinforcement is not seen to be important enough to the observer, then they will not imitate the behaviour
12
Q
What are the positives of the social learning theory?
A
- acknowledges cognition
- research evidence
13
Q
expand on the +ve ao3 point, Acknowledges cognition, for the SLT
A
- takes thought processes into account and acknowledges the role that they play in deciding if a behaviour is to be imitated or not
- provides a more comprehensive explanation of behaviour because it combines the behaviourist and cognitive approaches
14
Q
expand on the +ve ao3 point, research evidence, for the SLT
A
- Bandura’s bobo doll - aggression learned via observation and imitation
- Philips - adults can learn aggressive behaviour through the media
- !Kung San - shows importance of seeing a behaviour in order to exhibit it
15
Q
What are the negatives of the social learning theory?
A
- biology
- unscientific
- not a comprehensive explanation
16
Q
expand on the -ve ao3 point, biology, for the SLT
A
- Bandura makes little reference to the impact of biological factors on social learning and doesn’t take it into account –> boys were consistently more aggressive than girls, this may be explained by the different levels of testosterone, which is more present in boys and linked to aggressive behaviour
17
Q
expand on the -ve ao3 point, unscientific, for the SLT
A
- mediational processes have to be inferred, (we can’t see them so we guess them) this is unscientific and unreliable
18
Q
expand on the -ve ao3 point, not a comprehensive explanation, for the SLT
A
- not all behaviour can be explained using SLT
- Children may have a drive to do something even if they haven’t seen an adult do so
- fairness and justice etc are abstract notions which cannot be ‘imitated’ yet we demonstrate these concepts from a fairly early age
19
Q
What is Bandura’s study 1 (1961)?
A
- tested boys and girls aged 3-5- half were exposed to adult models interacting aggressively with a bobo doll
- half were exposed to adult models who were non aggressive/passive, playing with jigsaws
- the model in the aggressive condition displayed distinctive physical and verbal aggression towards the doll
- children were then ‘frustrated’ by being put in a room with lots of lovely toys and forbidden from touching them
- they were led to the final room which contained lots of toys including the bobo doll, and left to play
20
Q
What were the findings of Bandura’s first experiment (1961)?
A
- children in the aggressive condition reproduced both verbal and physical aggression from the adult model ‘POW! SOCK HIM IN THE NOSE!’
- children in the passive condition exhibited virtually no aggression towards the doll
- shows that children can learn aggression directly though observation and imitation
21
Q
What was Bandura’s second study (1963)?
A
- the children were divided into three groups, and watched a film where an adult used physical and verbal aggression on the bobo doll
- group 1 (control) - aggressive model was neither rewarded nor punished
- group 2 (reward) - aggressive model was rewarded by another adult (7up and sweets)
- group 3 (punishment) - aggressive model was punished by a second adult (told off)
- after watching the film, each child was observed in a playroom with the doll and other toys
22
Q
What were the results of Bandura’s second experiment? (1963)
A
- condition 1 (control) and 2 (reward) marked tendency for the child to show spontaneous aggressive acts
- children in condition 2 (reward) behaved most aggressively
- children in condition 3 (punishment) behaved least aggressively
23
Q
What are the issues with Bandura’s second experiment?
A
- Ethics
- Demand Characteristics
24
Q
expand on the -ve AO3 point, ethics, with Bandura’s second experiment?
A
- psychological harm
- informed consent –> video posted on youtube
25
Q
expand on the -ve AO3 point,demand characteristics, with Bandura’s second experiment?
A
- ‘mummy there is a doll i have to hit’ –> purpose of doll was advertised on tv
- Live clown study
26
Q
What was Philips study? (1986)
A
- he applied SLT to adults - can aggression be imitated by adults in a similar way?
- he found that daily homicide rates in USA almost always increased in the week following a major boxing match, suggesting that viewers were imitating behaviour they had seen, and that SLT is present in adults as well as children
27
Q
What is further evidence for SLT?
A
- !Kung San and the Amish - two totally different cultures
- !Kung San people of the Kalahari desert there is absolutely no aggression ‒> if during childhood, if any aggression is exhibited this is actively discouraged and children are separated
- as a consequence of a lack of exposure to aggressive models, there is a total lack of aggression in the culture–> this supports the idea that aggression is learned and that nurture is more powerful than any potential influence of nature
