Social Learning Theory Flashcards
What are the key assumptions of SLT
Learning occurs directly and indirectly
-directly though classical and operant conditioning
-indirectly through vicarious reinforcement
People form hypothesis about what behaviours are most likely to succeed in a given situation
What are the two types of model in SLT?
Live model - an actual individual (e.g a friend or parent)
Symbolic model - someone representative, usually in the media (e.g character in a show you watch)
Outline Vicarious (indirect) Reinforcement
Children who observed a model being rewarded for an aggressive behaviour were much more likely to imitate that behaviour
-Individuals learn about the likely consequences of an actual and adjust their behaviour accordingly
-This suggests that individuals don’t need to experience rewards and punishments directly in order to learn (instead they can observe the consequences experienced by a model and make judgements based on that)
The role of Identification
Identification refers to how much an individual related to a model
-An individual much identify with a model enough that they feel they would experience the same outcomes if they imitated the model’s behaviour
-E.G more likely to identify with same-sex models
Increased identification leads to increased imitation
What is imitation?
Imitation is the way in which an individual replicates a model’s behaviour
-It shows that whole patterns of behaviour can be rapidly acquired (unlike the process of conditioning)
What are the 3 determinants of whether a behaviour is imitated?
1) Characteristics of the model (identification)
2) Observers PERCEIVED ability to perform the imitated behaviour
3) The observed consequences of the behaviour
What are the 4 Mediational Processes?
Attention (whether we notice the behaviour)
Retention (whether we remember the behaviour)
Reproduction (whether we are able to perform the behaviour)
Motivation (whether the perceived rewards outweigh the costs)
Who carried out the Bobo Doll study?
Bandura
What was the procedure of the Bobo Doll study?
Half of the children exposed to adult models acting aggressively towards the Bobo Doll - including verbal aggression e.g “POW”
Other half of the children exposed to adult models acting non-aggressively towards the Bobo Doll
The children were then taken in to a room with the Bobo Doll
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Demand characteristics in Bobo Doll study
May lack internal validity
-Bobo Dolls are specifically designed to be hit
-Ppts may deliberately act aggressively towards the Bobo Doll because they realise that is what the investigator wants them to do
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Low ecological validity in Bobo Doll study
Bobo Dolls do not hit back
-In real life, people will hit back if someone hits them. Kids know this
Therefore kids won’t just hit a person because they saw someone doing it, as there will be consequences (The costs outweigh the reward)
Therefore the Bobo Doll study lacks mundane realism as it does not represent a real life example of aggression.
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Problems establishing causality
Deviant behaviour may not be adopted from deviant peers
-Deviant people may seek out peers with the same deviant values as them
-Therefore it is hard to establish the cause of deviant behaviour, as it may not be learned from their peers (model)
-Already deviant people may just choose other deviant people to be around
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SLT has useful applications
Findings from SLT have been used to increase understanding of human behaviour
-E.G criminals
-People are more likely to engage in criminal activity when exposed to models who are engaging in this behaviour
-Adolescent violence has been linked to learning from violent peers, especially because they identify with their peers
-These behaviours in adolescents are rewarded by praise and approval from their friends
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Acknowledges the role of human cognition
Behaviourist approach fails to do this
SLT acknowledges the fact that human free-will and decision making is greater than that in animals
-SLT recognises that humans use mediational processes (unlike behaviourist approach)
-This is conscious insight that humans have in to their behaviour
Therefore, SLT may be a better explanation of human behaviour than behaviourism is
