social learning theory Flashcards
Attention:
The individual needs to pay attention to the behavior and its consequences and form a mental representation of the behavior.
Retention:
Storing the observed behavior in LTM where it can stay for a long period of time. Imitation is not always immediate.
Reproduction:
The individual must be able (have the ability and skills) to reproduce the observed behavior.
Motivation:
Individuals must expect to receive the same positive reinforcement (vicarious reinforcement) for imitating the observed behavior that they have seen the model receiving.
The Bobo doll study – Bandura et al. (1961) Method
It was a lab experiment. Sample: American children, 36 boys and 36 girls aged between 3-6 years old.
Group 1: 12 girls and 12 boys were shown a model hitting the doll with a hammer and shouting at the doll.
Group 2: 12 girls and 12 boys were shown a model shown a non-aggressive model.
Group 3: 12 girls and 12 boys (control group) were not shown a model.
Then the children were taken to a room with some attractive toys but were told not to play with the toys (aggression arousal).
Then the children were taken individually to a room containing a bobo doll, non-aggressive toys like pencils and plastic farm animals, and aggressive toys like a hammer and a pistol.
Results
The children who had observed the aggressive model (group 1) were more aggressive than the children from the other two groups. Group 1 imitated specific aggressive acts that were displayed by the model. Boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls. There was no difference in verbal aggression between boys and girls.
This supports SLT as it shows that children imitate the behavior of role models even if the behavior is aggressive.
Bandura and Walters (1963) (AO1) method
The bobo doll experiment was repeated, but this time the three groups were exposed to an aggressive model and saw different consequences for the model:
Group 1: the model was praised
Group 2: the model was punished (told off)
Group 3: no consequences for the aggressive behavior
Bandura and Walters (1963) (AO1) results
When left on their own to play, the children in group 1 showed the most aggression, followed by group 3. Group 2 was the least aggressive.
This shows that imitation is more likely to occur when the model is positively reinforced, demonstrating the importance of vicarious reinforcement.
Evaluation AO3
Social learning theory is supported by research by Bandura et al. (1961) and Badura and Walters (1963); however, these were laboratory experiments, and the task did not reflect the way the participants behaved in their normal life.
At this young age, parents would guide their understanding of the situation and moderate their behavior. This was not the case in the studies, as the children were on their own. The children were aggressive towards a doll that they know does not feel pain and could not retaliate; their behavior might be different towards another child.
Furthermore, the children were in an unfamiliar environment; they might have thought that they were expected to behave like the model (demand characteristics).
The participants were young children, older children, and adults who might not have imitated the aggressive behavior as they had more developed moral values.
The theory does not explain why the boys imitated the physically aggressive behavior more than the girls. Other factors must be involved, such as biological factors like testosterone.
SLT can explain the difference in behavior between different cultures as if a behavior is not displayed and it cannot be imitated. This can explain why groups such as the Amish are non-violent.
SLT can be used to explain the influence of media on aggressive behavior.
It is a more complete explanation of human behavior than conditioning as it takes into account cognitive factors in learning. However, it does not take into account free will and moral values.
Issues and debates (Behaviorism) AO3
Free will Vs. determinism
Nature Vs. nurture
Holism Vs. reductionism
idiographic Vs. nomothetic
