Social learning theory Flashcards
What is SLT?
A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct (classical and operant conditioning) and indirect reinforcement (observing those around you), combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors
Who was the main person in the SLT approach?
Bandura
What did Bandura believe?
He agreed that behaviour is learnt from experience. However, his SLT proposed that people learn through observations and imitations of others
What has to happen for indirect learning to take place?
An individual has to observe the behaviour of others. The learner imitates the behaviour but only if the behaviour seen is rewarded (reinforced) rather than punished - leading to vicarious reinforcement
What was Bandura’s experiment, and when?
The bobo doll experiment, 1961
Explain the bobo doll experiment
The adult hit the doll with a hammer and shouted abuse at it. When these children were later observed playing with various toys, including a bobo doll, they behaved much more aggressively towards the doll and other toys than those who had observed a non-aggressive adult. The closest imitation were when the child and the adult were the same sex.
What does SLT explain about children and the media?
How children base their behaviour off of the media they watch - eg. if they watch a film that shows violence to be an effective way to gain power/money/status, they will begin to think that it is okay, and will begin to replicate it in their everyday life
What is SLT the bridge between?
Between behaviourists learning theory and the cognitive approach
What were the four mental processes in learning that were identified by Bandura?
- Attention - the extent to which we notice certain behaviours
- Retention - how well we remember the behaviour
- Motor reproduction - the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
- Motivation - the will to perform the behaviour (often determined by whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished)
What is identification?
The idea that people are more likely to imitate people they identify with eg. family, friend group, celebs that share similiar interests
What is modelling?
The process of imitating a role model
How does a person become a role model?
If they are seen to possess similar characteristics to the observer and/ or are attractive and have a high status
Give 2 strengths of SLT
- It recognises the importance of cognitive factors in learning, and shows how information can be stored and used to make judgements
- Real world application - SLT can explain how children learn from others around them (eg. media)
Give 2 weaknesses of SLT
- Underemphasis of biological factors - SLT has been criticised for making too little reference to the influence of biological factors (eg. recent research shows observational learning links to mirror neurons in the brain)
- Lab studies - Criticised for the way the participants may respond to demand characteristics. The main purpose of the bobo doll is to strike it, so the children were just behaving in the way they thought was expected.
