social learning theory Flashcards
What does the Social Learning Theory (SLT) propose?
Social learning theory proposes that there is a mediational process between response and stimulus that the behaviourists fail to disregard. Bandura argues that we learn behaviour through observation and imitation of others.
What are the four mediational processes in learning?
Attention, Retention, Reproduction, Motivation
Can you outline each mediational process fully?
Attention: First, an individual pays attention to the behaviour that the model is performing.
Retention: Then, an individual retains this behaviour, storing it as a memory. Thoughts then allow us to select and learn a behaviour and perform it later.
Reproduction: Then, the observer attempts to perform the behaviour that they had previously remembered.
Motivation: The will to perform the behaviour later depends on whether the behaviour was rewarded or not.
In Vicarious Reinforcement, people observe a behaviour being praised and this leads to the observer being motivated to replicate that behaviour to gain similar praise. This could lead to internalisation of behaviour, where a behaviour becomes part of the observer’s personality.
What is Identification?
Identification is when an observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like the role model. This means they are more likely to imitate and learn from the behaviour of people they view as role models in a process called modelling.
- A person becomes a role model if they are seen to possess similar characteristics to the observer or have high status.
Can you fully outline the Bobo Doll Experiment?
- Bandura et al recorded the behaviour of young children who watched an adult behave in an aggressive way towards a Bobo.
- 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 the other toys than those who had observed a non-aggressive adult.
- This demonstrated that learning could occur through the observation of role models.
