Social Learning Theory Flashcards
What is Social Learning Theory?
A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors.
What does SLT propose about how people learn?
People learn through observation and imitation of others, it takes place in a social context.
What is Vicarious Reinforcement?
Reinforcement which in not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour.
What is Imitation?
Copying the behaviour of others.
What did Bandura suggest about Vicarious reinforcement?
For indirect learning to take place an individual observes the behaviour of others.
- The learner may imitate this behaviour but in general imitation only occurs if the behaviour is seen to be rewarded rather than punished.
- So a learner does observer a behaviour, but most importantly observes the consequences of a behaviour.
What are Mediational processes?
Cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response.
What are the 4 mediational processes identified by Bandura?
- Attention - The extent to which we notice the behaviour
- Retention - How well we remember the behaviour
- Motor Reproduction - whether the observer can perform the behaviour
- Motivation - The will to perform the behaviour, determined by whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished
What is meant by Identification?
A desire to be associated with a particular person or group often because the person/group posseses certain desireable characteristics.
People are more likely to imitate people they…..
Identify with
Who is the person we identify with?
AND , Which type of person is also a model?
Role model - identifying with a role model is called modelling.
A person become a role model if they are seen to possess similar characteristics to the observer and/or are attractive and have high status.
Outline Bandura (1961) Experiment.
- Recorded the behaviour of young children who watched an adult behave in an aggressive way towards a Bobo doll. The adult hit the doll with a hammer and shouted abuse at it.
- When the children where later observed, the children who observed the aggressive adult where much more aggressive towards the doll than those who had observed the non-aggressive adult.
- Showing children are more likely to imitate aggressive behaviour if they observe an adult role model.
Outline Banduras (1963) experiment.
- Bandura showed videos to children where an adult behaved aggressively towards the Bobo doll.
- One group of children saw the adult praised for the behaviour.
- The second group saw the adult being punished for the behaviour.
- The third group saw aggression without any consequence.
- When given their own bobo doll to play with, the first group showed much more aggression, followed by the third group.
- Suggesting the learner most importantly observes the consequence of behaviour.
One strength of learning theory is that it recognises the importance of cognitive factors in learning.
Neither classical nor operant conditioning can offer an adequate account of learning on their own. Humans and animals store information about the behaviour of others and use this to make judgements about when it is appropriate to perform certain actions.
This suggests that SLT provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognising the role of mediational processes.
Counterpoint:
Despite this, SLT has been criticised for making too little reference to the influence of biological factors on social learning
Although Bandura claimed natural biological differences influenced our learning potential, he thought that learning itself was determined by the environment.
However, recent research suggests that observational learning, of the kind Bandura was talking about, may be the result of mirror neurons in the brain, which allow us to empathise with and imitate other people.
This suggests that biological influences on social learning were under-
emphasised in SLT.
One limitation of social learning theory is that the evidence on which it is based was gathered through lab studies.
Many of Bandura’s Ideas were developed through observation of young children’s behaviour in the lab. Lab studies are often criticised for their contrived nature where participants may respond to demand characteristics.
It has been suggested, in relation to the Bobo doll research (bottom of facing page) that, because the main purpose of the doll is to strike it, the children were simply behaving in a way that they thought was expected.
This suggests that the research may tell us little about how children
actually learn aggression in everyday life.
Another strength is that SLT principles have been applied to a range of real - world behaviours.
Social learning theory has the advantage of being able to explain cultural differences in behaviour.
SLT principles, such as modelling, imitation and reinforcement, can account for how children learn from others around them, including the media, and this can explain how social/cultural norms are transmitted through particular societies.
This has proved useful in understanding a range of behaviours, such as how children come to understand their gender role.
This increases the value of the approach as it can acount for real-world behaviour.
One limitation of social learning theory is that the evidence on which it is based was gathered through lab studies.
Many of Bandura’s Ideas were developed through observation of young children’s behaviour in the lab. Lab studies are often criticised for their contrived nature where participants may respond to demand characteristics.
It has been suggested, in relation to the Bobo doll research (bottom of facing page) that, because the main purpose of the doll is to strike it, the children were simply behaving in a way that they thought was expected.
This suggests that the research may tell us little about how children
actually learn aggression in everyday life.
