Social Learning Theory Flashcards
social learning theory
4
proposed by Bandura (1986)
learning through observing others and imitating behaviours that are rewarded
people observe different consequences of their own and others’ behaviour — they learn about the types of behaviour that are most likely to succeed in a given situation, which guides future behaviour
key features of the SLT... • modelling • imitation • identification • vicarious reinforcement • role of the mediational process
modelling
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a form of learning where individuals learn a behaviour by observing another individual performing that behaviour
for social learning to occur, someone must display/model the attitude or behaviour to be learned
individuals that perform this role are known as models
there are different types of model that provide examples of behaviour which can be observed by the individual and imitated
live model — parent, teacher, friend
symbolic model — someone portrayed in the media, like a TV character
imitation
4
much of what a child learns is acquired through the imitation of behaviours and attitudes that are modelled by parents and significant others
imitation involves using someone or something as a model and copying their behaviour
research has shown that whole patterns of behaviour can be rapidly acquired from a model
factors that determine whether a behaviour is imitated……
• the characteristics of the model
• the observer’s perceived ability to perform that behaviour
• the observed consequences of that behaviour
identification
4
refers to the extent to which an individual relates to a model and feels that they are similar to that person
in order to identify with a model and imitate their behaviour, observers must feel that they are similar enough to them that they would be likely to experience the same outcomes in that situation
research suggests that children are more likely to identify with and learn from models similar to them
identification with a model means that an individual is more likely to imitate their behaviour, thus social learning is more likely to be effective
what else is identification?
1
a form of influence in which individuals adopt an attitude or behaviour as they want to be associated with a particular person or group
vicarious reinforcement
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vicarious reinforcement is learning by observing others being reinforced for their behaviour
Bandura et al noted that children who observed a model rewarded for aggressive behaviour were much more likely to imitate that behaviour than children who had observed a model punished for the same behaviour
this is known as vicarious reinforcement, which involves individuals learning about the likely consequences of an action through others and adjusting their behaviour accordingly
suggests that individuals do not need to experience rewards or punishments directly in order to learn — they can observe the consequences experienced by a model and make judgements as to the likelihood of experiencing these outcomes themselves
mediational processes
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social learning theory emphasises the importance of internal mediational processes
mediational processes are the internal mental processes that exist between environmental stimuli and the responses made by an individual to that stimuli
for social learning to occur, the observer must form mental representations of the behaviour displayed by the model and the likely consequences of that behaviour
when appropriate opportunities arise in the future, the individual might display the learned behaviour as long as they believe that the likelihood of a positive consequence is greater than the likelihood of a negative consequence
key study: Bandura et al (1961)
PROCEDURE
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the experiment involved children who either observed aggressive or non aggressive adult models
half were exposed to adult models being aggressive to a life sized Bobo doll, while the other half were exposed to non aggressive adult models
the aggressive models were physically aggressive to the Bobo doll — striking it with a mallet, being verbally aggressive and shouting ‘POW’
after exposure to this behaviour, the children were frustrated at being shown toys but not being allowed to play with them
they were then taken to a room where there were many toys, including a Bobo doll, and were tested for any imitated behaviour in the absence of the model
key study: Bandura et al (1961)
FINDINGS
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children who observed the aggressive model reproduced physically and verbally aggressive behaviour resembling that of the adult model
whereas children exposed to the non aggressive model exhibited virtually no aggression towards the doll
around 1/3 of children who observed the aggressive model repeated the model’s verbal responses, but none of the children who observed the non aggressive model made verbally aggressive remarks
in a follow up study, it was found that children who saw the model rewarded for aggressive acts were more likely to show a high level of aggression in their own interaction with the doll
x4 evaluation points
useful applications
research support
problem of causality
simplistic
evaluation
USEFUL APPLICATIONS
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the principles of SLT have been usefully applied to increase our understanding of many areas of human behaviour
this includes an understanding of criminal behaviour — for example, Akers (1998) suggests that the probability of someone engaging in criminal behaviour increases when they are exposed to models who commit criminal behaviour
they identify with these models and develop the expectation of positive consequences for their own criminal behaviour
Ulrich (2003) supported this claim in a review of the literature, finding that the strongest cause of violent behaviour in adolescents was association with delinquent peer groups, where violence was both modelled and rewarded
another application is in advertising for health campaigns — health campaigns can match characters in adverts to physical characteristics of target audiences, which increases the likelihood of the audience modelling that behaviour, which can increase the overall health of the population
evaluation
RESEARCH SUPPORT
5
according to the SLT, observing a model similar to the self should lead to more learning than if we were to observe a dissimilar model
greater identification with the model leads to more learning because it’s much easier to visualise ourselves in the place of the model, so we may feel as if we are having the same experience
Fox et al (2009) supported the importance of identification using computer generated ‘virtual’ humans who engaged in exercise or merely loitered
the virtual models either looked similar or dissimilar to the individual participants
they found that participants who had a similar virtual model to themselves and viewed this model exercising engaged in more exercise in the 24 hours after the experiment than participants who viewed a dissimilar model exercising
evaluation
PROBLEM OF CAUSALITY
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a major criticism of the SLT is that it seeks to explain deviant behaviour as a result of association with deviant peers
according to the theory, this association will increase the likelihood that an individual will adopt the same values and behaviours
the problem with this is essentially a problem in determining causality
critics argue that the cause of deviant behaviour may not be social learning and exposure to deviant role models, but actually the possession of deviant attitudes prior to contact with deviant peers
Siegel et al (2006) suggested that those with deviant attitudes and values will seek out peers with similar attitudes and behaviours as these people will be more fun to be with than their less reckless counterparts
therefore, social learning may not actually be the cause behind all behaviour
evaluation
OVERLY SIMPLISTIC
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the SLT tends to disregard other potential influences on behaviour
for example, in explaining the development of gender role behaviour, the SLT emphasises the importance of gender specific modelling, but in real life a child is exposed to many different influences which will interact in complex ways (e.g. genetic predisposition, media portrayals, locus of control)
virtually anything can have an influence on behaviour, which makes it very difficult to show that one particular thing is the main cause of behaviour
behaviour is not as simple as merely being exposed to models and imitating behaviour, there are many other influences
therefore, by reducing behaviour to being influenced mainly by social learning the theory may be overly simplistic and inaccurate as it does not consider other influences on behaviour
