Social Learning Theory Flashcards
Who developed SLT?
Albert Bandura in the 1960s
Why did Bandura develop SLT?
He wanted to explain how we could learn from others rather than through association or consequences following behaviour
What did Bandura note about observational learning?
Noted observational learning is more effective when the behaviour being observed is simple and easy to repeat
What four criteria did Bandura believe needed to be met for observational learning to occur?
Attention to the role model
Retention of the observed behaviour
Reproduction of the target behaviour
Motivation to imitate the observed behaviour
What does Bandura mean by ‘attention to the role model’?
Child will need to be paying attention to the behaviour being modelled by another person
Powerful role models have higher status and are likely to be similar age and same sex as the child
What does Bandura mean by ‘retention of the observed behaviour’?
Child will retain behaviour they have observed in their memory to use later
What does Bandura mean by ‘reproduction of the target behaviour’?
When the child is provided with a suitable opportunity to reproduce or imitate the behaviour, they will recall what they observed previously
What does Bandura mean by ‘motivation to imitate the observed behaviour’?
Both external and internal factors provide the child with the motivation to want to reproduce the behaviour
External - vicarious reinforcement
Internal - intrinsic motivation whereby the child will reproduce behaviour they observed because it makes them feel better
What are the supporting evidence/strengths of SLT?
Bandura
Psychology in society
Holistic
What are the refuting evidence/weaknesses of SLT?
Not a full explanation
Psychology as a science
Less scientific
Why is Bandura supporting evidence for SLT?
Bandura (1961) found evidence that children who observed an aggressive role model hitting a bobo doll were more likely to directly imitate this behaviour
Bandura (1965) demonstrated the importance of vicarious reinforcement by showing role models being rewarded for aggression and noting children who observed this were motivated to imitate the role models actions
Why is psychology in society a strength of SLT?
Has several useful therapies and treatments based upon the principles of SLT
Positive role models may also be utilised in children’s TV to encourage prosocial behaviours
Why is SLT not being a full explanation a weakness?
SLT is not a full explanation for all behaviour
This is particularly the case when there is no apparent role model in the persons life for that behaviour or if thee behavior displayed hasn’t been modelled previously
Why is holism a strength of SLT?
SLT acknowledges the influences of others and paying attention and retaining information as well as environmental influences making this a more holistic explanation for how we learn new behaviours
Why is psychology as a science a weakness of SLT?
The learned behaviour may not be reproduced immediately therefore making it difficult to establish whether this was due directly to what was observed or possibly other influences
Cause and effect cannot be established
