Social Learning Theory Evaluation Flashcards
The Importance of cognitive factors in learning = Strength
Neither classical or operant conditioning can offer an adequate account of learning on their own. Humans and many animals store information about the behaviour of others and use this to make judgements about when it is appropriate to perform certain actions. As such, SLT provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognising the role of mediational processes.
Over-reliance on evidence from lab studies = weakness
Many of Bandura’s ideas were developed through observation of young children’s behaviour in lab settings. 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 that, because the main purpose of the doll is to strike it, the children were simply behaving in a way that they throught was expected. Therefore research may tell us very little about how children actually learn aggression in everyday life.
Underestimates the influence of biological factors
Bandura makes little reference to the impact of biological factors on social learning. One consistent finding in the Bobo doll experiments was that boys were often more aggressive than girls regardless of the specifics of the experimental situation. This may be explained by hormonal factors, such as differences in levels of testosterone, a hormone that is present greater in boys than girks and which is linked to increased aggressive behaviour, This means that this important influence on behaviour is not accounted for in SLT.
Less Determinist than the behaviourist approach
Bandura emphasised reciprocal determinism, in the sense that we are not merely influenced by our external environment, but we also exert an influence upon it, through the behaviours we choose to perform. This element of choice suggests that there is some free will in the way we behave.
