Social Psychological Explanation of Aggression: Social Learning Theory

Question 1

according to who, how can aggression be learned?

Answer 1

Bandura acknowlegded that aggression can be learned directly through operant conditioning involving positive and negative reinforcement

Question 2

how is aggression learnt through operant conditioning?

Answer 2

• a child who angrily snatches a toy off another child will learn that aggressive behaviour is rewarding
• direct reinforcement makes it more likely that the child will behave aggressively again in a similar situation

Question 3

what is the indirect mechanism that aggression can be learnt?

Answer 3

through observational learning, which accounts for most aggressive behaviours

Question 4

who can people learn aggressive behaviour from?

Answer 4

• siblings, peers, characters and media

Question 5

what else do children have to observe to acquire a behaviour?

Answer 5

the consequence of the behaviour

Question 6

what is vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 6

• if the model’s aggressive behaviour is rewarded, then the child learns that aggression can be effective in getting what they want
• so it is more likely that the observing child will imitate the model’s aggressive behaviour

Question 7

what is vicarious punishment?

Answer 7

• if a model’s use of aggression to achieve a goal is punished, an observing child is less likely to imitate that specific behaviour

Question 8

what are the 4 cognitive conditions needed for social learning?

Answer 8

• attentions
• retention
• motor reproduction
• motivation

Question 9

what is attention?

Answer 9

the observer pays attention to the model’s aggressive actions

Question 10

what is retention?

Answer 10

• observer needs to remember the model’s aggressive actions, to form a symbolic mental representation of how the behaviour is performed

Question 11

what is retention?

Answer 11

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Question 12

what is motivation?