Social Psychological explanations - SLT Flashcards
Who proposed SLT?
Albert Bandura
Which ‘o’ is vital for SLT to work?
observation
Which ‘i’ is key to SLT?
imitation
Aggression is more likely to be imitated if a child observes what consequences of for aggression shown by somebody else?
If the aggression is rewarded, imitation is more likely
Give two examples of such reward
Increase in self-esteem/respect of others
What type of reinforcement is learning through the consequences of somebody else’s behaviour?
Vicarious reinforcement
What is the acronym for remembering the four stages of SLT?
ARRM
What are the four stages?
Attention, retention, reproduction, motivation
Explain attention.
An individual must have seen a behaviour in order to imitate it.
Explain retention.
An individual must have remembered the behaviour in order to imitate it.
Explain reproduction.
An individual must be physically able to reproduce the behaviour. It is all very well seeing it and remembering it, but if they are unable to physically perform the behaviour, they will be unable to imitate it.
Explain motivation.
An individual must be motivated to reproduce the behaviour. For example, if they see a role model rewarded for their behaviour, they will be more likely to be motivated to repeat it themselves.
Identify 3 studies into SLT.
Bandura et al 1961/Bandura, Ross and Ross 1963 and Williams 1981.
Explain Bandura et al 1961.
Bobo doll study. 72 participants. Boys and girls. Stanford University. Some saw a role model being aggressive towards a bobo doll, others saw a non-aggressive model. Children most likely to imitate when they see a role model rewarded. Most likely to imitate a same-sex model.
Explain Bandura, Ross and Ross 1963
Bobo doll.Three conditions. Model rewarded, model punished and no consequences. Those who saw model rewarded were more likely to imitate behaviour. Then, all children given a reward if they could imitate. There were no differences between the group when this occurred.
Explain Williams
Studied levels of physical and verbal aggression in a Canadian community after the introduction of TV. Found levels of aggression increased post-introduction
EVALUATION: Identify grenaaadess associated with SLT
Too simplistic, deterministic, supporting research, applications, cultural issues.
Why is the approach too simplistic?
Ignores alternative approaches, such as the genetic explanation.
How could you argue being too simplistic isn’t all negative?
Allows you to study in detail and suggest practical applications.
Why is it deterministic?
It suggests that if you observe a role model being aggressive, you will be yourself. There is no free will.
What applications are there to this theory?
Can educate people to be good role models. Remove young children from aggressive environments.
What cultural issues are there with this theory?
Kung San tribe support the idea of social learning theory. In their tribe aggressive/punishment is discouraged and consequently there is very little aggression shown in their culture.
