socio approach: SCT

Question 1

theory proposed by & why?

Answer 1

proposed by Albert Bandura as a modification to social learning theory. it is an attempt to explain how we learn from others.

Question 2

Bandura understood that?

Answer 2

Bandura understood that behaviour cognition and society are mutually interrelated. thus, he proposed a model of behaviour known as reciprocal determinism. this means a person’s behavior can influence their environment and vice versa.

Question 3

what does SCT examine?

Answer 3

SCT examines the complex thought processes that occur between observation and behaviour, known as the agentic approach

it suggests that people are capable of agency, which is the ability to control their actions and regulate behaviour.

Question 4

how is behavior regulated?

Answer 4

behavior is regulated by doing things that give satisfaction and reward while avoiding things that result in negative outcomes.

Question 5

this is also done by?

Answer 5

this is also done by observing other people’s behaviors and the reinforcements experienced by others.

observational learning occurs when the observer closely identifies with the model.

Question 6

how people learn via vicarious learning is studied by?

Answer 6

study by Bandura, Ross & Ross (1961) used a large inflatable doll as the object of aggression to find out how observing an adult model behaving aggressively to the doll would influence children’s subsequent aggression

Question 7

sample:

Answer 7

72 children (36 girls, 36 boys) b/w ages of 3 & 6 - enrolled @ stanford uni’s nursery school.

three conditions:
- aggressive role model (24 P)
- control group w no role model (24 P)
- non-aggressive role model (24 P)

Question 8

prior to the experiment

Answer 8

children were rated on their aggressiveness by their nursery school teachers to control for equal amounts of pre-exposure aggressiveness in each group

Question 9

stage 1 -

Answer 9

a child was seated in one corner of a room and the adult model in another. the child was given prints and stickers to play with, while the model’s corner contained a tinker-toy set, a mallet and a 1.5 metre tall bobo doll

Question 10

stage 1 (in non-aggro condition & aggro condition)

Answer 10

in the non-aggressive condition - model ignores the doll and plays quietly with the toys

in the aggressive condition - the model played briefly with the toys before turning to the bobo doll and aggressing towards it both physically and verbally for the rest of the time. the model hit the bobo doll in unique and novel ways so that the ‘imitation’ may be identified as opposed to unrelated but also aggressive play

Question 11

stage 2 (instigation to aggression)

Answer 11

after 10 minutes, the child was taken to another room for stage 2. at this point the children had undergone an ‘instigation to aggression’ stage where the child was given time to interact with attractive toys but separated from these toys once they became interested and were playing with them

Question 12

stage 2 (post ITA stage)

Answer 12

then the child was taken to an adjoining room where they were told they could play with the toys. the experimental room contained a one-way mirror and several toys similar to the first room, such as a 1 metre tall bobo doll

the experimenter remained in the room but worked quietly in the corner for the 20 minute session

Question 13

researchers had a checklist..

Answer 13

researchers had a checklist of behaviours to observe which included categories of -

imitative aggression (where aggressive actions were copied from the distinctive behaviour of the adult model in stage 1)

non-imitative aggression (which were aggressive acts not modelled by the adult. for eg shooting a dart gun at the bobo doll)

Question 14

results -

Answer 14

children in the aggressive model acted more aggressively than those in the non aggressive model

boys were more aggressive than girls

boys in A.M were more aggressive if the model was male than if the model was female

girls in the A.M were more physically aggressive w/ a male aggressive model but more verbally aggressive w/ a female aggressive model

exception to this general pattern was the observation of how often they punched the bobo doll, in this case the effects of gender were reversed

Question 15

conclusion

Answer 15

thus, supporting the hypothesis that exposure of children to aggressive models would increase aggressiveness among the children

learning can indeed be indirect and new behaviours can be learnt from observing others -> clear confirmation of vicarious learning, thus supporting SCT