The Social Learning Theory Flashcards
What is the Social Learning Theory?
- Learning through imitation
- This is indirect as you are watching what happens as a result of someone else’s behaviour
Who proposed the SLT?
Albert Bandura
What did Albert Bandura think?
- He argued that classical and operant conditioning could not account for all human learning
- He believed that there are important mental processes that lie between the stimulus and response proposed by the behaviourist approach
What are the assumptions of the SLT?
- Agrees with behaviourists in that much behaviour is learned through experience
- It is concerned with human rather than animal behaviour
- Learning occurs through observation and imitation of role models
- Learning can occur directly through CC + OC but can also occur indirectly
Much of what a child learns is acquired through imitation of the behaviours and attitudes modelled by their ___
Parents
What was Bandura interested in?
Children’s aggressive behaviour
What is identification?
A form of learning that suggests that humans learn by observing role models that are seen as similar to themselves.
What is a model?
One whose behaviour can be imitated by an observer.
What is Vicarious reinforcement?
Imitation is more likely to occur if the model is positively reinforced
Give 4 examples of models:
- Same age
- Same sex
- Older Sibling
- High profile media personality
What case study supports SLT?
Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment in the 1960s
What is Bandura’s Bobo Doll experiment?
- An experiment where Bandura recorded the behaviour of young children who had watched an adult behave in an aggressive way towards a bobo doll.
- The adult hit the doll with a hammer and shouted and abused it
- The children then played in the room where there was the bobo doll as well as other toys
How many participants were there in the Bobo Doll experiment?
72 children (36M, 36F):
- 24 Aggressive Role Model
- Male Model (6M, 6F)
- Female Model (6M, 6F)
- 24 Non-Aggressive Role Model
- Male Model (6M, 6F)
- Female Model (6M, 6F)
- 24 Control Group
What were the results of Bandura’s case study?
- Children who observed the aggressive model acted more aggressively towards the bobo doll then the group who observed the non-aggressive model or control groups.
- Boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls.
- Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls.
What did Bandura’s case study show?
- It provided evidence for SLT.
- The experiment was reliable and repeatable (due to strict control over variables).
- Lack of ecological validity.
What is the mediational process?
What lies between stimulus and response.
What is the acronym for the mediational process?
AARM
What are the 4 parts of the mediational process?
- Attention to the role model
- Retention of the observed behaviour
- Reproduction of the target behaviour
- Motivation to imitate the observed behaviour
What is attention (to the role model)?
Paying attention to the model’s behaviour.
What is retention (of the observed behaviour)?
Forming a mental representation of the model’s behaviour.
What is reproduction (of the target behaviour)?
Transforming mental representation to physical action. This involves mentally appraising one’s ability to do so.
What is motivation (to imitate the observed behaviour)?
A reason or urge to imitate the behaviour.
What are strengths of SLT?
- It explains the learning of complex behaviours (e.g. aggression, eating disorders).
- It is effective in explaining specific irritated behaviour.
- Based supported by lab experiments (e.g. Bandura’s Bobo Doll).
What are weaknesses of SLT?
- Sees behaviour as determined; some behaviours may be innate.
- It ignores biological factors (e.g. testosterone levels).
