Topic 2 -Social Learning Theory

Question 1

How does this differ from conditioning processes

Answer 1

SLT theorists acknowledge that learning does take place through
operant and classical conditioning but argue that this only explains
a limited amount of learning.

However, SLT differs from the
conditioning processes described so far in that it also takes account
of the animal’s thoughts, whereas behaviourists do not take any
account of this. It emphasises that animals also learn indirectly by
observing and imitating the behaviour of others. It relies on the
process of imitation, i.e. learning through copying the behaviour of
someone else. So SLT is not strictly a behaviourist approach.

Question 2

Describe to me the research of Bandura (1961)

What was the aim and method?

Answer 2

1. Bandura’s study was designed to examine the role of a model on influencing an observer’s behaviour.

Method:

1. There was 1 male and 1 female adult serving as the role model for the experiment. There were 8 experimental groups, Half the groups observed an aggressive role model and the other half saw non-aggressive behaviour from their role model. The groups were further subdivided by gender and whether the model was the same sex or opposite sex of the participants.
2. Participants were put into a room one at a time and observed the adult role model’s behaviour (either aggressive or non- aggressive), towards a Bobo doll
3. After witnessing the behaviour
   they were taken down the corridor to another room. Initially there was aggression arousal, whereby the participants were taken straight to a room where they were told they couldn’t play with the toys as they were being saved for other children, but that they could play with the toys in a neighbouring room. Then they were taken into another room with a Bobo doll and other toys participants were observed in that room for 20 minutes and rated for the extent they imitated the behaviour they had just seen.

Question 3

What is the conclusion and result for the Bandura study?

Answer 3

Results:

1. They found that the children who had observed aggressive behaviour acted more aggressively when observed
2. Boys acted more aggressively than girls.
3. There was also a greater level of imitation of behaviour if the role model was the same gender as the child.

Conclusion:

It seems then that there is a behavioural effect from observing aggressive behaviour and that this behaviour continues after a delay

Question 4

What is the evaluation for Bandura study? Give me 2 disadvantages

Answer 4

1. This experiment only shows the short term effects of social learning so it is difficult to see whether there are any long term effects on the children
2. The validity of the experiment can be doubted as most people would hit a Bobo doll ass it was designed for that purpose. Therefore, there are issues with interpreting the behaviour as all being influenced as social learning

Question 5

What are the 4 Key Concepts of SLT?

Answer 5

1. Imitation is the term used to describe a person’s copying of the
   behaviour of a role model.
2. Identification is used to describe how a person is influenced by
   the behaviour of a person that they admire which goes beyond
   simple copying.
3. Modelling is a term used to describe how a person copies the
   behaviour of an influential person, called a model.
4. Vicarious reinforcement is an important aspect of reinforcement.
   In this instance the people themselves do not receive the reward
   but observe someone else receiving it. When they observe the
   consequence of someone else’s behaviour, as a reward they repeat
   this behaviour themselves.

Question 6

What is the role of mediating processes

Answer 6

We do not necessarily copy someone’s behaviour automatically. SLT
involves the role of thought in the process.

Question 7

What are the 4 mediating processes

Answer 7

1. Attention

For a behaviour to be imitated it has to grab our attention. We observe many behaviours on a daily basis and many of these are not noteworthy. Attention is therefore pivotal in whether a behaviour has an influence on others imitating it.

2.Retention

The behaviour may be noticed, but it is not always remembered, which obviously prevents imitation. It is important therefore that a memory of the behaviour is formed for it to be performed later by the observer. Much of social learning is not immediate so this process is especially vital in those cases. Even if the behaviour is reproduced shortly after seeing it there needs to be a memory to refer to.

3. Reproduction

We see much behaviour on a daily basis that we would like to be able to imitate but that is not always possible. We are limited by our physical ability and for that reason, even if we wish to reproduce the behaviour, we cannot. This influences our decision whether to try and imitate it or not.

4. Motivation
   The rewards and punishments that follow a behaviour will be considered by the observer. If the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived costs (if there are any) then the behaviour will be more likely to be imitated by the observer. If the vicarious reinforcement is not seen to be important enough to the observer then they will not imitate the behaviour.

Question 8

What are the 2 advantages of SLT

Answer 8

1. The social learning approach takes thought processes into account and acknowledges the role that they play in deciding if a behaviour is to be imitated or not.
2. The approach can successfully explain the initiation of certain behaviours; this has been shown in examples such as why someone would start smoking.

Question 9

What are the 2 disadvantages of SLT?

Answer 9

1. Learning theory is not a full explanation for all behaviour. This is particularly the case when there is no apparent role model in the person’s life to imitate for a given behaviour. This occurs, for example, in the case of psychopathic behaviour in just one individual in a family.
2. Social learning theorists use a variety of research methods in their work; this means that they can sometimes be criticised for being unscientific.