social learning theory

assumptions

• behaviour is learned from the environment through observation.

• role models provide examples of behaviour to observe and imitate.

• children pay attention to some role models and internalise their behaviour. This is more likely if the child identifies with the role model.

• children may imitate the behaviour they have observed if they are positively or negatively reinforced.

social learning theory

• behaviour is learned from the environment through observing role models, e.g. parents, family members, characters on TV, friends, teachers etc.

• role models provide examples of behaviour to observe and imitate.

• children pay attention to some of these models and encode their behaviour, which is more likely if they perceive the model as similar to itself (identifies) e.g. same gender.

• at a later time they may imitate the behaviour observed.

• if a child imitates a model’s behaviour and the consequences are rewarding (direct reinforcement), the child is likely to continue performing the behaviour, however it can also happen through vicarious reinforcement.

cognitive mediational processes

• factors which determine whether we imitate a behaviour or not.

• attention - more attention is paid to role models who have status and those that we can identify with e.g. those of the same gender.

• retention - learning will only take place if the behaviour we have observed is stored in memory.

• motor reproduction - the observer must be physically able to perform the behaviour for imitation to occur.

• motivational processes - if an individual observed a model being positively reinforced for a behaviour (vicarious reinforcement), the behaviour would more likely to be imitated, and in future when an opportunity arises, the individual will weigh up chances of being directly reinforced, and might display the observed behaviour if they expect more positive consequences than negative ones.

Bandura et al (1961)

• aim - to find out if children would show more aggressive behaviour if exposed to aggressive role model and less aggressive behaviour if exposed to non-aggressive role model.

• sample - 72 children split into three groups of 24, 12 girls and 12 boys in each group.

• condition one (aggressive) - children observed a video of an adult attack a Bobo doll, by kicking and punching it, and using aggressive statements such as ‘punch him on the nose.’

• condition two (non-aggressive) - children observed an adult assembling a toy showing no aggression.

• condition three (control group) - no adult role model was observed.

• after this first stage, each child was taken to a second room filled with toys and a bobo doll, and was filmed playing for twenty minutes. Bandura observed the children and recorded imitative aggression, partial imitation and non-imitative aggression.

• results - the children who had observed the aggressive model (condition one) displayed higher levels of aggression to the doll than those in either of the other two conditions. Children were also more likely to directly imitate same sex role models, and boys were more physically aggressive in all conditions.

• conclusions - behaviour can be learned by observation and imitation. Individuals are more likely to imitate role models that they identify with, e.g. those of the same gender.

• in a later follow up version of the study children were even more likely to imitate adults who they had seen be rewarded for being aggressive, demonstrating the importance of vicarious reinforcement.

strengths of Bandura’s research

• internal validity - lab experiment allowed for the precise control of variables such as the role model used and the time the children observed the behaviour, allowing cause and effect to be established.

• reliability - used standardised procedures and instructions that allowed it to be replicated, and similar results were found enhancing its reliability.

weakness of Bandura’s research

• low ecological validity - involved a child observing an unfamiliar adult role model in an artificial setting with no interaction between adult and child, unlike real life modelling that takes place in a family or school context.

• the imitation was measured almost immediately, making this a snap shot study which cannot tell us about the long term effects of the single exposure to the behaviour, so doesn’t explain learnt behaviour over time.

strengths social learning theory

• research - Bandura - lab experiment strengths and weaknesses.

• useful application - explains development of gender typical behaviour through observing same-sex role models in everyday life and the media. This has been able to explain development of gendered stereotypes which has contributed to sexism and discrimination, leading to positive social change including legislation informing advertising agencies to avoid gender stereotypes in the media, having positive implications on society.

• soft determinist - recognises the role of both learning and cognition, and can better explain the occurrence of individual differences in behavioural response to stimuli.

weaknesses social learning theory

• underestimates role of nature - makes little reference to the impact of biological factors on human learning and behaviour and underestimates its contribution.

• Bobo doll experiments demonstrated that boys were more aggressive than girls in all of the conditions regardless of situation or the sex of their role model. Critics argue that these differences could be best explained through biological factors such as hormones e.g. higher levels of testosterone in boys and linked to aggression.