psychology key vocab (social learning theory)

social learning theory

people learning through observation and imitation of others within a social context as well as learning through conditioning

imitation

copying the behaviour of others

cognitive

internal mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and understanding

mediating processes

a cognitive process that occurs between observation and imitation of a behaviour that affects whether the behaviour is imitated

observational learning

learning by observing others without direct reinforcement or punishment

modeling

the process of imitating behaviour observed in others

reinforcement

positive or negative consequences that can affect the likelihood of a behavious being repeated

vicarious reinforcement

learning by observing the consequences of other’s behaviours

self-regulation

controlling one’s own behaviour through internal rewards or punishments

attention

focusing on the behaviour of others as a precursor to learning

retention

remembering what one has observed to reproduce the behaviour later

reproduction

the ability to reproduce the observed behaviour

motivation

the drive to perform a behaviour, which can be influenced by the observed consequences

identification

when an observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like the role model

reciprocal determinism

a person’s behaviour both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment