Social Learning Theory Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key concepts, researchers, mediational processes, and evaluative points of Social Learning Theory based on Bandura's work.

Albert Bandura

The psychologist who developed social learning theory in the $1960s$.

Social Learning Theory

An approach that agrees with behaviorism that behavior is learned, but adds that learning occurs through observing others.

Observational Learning

The process of learning behavior by watching the actions of others.

Imitation

The act of copying the behavior performed by a model.

Modeling

When an individual performs a behavior which is then imitated by another person.

Identification

The phenomenon where people are more likely to imitate a model if they perceive themselves as similar to that model.

Vicarious Reinforcement

When an individual's likelihood of imitating a behavior increases because they observed the model's behavior being rewarded.

Vicarious Punishment

When an individual's likelihood of imitating a behavior decreases because they observed the model's behavior being punished.

Mediational Processes

Mental factors that intervene in the learning process to determine whether a new response is acquired.

ARRM

An acronym representing the four mediational processes: Attention, Retention, Reproduction, and Motivation.

Attention

The first mediational process, referring to the extent to which we notice certain behaviors.

Retention

The second mediational process, referring to how well the behavior is remembered.

Reproduction

The third mediational process, referring to the ability of the observer to perform the behavior.

Motivation

The final mediational process, referring to the will to perform the behavior, often determined by rewards or punishments.

Bobo Doll Experiment ($1961$)

A laboratory experiment where children aged $3$ to $6$ were observed to see if they would imitate aggressive or nonaggressive adult models.

Gender and Imitation Findings

Bandura found that boys were more likely to imitate behavior if they observed a model of the same gender, supporting the concept of identification.

Research Strengths

Bandura's studies had a high degree of control and were found to be reliable.

Research Limitations

Bandura's studies may lack ecological validity and raised ethical issues.