Social Psychological Explanations Of Aggression: Social Learning Theory

What is social learning theory?

A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors.

In SLT, what did Bandura acknowledge?

That aggression can be learned directly, through mechanisms of operant conditioning involving positive and negative reinforcement and punishment.

What will a child who angrily snatches a toy off another child learn?

That aggressive behaviour is rewarding. This direct reinforcement makes it more likely that the child will behave aggressively again in a similar situation.

What did Bandura realise about aggressive behaviour?

That it often cannot be explained by such direct forms of learning, especially in humans, so he argued that an indirect mechanism - observational learning - accounts for most aggressive behaviours.

How do children (and adults to some extent) acquire specific aggressive behaviours?

Through observing aggressive models, such as siblings, parents, peers and characters in the media.

Through observing aggressive models, what has the child learned?

They have learned about aggressive behaviour, but this does not mean that they will behave aggressively themselves. As well as observing the behaviour of models, children also observe the consequences of their behaviour.

What does vicarious reinforcement increase the likelihood of?

The observing child imitating the model’s aggressive behaviour.

What does vicarious punishment decrease the likelihood of?

The imitation of the behaviour.

What did Bandura identify?

Four cognitive conditions needed for social learning.

What are the four cognitive conditions Bandura identified as needed for social learning?

• Attention.

• Retention.

• Reproduction.

• Motivation.

What is attention?

A basic cognitive requirement is that the observer must pay attention to the model’s aggressive actions.

What is retention?

The observer also needs to be able to remember the model’s aggressive action, to form a symbolic mental representation of how the behaviour is to be performed.

What is reproduction?

The observer must be able to transform the mental representation of the model’s aggressive behaviour into physical action.

What is motivation?

The observer needs a reason to imitate behaviour.

What is self-efficacy?

The extent to which we believe our actions will achieve a desired goal.

When does a child’s confidence in their ability to be aggressive grow?

As they learn aggression can bring rewards.

What does Bandura’s famous Bobo doll study illustrate?

Many of the features of SLT.

What was Bandura et al.’s procedure?

Young children individually observed an adult model assaulting an inflatable plastic toy called a 'Bobo doll. The aggressive behaviours included throwing, kicking and hitting with a mallet, and were accompanied by verbal outbursts such as 'Sock him in the nose!. There followed a short period during which the children were not allowed to play with some attractive toys, which created a degree of frustration. They were then taken to another room where there was a Bobo doll, plus some other toys including ones the adult model had used.

What were Bandura et al.’s findings?

Without being instructed to do so, many of these children imitated the behaviour they had seen performed by the model, physically and verbally. The closeness of the imitation was remarkable in some cases, virtually a direct copy of what the children had observed, including the use of specific objects and verbal phrases. Boys imitated physical aggression more than girls, but there was no difference in imitating verbal aggression. Boys were also more likely than girls to imitate a same-sex model. There was also another group of children who had observed an adult interacting non-aggressively with the doll.
Aggressive behaviour towards the Bobo doll by these children was almost non-existent.

What are the strengths of SLT?

• Research support.

• Real-world application.

How is research support a strength of SLT?

Poulin and Boivin found that aggressive bays aged between 9 and 12 years formed friendships with other aggressive boys. These friendships mutually reinforced each boy's aggressive behaviour through modelling. For example, the boys would observe each other successfully using proactive aggression (to get what they wanted from peers), which provided reinforcement. This means they were exposed frequently to models of physical aggression (i.e. each other) and to its positive consequences. The boys also gained reinforcement from the rewarding approval of the rest of the 'gang.

What does the research support mean for SLT?

These social learning processes made imitation of aggressive behaviour by the boys much more likely, as predicted by SLT.

What is the counterpoint to the research support?

However, the study by Poulin and Bolvin did not find similarity between friends for reactive aggression. Reactive aggression (hot-blooded'") is angry retaliation in the heat of the moment. The researchers found that the boys were much less likely to influence each other's reactive aggressive outbursts. They observed them but generally did not imitate them. This was perhaps because the consequences of reactive aggression are unpredictable and not often as positive as they are for planned, proactive aggression (so less reinforcing).

What does the counterpoint to the research support mean?

That therefore, SLT is limited because it is a relatively weak explanation of reactive aggression.

How is real-world application a strength of SLT?

SLT can help reduce aggression: children readily imitate models when they observe them being rewarded for any behaviour and especially when they identify with them. This applies to modelling aggressive behaviour. One way to reduce aggression is to provide rewarded non-aggressive models. The same learning processes that can lead to aggressive behaviour can produce non-aggression. For instance, encouraging children to form friendships with children rewarded for non-aggression (and/or presenting them with media characters) gives them more opportunities to model non-aggressive behaviour.

What does the real-world application mean for SLT?

That therefore, SLT offers practical steps to reduce the development of aggressive behaviour in children.

What is the limitation of SLT?

Biological influences.

How are biological influences a limitation of SLT?

It underestimates the influence of biological factors: Bandura recognised the role of biology because he accepted that there is an urge to be aggressive that is instinctive in nature. But he was equally clear that the form aggression takes is primarily learned and is the outcome of 'nurture. However, as we have seen on previous spreads, it is well established that there are powerful genetic, evolutionary, neural and hormonal influences on aggression. SLT barely acknowledges these and certainly does not explain them.

What do biological influences mean for SLT?

That therefore, SLT is an incomplete explanation of aggression because it underplays the role of biological factors.