Social Learning Theory

What doe SLT believe?

• Behaviour is learned (same as behaviourists)

• People learn through observations and imitations, indirect and direct conditioning

How is SLT described?

Bridge between behaviourist and cognitive approaches

What is vicarious reinforcement?

Indirect learning through an individual observing the behaviour of others

When would someone imitate a behaviour?

When the behaviour is positively reinforced, rewarded, rather than punished

What mediational processes did Bandura identify?

• Attention

• Retention

• Motor reproduction

• Motivation

What is identification?

When someone sees someone as a role model to model their behaviour off of

What are people likely to do with role models?

Imitate their behaviour - called modelling

Do role models have to be physically present in the environment?

No - important implications for the influence of media on behaviour

What did Bandura aim to look at in his Bobo Doll experiment?

If aggression be acquired by observation and imitation

What did the researchers do before the experiment began?

Pre-tested the children for how aggressive they were

What design did they use for the experiment?

Matched pairs - matched children with similar levels of aggression

What are the stages of the experiment?

1. Modelling

2. Aggression Arousal

3. Test for Delayed Imitation

What happened in stage 1?

1. Children were shown to a room containing toys and played

2. A third of them watched an adult model behaving aggressively towards the doll

3. Another third watched a non-aggressive model who played in a quiet and subdued manner.

4. The final third were a control group - exposed to no model

What happened to stage 2?

All the children were subjected to ‘mild aggression arousal’ - experimenters took away their favourite toys and give them to other children to intentionally anger them

What happened in stage 3?

The next room had aggressive and non-aggressive toys - children’s behaviour observed in a one-way mirror

What did Bandura find?

• Children who observed the aggressive model made far ore imitative aggressive responsive than non-aggressive and control.

• Children acted more aggressive with a male model than female.

• Boys were more physically aggressive than girls.

• Both initiated verbal aggression.

• Girls and boys both imitated male models more than female.

• Shows children are able to learn social behaviour through observation.

What does Bandura’s research suggest about media influence?

• Children may be influenced by aggression and violence they see in the media - eg murder of James Bulger, toddler murdered by two 10-year-olds - newspapers suggested their violence was inspired by the horror film ‘Child’s Play 3’.

• However, Cumberbatch et al. (2001) argues that violence in the Bulger case are more likely to frighten children than to make then violent towards others - isolated incidents such as this are better explained by other factors such as social deprivation, child abuse and early exposure to violence in the home.

How is SLT a comprehensive explanation?

• Classical/operant conditioning can’t offer an adequate account of learning alone - Bandura suggests we observe others to form idea on how new behaviours are performed, which serves as a guide to action later.

• SLT is a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognising the role of mediational processes.

What real-world application does SLT have?

• Provides cultural differences in behaviour.

• Modelling, imitation and reinforcement can account for how children learn from others around them, and how cultural norms are spread in societies.

• We can understand a range of behaviours such as gender roles.

• Increases its value.

Why is SLT a better approach than behaviourism?

• Bandura suggested we are not just influenced by external environment, but also exert an influence upon it through the behaviours we choose to perform.

• Suggests we have some free will - contrasts behaviourist approach.

How does Bandura’s research lack external validity?

• Children may have been responding to demand characteristics - the main idea of a bobo doll is to strike it.

• Suggests research tells us little about how children learn aggression in everyday life.

How does SLT ignore biological influences?

• Bandura claimed biological differences influences out learning potential, but the learning itself is due to the environment.

• Recent research suggests observational learning may be the result of mirror neurones in the brain, which allow us to empathise with and imitate other people.

• Suggests biological influences on social learning are underemphasised.