SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY


•ALBERT BANDURA•


~BASIC ASSUMPTIONS~

  • Behaviour is learnt from experience

  • People learn through observation and imitation of others



~VICARIOUS REINFORCEMENT~

Imitation occurs when behaviour is seen to be rewarded and not punished


Mediational Processes

Attention (noticing behaviour) →

Retention (remembering behaviour) →

Motor Reproduction (ability to physically perform behaviour) →

Motivation (will to perform behaviour)




BANDURA’S BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT


AIM:

  • Behaviour is acquired by observation/imitation


PROCEDURE:

  • 24 children (12 girls + 12 boys) watched female/male model behave aggressively towards a bobo doll

  • A different condition (24 children) were exposed to non-aggressive model who behaved quietly (10 minutes)

  • Final condition (24 children) used as a control group, and were not exposed to any model


→ Controlled Observation

Two rooms

  • One with aggressive toys (e.g. hammer)

  • One with non-aggressive toys (e.g. tea sets)

→ Used Independent Groups Design


FINDINGS:

  • Boys are more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls

  • Boys imitated more aggressively than girls

  • There was little difference between verbal aggression


CONCLUSION:

  • Children are able to learn social behaviour (aggression) through observation (watching the behaviour of another person)




EVALUATION


→ IGNORES THE INFLUENCE OF NATURE ON BEHAVIOUR

  • One limitation of Social Learning Theory, is that it places too much emphasis on nurture, while ignoring the influence of nature on behaviour

  • Bandura believes that behaviour is learnt through observational learning

  • For example, in Bandura’s study, he tested vicarious reinforcement, and how children are more likely to imitate behaviours that are seen to be rewarded and not punished

  • Research today argues that behaviour can best be explained using both nature and nurture together.

  • Therefore, as this approach only focuses on nurture, it lacks ecological validity.


→ IT IS REDUCTIONIST

  • One strength of Social Learning Theory, is that it is reductionist, which is praised for forming the basis of scientific research.

  • This is due to the fact that often the investigations use scientific testing.

  • For example, in SLT, it studies human behaviour in a lab (e.g. Bandura’s studies)

  • These findings increase the scientific credibility of the approach, as results supporting these conclusions were produced as a result of a scientific investigation.


→ IT IS SOFTLY DETERMINISTIC

  • Another limitation of Social Learning Theory, is that it is softly deterministic.

  • For example, psychologists who support this approach believe that behaviour is caused by environmental factors (observations of other’s behaviour).

  • This approach can be criticised as it ignores the influence of conscious decision-making processes on behaviour.

  • This leads to a lack in ecological validity.


→ IT IS NOMOTHETIC

  • Another limitation of Social Learning Theory, is that it overlooks the richness of human experience.

  • In this approach, they investigate similarities in behaviour in order to produce general laws. Additionally, the research methods produce quantitative data.

  • The lab studies used to conduct this research lack external validity, and make it difficult to generalise the findings outside of the research environment.