EM

C.1.1.2 Social Learning Theory (HL)

  • SLT is the process of learning behaviour through observing and modelling physical behaviours of perceived role models

  • Albert Bandura is the theorist who came up with SLT

  • SLT shows learning without reinforcement (no punishments/rewards)

  • It explains how people learn by observing others and then using what they’ve seen to shape their own behaviour. Its about htinking, practising and setting personal standards.

According to Pervin et al. (2005), to get a full understanding of SLT and how it relates to personality, four constructs must be taken into account:

  1. Competence and skills

  2. Beliefs and expectancies

  3. Behavioural (evaluative) standards

  4. Personal goals

Competence and skills

  • How you behave depends on the actual skills you have and whether you expect to be good at something

Beliefs and expectations

  • Beliefs are cognitive views about oneself (self-efficacy), others (interpersonal) or the environment (worldview)

  • Expectancies are predictions based on past experiences and current information. Including one’s own abilities and the consequences of behaviours.

Behavioural standards

  • A mental “standard” is a criterion for judging the goodness or worth of a person, thing or event

    • Behavioural (evaluative) standards concerning oneself or personal standards

    • Personal standards are fundamental to human motivation and performance

Personal goals

  • Creating and accomplishing goals shows how an athlete will continue in a sport, either in training or competition, as it helps in optimising performance

Self efficacy

Self-efficacy is the expectation that people hold for a person’s own capabilities

  • Increasing self-efficacy is associated with a greater performance level

  • Self-efficacy ≠ self-esteem

    • Self-esteem is a broader assumption of self-worth rather than the ability to perform

  • Self-esteem refers to a person’s global evaluation of their personal worth.

Self-efficacy Manipulation

Four antecedent factors that help improve self-efficacy:

  • Performance accomplishments

  • Vicarious experience

  • Persuasion

  • Psychological state

1. Performance accomplishments

  • How a person views their own performance. Positive views are deemed accomplishments

  • Performance profiles help athletes understand their views

2. Vicarious experience

  • Modelling. Seeing someone else perform a task can encourage you

3. Persuasion

  • Influence of people held in high regard (words or acts of encouragement)

  • Songs/images/etc that can motivate the individual

4. Psychological state

  • Attention arousal to the task (Inverted-U Theory)

  • Concentration, selective attention, and multitasking