Assumptions & Key concepts of SLT

• Social learning theory (SLT) was proposed by Bandura (1972) as a more nuanced explanation of behaviourism
• SLT takes the core principle of behaviourism - people are shaped by their environment - and refines it to include the mechanisms of how people (particularly children) learn from others
• SLT posits the idea that children learn via:

  • imitation of the behaviours observed from role models
  • social contexts
  • observation of role models
  • Role models tend to be older, influential figures who have high status or possess qualities the child aspires to e.g. being good at football
• Imitation, identification & modelling

  The concept behind SLT:

  • the child observes the behaviour of a role model
  • If the behaviour is observed frequently, child imitates that behaviour
  • The imitated behaviour is performed in different contexts
  • e.g. a child observes domestic violence at home and goes on to imitate this sort of behaviour at school (bullying)
• Imitation,identification & modelling

  
  

  It is more likely that a child will imitate the behaviour of role models with whom they identify or who have similar characteristics to them e.g. same-sex parent or sibling, an attractive celebrity
• Reinforcement plays a role in SLT but it tends to be indirect, vicarious reinforcement rather than direct reinforcement
• Vicarious reinforcement example

  • child observes behaviour from role model e.g. aggressive parent
  • child sees aggressive parent rewarded e.g. power over other parent
  • aggressive parent experiences positive direct reinforcement e.g. got what they wanted
  • child identifies w aggressive parent + internalises what they've just seen e.g. 'I want to feel like that'

  Vicarious reinforcement has taken place
• How has vicarious reinforcement taken place in the aggressive parent example?

  Child observed reward gained by aggressive parent and is motivated to behave similarly to gain such a reward for themselves

  Child may then go on to behave aggressively towards other children, particularly those who appear vulnerable
• Vicarious reinforcement highlights the more sophisticated nature of SLT compared to behaviourism as it involves a degree of cognition

  • People are required to process what they have seen and imagine themselves gaining a similar reward for the specific behaviour