social learning theory

• Social learning theory (SLT) 


  A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors.
• In SLT, Bandura acknowledged that aggression can be learned directly, through mechanisms of operant conditioning involving positive and negative reinforcement and punishment.
• A child who angrily snatches a toy off another child will learn that aggressive behaviour is rewarding. This direct reinforcement makes it more likely that the child will behave aggressively again in a similar situation.
• Bandura also realised that aggressive behaviour often cannot be explained by such direct forms of learning, especially in humans. So he argued that an indirect mechanism - observational learning - accounts for social learning of most aggressive behaviours.
• Children (and adults to some extent) acquire specific aggressive behaviours through observing aggressive models, such as siblings, parents, peers, and characters in the media. In this way, the child has 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.
• If the model's aggressive behaviour is rewarded (or at least not punished), then the child learns that aggression can be effective in getting what they want. This is known as vicarious reinforcement, and it makes it more likely that the observing child will imitate the model's aggressive behaviour.
• Vicarious punishment occurs if a model's use of aggression to achieve a goal is punished, and so the observing child is less likely to imitate that specific behaviour.
• What are the four cognitive conditions identified by Bandura for social learning?

  Attention, Retention, Reproduction, Motivation
• Why is attention important in Bandura's social learning theory?

  Its a basic cognitive requirement that the observer must pay attention to the model's aggressive actions
• What does retention refer to in Bandura's social learning theory?

  It refers to the observer's ability to remember the model's aggressive actions
• How does reproduction relate to the observer's capabilities in Bandura's theory?

  It involves the observer transforming the mental representation into actual physical action
• What role does motivation play in Bandura's social learning theory?

  It provides the observer with a reason to imitate behavior based on expected rewards
• Self-efficacy is the extent to which we believe our actions will achieve a desired goal
• The child's sense of self-efficacy develops with each successful outcome. He or she is confident that, because their aggression has been effective in the past, it will continue to be so in the future. In others words, they learn that aggression works and they are good at it.
• Bandura et al's (1961) famous Bobo doll study illustrates many of the features of SLT
• Bandura et al research - 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 did many children do without being instructed in Bandura et al's findings?


  They imitated the behaviour they had seen performed by the model.
• How closely did the children imitate the model's behaviour in Bandura et al's study?


  The imitation was remarkably close, often a direct copy of what they observed.
• What specific aspects did the children imitate from the model in Bandura et al's findings?


  They imitated specific objects and verbal phrases used by the model.
• In Bandura et al's findings, which gender imitated physical aggression more?


  Boys imitated physical aggression more than girls.
• Was there a difference in imitating verbal aggression between boys and girls in Bandura et al's study?


  No, there was no difference in imitating verbal aggression.
• Who were boys more likely to imitate according to Bandura et al's findings?


  Boys were more likely to imitate a same-sex model.
• What was the behaviour of another group of children who observed an adult interacting non-aggressively with the doll?

  Aggressive behaviour towards the Bobo doll was almost non-existent in these children.