Social Learning Theory

    Cards (22)

    • Basic assumptions:
      • learning occurs directly and indirectly through observation and imitation
      • acknowledges the role of mediational thought processes - they intervene in the learning process to determine whether or not a behaviour will be imitated
    • Key features:
      • imitation
      • identification
      • modelling
      • vicarious reinforcement
      • mediational processes
    • Aim of Bandura's research - investigate the effect of observational learning on aggressive behaviours in children
    • Procedure of Bandura's research:
      1. children were split into 3 groups - one watched an adult play aggressively with toys (including a bobo doll), one watched an adult play nicely with the toys, one did not watch anything to act as a control group
      2. children were then placed alone in the room with the same toys for 20 minutes
      3. the amount of imitative behaviour was recorded
    • Findings of Bandura's research:
      • children who saw the adult play aggressively acted more aggressively than the children who saw the adult play nicely and the control group
    • Observational learning - learning by watching the behaviour of others
    • Imitation - copying observed behaviours
    • Role model - often people with high status; someone people look up to
    • Modelling - copying a role model's behaviour
    • Identification:
      • an individual sees themselves as similar to a model (e.g. same age or gender)
      • increases the likelihood of imitation
    • Vicarious reinforcement:
      • not directly experienced
      • occurs through observing someone else being rewarded
      • increases likelihood of imitation as people expected to be rewarded in the same way they observed
    • Vicarious punishment:
      • observing someone else being punished for a behaviour
      • decreases the likelihood of imitation as people expect to be punished in the same way they observed
    • Mediational processes:
      • attention
      • retention
      • motor reproduction
      • motivation
    • Attention:
      • in order to learn a behaviour it must capture our attention
      • could be funny, unusual, intrinsically interesting or a behaviour performed by a role model
    • Retention:
      • a memory of the behaviour must be formed
      • a memory is more likely to be made if something is seen repeatedly as it is more likely to be stored in the long-term memory
    • Motor reproduction:
      • an individual needs to have the physical ability to replicate the behaviour - more likely if it is easy to replicate
    • Motivation:
      • rewards must outweigh the costs for imitation
      • rewards may come from positive or vicarious reinforcement
    • 6 A01 points:
      • learning occurs directly and indirectly through observation and imitation - shown in Bandura's research
      • acknowledges the role of mediational thought processes - they intervene in learning to determine whether a behaviour will be imitated
      • behaviours must capture our attention
      • a memory of a behaviour must be formed - retention
      • individuals need to have the physical ability to copy a behaviour - motor reproduction
      • rewards must outweigh the costs of imitating a behaviour - motivation
    • Supporting evidence:
      P - strength, evidence to support it
      E - Fiji, eating disorders increased from 12% to 29%, 3 years after TV
      E - impact of TV, girls associate with celebrities, adjust their eating
      C - credible explanation, empirically tested
    • Opposing research:
      P - limitation, research to oppose it
      E - OCD, MZ = 68%, DZ = 31%
      E - genetic basis, same environment, different number of shared genes
      C - incomplete explanation, doesn't acknowledge genetics
    • Applications:
      P - strength, blood donations, get Britain talking
      E - love island stars, donated blood
      E - ITV, get Britain talking, celebrities discuss mental health
      C - reinforced modelling conclusions
    • Doesn't acknowledge:
      P - limitation, ink blot test
      E - different people see different things, unconscious connections
      E - reinforces conclusion that behaviour is driven by unconscious influences
      C - important to consider learning, biology and unconscious influences
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