Social Learning Theory

• Who developed the social learning theory?


  Albert Bandura
• What are the assumptions of the social learning theory?

  • Bandura agreed with behaviourists that we learn through experience
  • We learn through imitation and observation
  • Can occur directly through classical and operant conditioning
  • Indirectly occurs through vicarious reinforcement.
• What is vicarious reinforcement?


  Vicarious reinforcement is the process of learning by observing others actions being rewarded or punished for their behaviour.
• What key study supports the Social Learning Theory?


  Bobo doll experiment
• What is a mediational process?

  Mental factors where at least one of the 4 factors has to be present for the imitation to happen.
• What are the 4 mediational processes?

  1. Attention - The extent to which we notice behaviour
  2. Retention - How well the behaviour is remembered.
  3. Motor Reproduction - The physical ability to perform the observed behaviour
  4. Motivation - the person's will to perform the behaviour they are observing.
• Describe the Bandura et al Bobo doll (1961) experiment?

  • 72 children split into 3 groups of 24 - equal gender split
  • In 2 groups, there was an adult present who either interacted with the doll or didnt
  • Group 1 observed an adult (role model - both male and female were used) attack a 5ft doll. The doll was kicked and punched and verbally harassed by the adult.
  • Children in group 2 observed an adult assembling a toy with no aggression.
  • No adult model was observed in Group 3
• What were the findings of the Bandura et al 1961 experiment


  • Bandura, Ross and Ross recorded imitative aggression, partial imitation, and non-imitative aggression
  • Those in Group 1 showed higher levels of aggressive behaviour to the doll than either other group.
  • Children = more likely to imitate same sex role models
  • Later, fantasy character models conducted the experiment and the level of imitation remained the same
  • Boys showed more aggression than girls in all conditions
• Describe Bandura and Walters (1963) Bobo doll variant experiment


  • 66 children (aged 3 and 1/2 - 6) were shown a film of an adult being aggressive to a bobo doll
  • Children were split into 3 groups - each of whom saw different endings to the film:

  1. saw the role model being rewarded (sweets) for aggressive behaviour
  2. saw the role model being punished ("don't do that again") for aggressive behaviour
  3. saw no consequences for the role model's behaviour

  The children then had the chance to be aggressive with the bobo doll
• What were the findings of the 1963 bobo doll experiment?

  • Groups 1 and 3 were much more aggressive than group 2
  • but given an incentive - e.g. juice - to show the adult's behaviour, no difference was found amongst the groups
  • Shows children had learnt the behaviour even if they hadn't imitated it in the first part.
• Why is this theory more advanced than the behaviourist approach?


  Takes into account free will, choice, and consequences
• What are the strengths of the social learning theory?


  • Importance of cognition - more adequate than classical and operant conditioning as it focusses on thought processes and that information is stored and children make judgements about their actions. This makes it less deterministic than behaviourism
  • Explains cultural differences - accounts for the people around children and the media impacting their behaviour as cultural norms form and are transmitted to the child. It provides understanding to how certain behaviours develop across cultures.
• What are the weaknesses of the Social Learning Theory?


  • Underestimates biology - does not consider hormones or the biological approach
  • Over reliance on lab studies - evidence comes from labs so there are demand characteristics -> lack of ecological validity
• What is ecological validity?


  Ecological validity is a measure of how well test performance predicts behaviours when applied to real-world settings.