Social Learning theory

• What is the background of the social learning theory?

  • Social learning theory was proposed by Albert Bandura
  • Social learning theory is a development of the behaviourist approach
• What are assumptions of the social learning theory?

  • Behaviours are learned through experience
  • Learning occurs through observation and limitation of role models.
  • Learning can occur directly through classical and operant conditioning, but can also occur indirectly.
• What are the 5 principles of the SLT?


  • Modelling
  • Imitation
  • Identification
  • Mediational Process
  • Vicarious Reinforcement
• What is modelling as a principle of SLT?

  • A “model” is an individual carrying out a behaviour or attitude that is then imitated by another.
  • Sometimes referred to as role model
  • Live Models- someone you know in real life
  • Symbolic Models- Someone you don’t know personally
• What is imitation in terms of social learning theory?

  • The act of copying a behaviour after observing it.
  • Much of the behaviours we learn are modelled by our parents when we are young
  • E.g. Manners, accents, ethics, interactions, beliefs
• What is identification in the context of the social learning theory?

  • The extent at which we relate to a model
  • We must feel similar to enough to our models to believe our outcomes will be the same
  • E.g. Gender, Ethnicity, Background, Hobbies, Ambitions
• What is vicarious reinforcement in the context of social learning theory?


  • Witnessing someone else get rewarded or punished
  • Individuals witness the consequence of a behaviour and then adjust their actions accordingly
  • We don‘t need to experience the reward or punishment directly.
• What is the Mediational Process?

  ATTENTION

  • notice and pay attention to the behaviour

  RETENTION

  • remember the behaviour

  MOTOR REPRODUCTION

  • Be physically able to reproduce behaviour

  MOTIVATION

  • have a reason to want to imitate the behaviour
• What is Bandura Et Al (1961)


  GROUP ONE

  • Shown violent behaviour towards Bobo doll.
  • Will be aggressive towards Bobo doll
  • 1/3 of Children repeated verbal response

  GROUP TWO

  • Shown non-aggressive behaviour towards Bobo doll
  • Won‘t be aggressive towards Bobo doll

  GROUP THREE

  • Not shown any behaviour
  • Not much aggression/ no verbally aggressive remarks
• What is Bandura Et Al (1963)


  GROUP ONE

  • Shown adult rewarded for violent behaviour towards Bobo doll
  • Most aggressive group

  GROUP TWO

  • shown adult punished for violent behaviour towards Bobo doll
  • Least aggressive group

  GROUP THREE

  • Adult neither rewarded or punished for violent behaviour
  • More aggressive than group 2, less than group 1
• Evaluation of the Social Learning Theory


  Strengths

  • It considers the role of cognitive factors in learning and explains the learning of complex behaviours such as aggression
  • Also effective in explaining scientific imitated behaviours
  • Based on lab experiments (scientific) So the effects are replicable and testable

  Weaknesses

  • Still tends to concentrate mainly on external behaviour rather than mental processes
  • Does not fully explain individual differences and does not account for all behaviour
• Social learning theory


  • Psychologist Albert Bandura’s ideas about learning were different from those of strict behaviourists.
  • Bandura and other researchers propose social learning theory, which is an approach that takes cognitive processes into account.
• Bandura's ideas


  • According to Bandura, pure behaviourism could not explain why learning can take place in the absence of external reinforcement.
  • He felt that internal mental states must also have a role in learning and that observational learning involves much more than imitation.
  • In imitation, a person simply copies what the model does.
  • In observational learning, we learn by watching others and then imitating, or modeling, what they do or say. 
  • The individuals performing the imitated behaviour are called models.
• Bandura's three models


  • Bandura identified three kinds of models: live, verbal, and symbolic. 
  • A live model demonstrates a behaviour in person, as when Ben stood up on his surfboard so that Julian could see how he did it. 
  • A verbal instructional model does not perform the behaviour, but instead explains or describes the behaviour, as when a football coach tells his young players to kick the ball with the side of the foot, not with the toe. 
  • A symbolic model can be fictional characters or real people who demonstrate behaviours in books, movies, television shows, video games, or Internet sources
• Necessary steps for learning

  • Of course, we don’t learn a behaviour simply by observing a model. 
  • Bandura described specific steps in the process of modelling that must be followed if learning is to be successful: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.
• Factors for learning

  • First, you must be focused on what the model is doing - you have to pay attention. 
  • Next, you must be able to retain, or remember, what you observed; this is retention. 
  • Then, you must be able to perform the behaviour that you observed and committed to memory; this is reproduction. 
  • Finally, you need to want to copy the behaviour, and whether or not you are motivated depends on what happened to the model; this is motivation.
• Vicarious reinforcement


  • If you saw that a model was reinforced for their behaviour, you will be more motivated to copy them.
  • This is known as vicarious reinforcement.
  • On the other hand, if you observed the model being punished, you would be less motivated to copy them. 
  • This is called vicarious punishment.
  • Once you actually demonstrate a new behaviour (eg. not copying something after vicarious punishment), the reinforcement you recieve plays a part in whether or not you will repeat the behaviour.
• Bobo doll


  • Bandura conducted an experiment with a five-foot inflatable doll that he called a Bobo doll.
  • In the experiment, children’s aggressive behaviour was influenced by whether or not the teacher was punished for her behaviour.
  • In one scenario, a teacher acted aggressively with the doll, hitting, throwing, and even punching the doll, while a child watched.
• Children's responses


  • After watching the teacher, there were two types of responses by the children to the teacher’s behaviour. 
  • When the teacher was punished for her bad behaviour, the children decreased their tendency to act as she had. 
  • When the teacher was praised or ignored (and not punished for her behaviour), the children imitated what she did, and even what she said. They punched, kicked, and yelled at the doll
• Implications of the study

  • Bandura concluded that we watch and learn, and that this learning can have both prosocial and antisocial effects.
• Prosocial effects


  • Prosocial (positive) models can be used to encourage socially acceptable behaviour. 
  • Parents in particular should take note of this finding - the main idea is that children observe and learn from their parents, even their parents’ morals, and children tend to copy what parents do instead of what they say. 
  • Besides parents, many public figures, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, are viewed as prosocial models who are able to inspire global social change.
• Antisocial effects


  • The antisocial effects of observational learning are also worth mentioning. 
  • Research suggests that this may help to explain why abused children often grow up to be abusers themselves. 
  • In fact, about 30% of abused children become abusive parents. 
  • Abused children, who grow up witnessing their parents deal with anger and frustration through violent and aggressive acts, often learn to behave in that manner themselves.