social learning theory approach

    Cards (14)

    • what is the social learning theory
      bandura developed the behaviourist approach and added in mental processes as an important factor in learning, he believed that conditioning alone is not enough to explain human learning - he believed that behaviour is LEARNED, BUT out THOUGH PROCESSES are also important in why we behave the way we do
    • what are the two key factor in our learning to the SLT
      observation and imitation
    • the main assumptions of SLT
      • agrees with the behaviourists that behaviour is learnt
      • however - we learn in a slightly different way to what the behaviourists propose
      • SLT states that we learn through observations and imitations of other people - in other words, learning in a social setting
      • learning occurs directly through operant and classical conditioning, but also indirectly
      • this is what makes SLT different to behaviourism. HOWEVER they are both still called learning approached
    • explain vicarious reinforcement
      it means indirect, therefore learning occurs directly when an individual observes the behaviour of others (a model) they may imitate this behaviour - this is more likely to occur if they see the model rewarded for their behaviour, they are less likely to imitate if they see them punished - the learner sees the consequences of a behaviour, they are not directly reinforced indirectly reinforced
    • what are the roles of mediational processes
      cognitive factors ( mental processes/thoughts) mediate in the learning process - before we imitate the behaviour, the following mental factors mediate whether a person actually imitates the model
    • the mediational processes
      • attention : the extent to which we notice certain behaviours
      • retention : how well the behaviour is remembered
      • motor reproduction : the ability to perform the behaviour
      • motivation : the desire to repeat the behaviour - which is determined by whether the behaviour is rewarded or punished
    • explain identification
      people most likely to imitate people with whom they identify, who are called models - who does not have to be physically there to be imitated
    • who is a model
      • someone who has similar characteristics to us (the observer) - older same gender sibling
      • someone who is attractive - someone who is smarter/ high achiever
      • someone who is admired/ high status - celeb
    • explain bandura et al research in 1961 on imitation
      he put preschool children in a room with an aggressive adult in action of hitting a bobo doll, the children were then put in room with their toys watching them be taken from them, they were put back in the room with the bobo doll after being frustrated where bandura measured the aggressive behaviours - where boys were 3X more likely to fight the bobo doll than girls, children were more influenced by same-sex models and those who saw the aggressive model (who chanted) were most likely to gravitate to being more aggressive
    • explain bandura and walters research in 1963 on vicarious reinforcement
      children were put in a room with an aggressive adult mdoel and another adult to react to their behaviour, where children watched the model be aggressive to the bobo doll then whether they were negatively or positively reinforced from the reaction of the other adult who walked in - results show that children that saw positive reinforcement were most aggressive , following by the no common response group than the children who saw the adult get punished, as it diminishes their ability to imitate them
    • a strength of the SLT
      this approach includes the role of cognitions in learning, this is a really important addition to behaviourism. conditioning alone cannot explain all the learnt behaviours humans and animals store knowledge about behaviour of other and use this to decide how to behave in the future. this suggests that the added elements of cognition (thought processes) to learning is more a accurate explanation of behaviour
    • a strength of SLT
      SLT can explain cultural differences in behaviour, this theory can explain how different societies have different ways of behaving, due to the fact that individuals have learned from the models they're surrounded by in that society. E.g. in some cultures males are expected to behave in a 'masculine way' but others are known to behave in a more 'feminine ' way. This suggests that SLT is a universal theory of behaviour
    • a weakness of SLT
      The evidence for Bandura relies heavily on research from lab experiments, most of Bandura's ideas came about after observing young children in lab settings. they may behave unnaturally because of demand characteristics. they may behave in a way they may think is expected of them. this suggests that SLT may not be able to explain how children (and people) behave in real life
    • a weakness of SLT
      SLT doesn't consider the role of biological factors on social learning, Bandura found that boys were consistently more aggresive than girls in both experiments. It could be that hormonal factors such as the male hormone testosterone could be linked to behaviours such as aggression. This suggests that SLT may not be the reason why the children behaved in that way and so the theory may not be useful in explaining all behaviours