SLT - weakness

• The experiment is a laboratory study of imitation which has limited natural validity

  • criticised for its artificial environment where participants may respond to demand characteristics (i.e.: how they think they are being expected to behave/act)
  • makes their behaviour unnatural
  • study tells us little about how children learn in everyday life
• SLT is deterministic with behaviours being shaped by our environment and role models rather than empowering the individual with free will
• Ethical issues 


  • it exposes young children to aggression, with the understanding that they will imitate it
  • issue of harming children from a psychological level is therefore present
• SLT is too simplistic, ignoring the influence of hormones or genetics on behaviour