social learning theory

• What is the first assumption of social learning theory?

  We can learn by observing others
• How are social learning theory and the behavioral approach similar?

  Both agree that most behavior is learned
• Who was the first psychologist to research social learning theory?

  Albert Bandura
• What are mediational processes in observational learning?

  Mental processes that influence imitation
• What are the four mediational processes?

  Attention, retention, reproduction, motivation
• What is observational learning?

  Learning by observing and copying behavior
• What is imitation?

  Copying someone else's behavior
• What is modeling?

  Performing a behavior that is imitated
• What always involves imitating a model's behavior?

  Observational learning
• How does identification affect observational learning?

  People imitate models they identify with
• What is vicarious reinforcement?

  Imitating behavior after observing rewards
• What is vicarious punishment?

  Observing a model being punished
• How does vicarious punishment affect imitation?

  Reduces likelihood of imitating behavior
• What was the age range of children in Bandura's 1961 study?

  3-6 years old
• What did Bandura's participants observe in his study?

  Adults displaying aggressive or non-aggressive behavior
• What was the conclusion of Bandura's study?

  Children can learn aggressive behavior by observation
• How did gender affect imitation in Bandura's findings?

  Boys imitated male models more than female
• What did Bandura find about vicarious reinforcement in his second experiment?

  Children imitated aggressive behavior when rewarded
• What is a strength of Bandura's studies regarding control?

  High degree of control over extraneous variables
• What is a strength of Bandura's research regarding reliability?

  Consistent results across repeated studies
• What is a limitation of Bandura's studies regarding ecological validity?

  Children were in an unfamiliar environment
• What ethical issue was present in Bandura's studies?

  Lack of informed consent from participants
• How does social learning theory compare to behaviorist theories?

  It incorporates more factors into learning
• What is a real-world application of social learning theory?

  Modeling good behavior in schools
• What is a limitation of SLT regarding internal validity?

  Participant variables may not be matched
• Why can't scientific methods be used to study mediational processes?

  Mediational processes are not directly observable
• What are the strengths and limitations of Bandura's research?

  Strengths:

  • High degree of control over variables
  • Consistent results across studies

  
  

  Limitations:

  • Lack of ecological validity
  • Ethical issues with informed consent
• What are the strengths and limitations of social learning theory?

  Strengths:

  • More holistic than behaviorist theories
  • Real-world applications in modeling behavior

  
  

  Limitations:

  • Based on Bandura's potentially flawed research
  • Mediational processes cannot be scientifically tested