social learning theory

• what are the assumptions of the social learning theory?

  agreed with behaviourists much of learning is done through experience

  believed that behaviour is learnt through observation and imitation
• imitation…

  copying the behaviour of others
• vicarious reinforcement…

  behaviour is learnt due to seeing the behaviour being rewarded
• what is the name of the process that bandura identified to explain how learning occurs?

  the mediational process
• what are the four steps of the mediational process?

  1. attention - extent to which we remember the behaviour
  2. retention - how well the behaviour is remembered
  3. motor reproduction - the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
  4. motivation - the will to perform the behaviour (whether it was punished or rewarded)
• identification…

  imitation occurs due to the observer viewing the person as a role model
• bandura (1961)…

  studied how children reacted to watching an adult role model act with a bobo doll - when the child saw the adult hit the doll with a hammer and yell at it, they were much more likely to copy that behaviour
• what were the findings of bandura’s study?

  the children who observed the aggressive adult then went onto play aggressively (same with the children who observed a calm role model)

  there were also high levels of imitation if the role model was of the same gender as the child
• what are some evaluation points of social learning theory?

  provides a comprehensive explanation of human learning

  has an over-reliance on lab studies

  underestimates biological factors - one consistent finding of the boba doll study was that the boys were more aggressive than the girls - could be due to hormonal factors like testosterone