Social learning theory

• Introduction of SLT?

  • Albert Bandura acknowledged that operant and classical conditioning were both ways of learning but he also said that modelling was also one way.
  • Modelling is learning through imitation of one’s peer, family member of social media.
  • Aggressive behaviour learnt faster through imitation than conditioning.
• When is aggression learnt?

  • Aggression reinforced by family members was the most prominent way of modelling.
  • Children model aggressiveness especially when it is a family member displaying violent acts.
  • For example, a boy witnessing the abuse of his mother will model the behaviour as a future husband.
• Factors making modelling more possible?

  • Children have the belief that they can reproduce the aggression (self-efficacy) 
  • There must be visibly positive rewards for the aggression, if it is punished, imitation is likely not to happen.
  • Vicarious reinforcement is when we see someone get rewarded.
  • We believe that if we do the same action, we will get the same rewards.
  • Bandura stated that some individuals see aggression as rewarding through financial rewards, reduction of tension or even building self-esteem
• First factor of key processes of the SLT?

  • Attention - P’s must attend to significant features of the aggression.
  • Children must attend to what the aggressor is doing and reproduce it - children witnessed the video of the bobo doll being hit aggressively by a model
• Second factor of key processes of SLT?

  • Retention - In order to reproduce the behaviour, they must be able to code the information of aggression into long term, so then it is able to be retrieved from the long term memory.
  • (Children watched a video of aggression and imitated it on a bobo doll, where they coded and retrieved it from their memory) 
• 3rd factor of key processes of SLT?

  • Motor reproduction - Observer must be able to reproduce the model's behaviour. The belief that you have the physical capability of executing something is called self-efficacy.
  • This can explain varied responses from the same individual.
  • For example, a child may not be aggressive in front of a bigger child as they do not believe that they will be successful.
  • Children had the physical capability to imitate the model's aggressiveness on the bobo doll. 
• 4th factor of key processes of SLT?

  • The observer wants to receive positive reinforcement for the modelled behaviour, called vicarious reinforcement.
  • The rewards make it more likely that we will imitate the model in the future.
  • This involves cognitive processes as behaviour is stored for the future.
  • Adults were rewarded for their aggressive behaviour in the bobo doll study 
• Supporting research evaluation?

  • He used 72 children, ½ boys and girls all aged 4 years old.
  • One group watched an aggressive model hit the bobo doll with a hammer and saying pow and boom.
  • One group saw a non-aggressive model playing in the corner.
  • The third group had no model, which was the control group. The children were then left in a playroom with a bobo doll and observed through a one-way mirror for 20 minutes. 
  • Findings : They found that the aggressive model group imitated more aggression than the other two. 
• Experiment 2 of Albert Bandura?

  Different consequences of the model’s behaviour were shown: 

  1. The model’s aggression was rewarded - sweets and drinks + champ compliment 
  2. Model’s aggression was punished - called a bad person with a telling off 
  3. Model receives no consequences 
• Findings of experiment 2?

  • Children who had seen the model punished showed less aggression than the other 2 groups.
  • However, if later rewarded, all groups showed high levels of imitation.
  • The children in the punishment group had learnt the aggression by observation but not chosen not because they expected negative consequences.
  • They lacked the motivation to imitate.
• Artificial nature of aggression?

  
  

  • Experiment is artificial and lacks ecological validity as hitting a bobo doll is different from a person.
  • Some criticise the lack of play fighting and real fighting. They may have been responding to demand characteristics as they have just seen an adult hit a bobo doll and do it themselves afterwards.
  • Therefore, the child may have thought to do the same aggressive act. Durkin pointed out that children do not get the opportunity to beat up a bobo doll often.
  • Therefore, it may not be valid evidence to support the role of social learning in aggression. 
• Real life application?

  • SLT can explain criminal behaviour. In a review of literature, they found that violent behaviour caused in adolescents was due to being modelled and rewarded.
  • SLT could be used as a basis of campaigns for reducing violence like the 9pm watershed.
  • Age classifications were also added as a result to avoid exposure to violence at a young age.
  • The theory has positive implications in trying to reduce behaviour. 
• Problem of causality?

  • However, there is a problem of causality, the theory suggests that watching aggressive models will lead to aggressive behaviour.
  • However it could be that adolescents with deviant attitudes seek out violent role models.
  • It is not the model causing the behaviour but aggressive tendencies.
  • Cause and effect cannot be inferred when using SLT to explain aggressive behaviour.
• Reductionist?

  • Too simplistic to argue that behaviour is learnt through only imitation.
  • There is evidence that biological factors also influence social learning.
  • One consistent finding is that the boys were more aggressive than the girls regardless of the experiment.
  • The aggressive behaviour is explained by hormonal differences such as levels of testosterone.
  • The approach over-simplifies behaviour.