Social Learning Theory

• Social learning theory ( Bandura ) :

  • Behaviour is learnt through observing others & imitating behaviours that are rewarded
  • Modelling: someone must model the behaviour for it to be learnt
  • Imitation: determined by the mediational processes
  • Identification: must feel they are similiar enough to the model that they'd experience the same outcomes
  • Vicarious reinforcement: observers learn about the likely consequences & then adjust their behaviour accordingly
  • Mediational processes : attention, retention, reproduction, motivation
• Key study - The bobo doll study:

  • Bandura (1961)
  • Aim: to explore the role of observation & imitation in how behaviours are learnt
  • 72 children aged 3-5 years watched either an adult playing calmly or an adult interacting aggressively with a life sized bobo doll
  • The children were taken to a room where there was a bobo doll & other toys
  • Children who observed the aggressive model reproduced physica & verbal aggressive behaviour to the bobo doll
  • Children who observed the non-aggressive model, showed virtually no aggression to the doll
• Social learning theory AO3:

  • ✅ Research support for identification - study showing dissimiliar or similiar models exercising
  • ✅ Bobo doll study is highly controlled - cause & effect can be established
  • ✅ Explains cultural differences in behaviour - ( e.g. gender role behaviour ) influenced by their social environment ( e.g. media )
  • ❌ Bobo doll study lacks mundane realism - lab experiment, demand characteristics - reduces internal validity
  • ❌ Nurture biased - ignores importance of biological factors ( e.g. boys acted more aggressively due to testosterone )
• Social learning theory AO3:

  • ✅ Bobo doll study is highly controlled
  • ✅ Research support for identification
  • ✅ EXplains cultural differences in behaviour
  • ❌ Bobo doll study lacks mundane realism
  • ❌ Nurture based
• Mediational Processes:

  Mental factors which determine whether a new behaviour is imitated

  • Attention - whether we notice the behaviour
  • Retention - whether we remember the behaviour
  • Reproduction - whether we believe we are able to perform the behaviour
  • Motivation - whether the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived costs