SLT evaluation

• Cognitive factors

  One strength of the social learning theory approach is that it recognises the importance of cognitive factors in learning.

  Neither classical nor operant conditioning can offer an adequate account of learning on their own. Humans and animals store information about the behaviour of others and use this to make judgements about when it is appropriate to perform certain actions.

  This suggests that SLT provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognising the role of mediational processes.
• Counterpoint - biology ignored

  Despite this, SLT has been criticised for making too little reference to the influence of biological factors on social learning. Although Bandura claimed natural biological differences influenced our learning potential, he thought that learning itself was determined by the environment. However, recent research suggests that observational learning, of the kind Bandura was talking about, may be the result of mirror neurons in the brain, which allow us to empathise with and imitate other people.

  This suggests that biological influences on social learning were under- emphasised in SLT.
• studies lab based

  One limitation of social learning theory is that the evidence on which it is based was gathered through lab studies.

  Many of Bandura's ideas were developed through observation of young children's behaviour in the lab. Lab studies are often criticised for their contrived nature where participants may respond to demand characteristics. It has been suggested, in relation to the Bobo doll research (bottom of facing page) that, because the main purpose of the doll is to strike it, the children were simply behaving in a way that they thought was expected.

  This suggests that the research may tell us little about how children actually learn aggression in everyday life
• Real-world application

  Another strength is that SLT principles have been applied to a range of real- world behaviours.

  Social learning theory has the advantage of being able to explain cultural differences in behaviour. SLT principles, such as modelling, imitation and reinforcement, can account for how children learn from others around them, including the media, and this can explain how cultural norms are transmitted through particular societies. This has proved useful in understanding a range of behaviours, such as how children come to understand their gender role. This increases the value of the approach as it can account for real-world behaviour.