Social learning theory

• SLT

  a way of expolaining behaviour which includes both direct and indirect reinforcement

  combines learning theory with cognitive factors
• vicarious reinforcement

  • reinformcement which is indirect
  • occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour
• vicarious reinforcement

  • behaviour is learned from expirence
  • SLT proposes that behaviour is learnt through observation and immitation of others
  • learning occurs (directly)- through classical and opernat conditoning and indirectly
• immitation only occurs if the beahviour is seen to be rewarded( reinforced) rather than punished
• learner observes a behaviour but also observes the consequences of a behaviour
• immitation


  copying the behaviour of others
• identification


  people (especially children) are more likely to imitate people they identify with (role model)
• modelling


  the process of immitating a role model
• the behaviour of a role model is also called modelling
• role model


  seen to possess similar charcteristics to the observer

  attractive

  have high status

  could be physically present eg. mother

  media role model
• mediational processes


  cognitive factors (eg. mental/thinking) which influence learning

  seen as the bridge between behaviourist approach and cogntive approach

  the mental factors mediate in the learning process to determine whether a new response is acquired.
• four mediational processes identifies by Bandura

  1. attention- the extent to which we notice certain behaviours
  2. retention- how well the behaviour is remembered
  3. motor reproduction- the ability of the observer to perfom the behaviour
  4. motivation- the will to perfom the behaviour, which is often determined by whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished
• relate to learning of behaviour

  • attention
  • retention
• relate to performance of behaviour

  • motor reproduction
  • motivation