social learning theory

• Bandura believes that aggression can be learned through direct experience (operant conditioning) or by vicarious experience (observing others and learning from their experiences) in a social setting
• The SLT claims that through the use of models (siblings, parents, peers, characters in media) individuals learn about the nature of aggressive behaviour. When an action is reinforced it is more likely to occur in similar situations in the future (operant conditioning).
• the likelihood their aggressive behaviour will be rewarded or punished and hostile environmental factors such as noise and temperature may increase aggressive interactions
• vicarious punishment - if a child sees a model being punished, the observing child is less likely to imitate the specific behaviour.
• vicarious reinforcement - if a child sees a model being rewarded, the observing child is more likely to imitate the specific behaviour.
• The main cognitive factors of SLT are:

  Attention, Retention, Reproduction, Motivation
• Attention - someone can only learn through observation if they attend to the model’s behaviour. (children must attend to what the aggressor is doing and saying in order to reproduce the model’s behaviour accurately (Allen and Santrock 1993))
• Retention - the behaviour needs to be remembered and placed into long term memory, this enables the behaviour to be retrieved.
• Reproduction - the observer must possess the physical capabilities of the modelled behaviour to be able to reproduce it.
• Motivation - an individual expects to receive positive reinforcement for the modelled behaviour.
• Self-efficacy is when the extent to which we believe our actions will achieve a desired goal. A child’s confidence in their ability to be aggressive gets stronger if they learn that aggression brings rewards.
• The BoBo doll study by Bandura (1963) reported that children copied aggressive behaviour they observed by adult role models towards an inflatable BoBo doll. This implies that children imitated the aggressive behaviour displayed by the adult role models and internalised these.
• Poulin and Bovin (2000) studied aggressive behaviour in boys aged 9-12 years old and found aggressive boys tended to form relationships with other aggressive boys who had acted as role models. They used alliances with one another to get resources through aggression
• Researchers question whether child pps in BoBo doll study actually learned this behaviour through imitating the adult or from elsewhere e.g watching a film clip. The study doesn’t take into account whether some children were just more naturally aggressive. (doesn’t consider other explanations such as the biological approach - testosterone). Child pps could have been influenced by demand characteristics as the purpose of a BoBo doll is to hit it
• Mead (1935) found the Arapesh tribe is an example of a non-aggressive culture in which aggression is not admired (reinforced) or modelled by adults. The Mundugumor show the opposite pattern, in which violence is the norm and status is determined by the amount of aggression shown. Therefore SLT can be applied universally.
• Wolfgang and Ferracuti (1967) proposed that some cultures (and subcultures) model and emphasise aggressive behaviour whereas other cultures that model non-aggressive behaviour are more likely to produce individuals with low levels of aggression
• SLT leads us to consider the various ways in which children might be exposed to aggressive models such as TV
• Huesemann (1988) suggested that children may use television models as a source of ‘scripts’ that act as a guide for their own behaviour. These scripts are stored in memory, and are strengthened and elaborated through rehearsal. Therefore when a child is in an ‘appropriate’ situation they will demonstrate a learned aggressive behaviour, reinforcing and supporting the SLT.
• Gaining a better understanding of SLT has practical application e.g by encouraging aggressive children to form friendships with non-aggressive children so there are more opportunities to model non-aggressive behaviour
• SLT is reductionist