social learning theory

• what makes up the learning approach?

  behaviourism and social learning theory
• who theorised social learning theory?

  Albert Bandura in the 1960s
• what was Bandura's most famous experiment?

  the learning of aggression by children in his bobo doll experiment.
• Albert bandura did his research just as what was coming into the homes?

  television
• Before this time, what was viewing violence thought to be?

  cathartic - a release / relief
• Why did Albert Bandura propose the social learning theory?

  - he said classical and operant conditioning could not explain all human learning.

  - He believed that there are important mental processes that are ignore by the behaviourist approach.
• what does behaviourism emphasise on?

  emphasis on learning and the importance of environmental influence.
• What does the cognitive approach emphasise on?

  emphasis on internal menthal processes.
• what are the assumptions of social learning theory?

  - behaviour is learnt from other, through observation of role models in a social context.

  - observational learning can take place without any direct reinforcement.

  - reinforcement can occur indirectly by vicarious reinforcement.

  - uses cognitive processes such as memory in between stimulus and response, known as mediational processes.
• what is vicarious reinforcement?

  Reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour.
• who are children more likley to imitate the behaviour of?

  people with whom they identify with (role models)
• what are the two types of models?

  live and symbolic
• what are live models?

  people who are present in our environment
• what are symbolic models?

  People who are present in the media.
• what does modelling refer to?

  the child imitating the behaviour they have observed.
• what was Bandura's method of the bobo doll experiment?

  - put young children into a room with an 'adult model' who either:

  - played nicely with some toys

  or

  - played aggressively with a bobo doll, hitting it with a hammer and being verbally aggressive.

  - the model was either same sex or opposite to the child.

  
  

  - afterwards the children alone then played in a room whre there was the bobo doll and other toys.
• how were the children in the bobo doll experiment observed?

  Bandura observed and recorded the behaviour of the children through a two way mirror.
• what were the findings of the bobo doll experiment?

  - children who watched an aggressive adult model were much more likley to show similar behaviour.

  - boys were more likley to show aggressive physical behaviours, girls showed equal verbal aggression to boys.

  - boys (but not girls) were more likley to imitate a same sex model.
• what was the conclusion of the bobo doll experiment?

  children learn aggressive behaviour by observing role models and imitating them.
• what was the method for the further experiment testing reinforcement?

  the experiment was varied with 3 conditions:

  1) saw the adult praised for aggression

  2) saw the adult told off (punished) for aggression

  3) saw aggression with no consequences.
• what was the findings for the further experiment testing reinforcement?

  agression was displayed by the children most when praised and least when punished. This suggests learning from others includes vicarious reinforcement and vicarious punshment.
• what does Bandura's experiment show must be intervening between observation and behaviour (i.e something in between stimulus and response)?

  mediating cognitive factors
• what are the 4 mediating cognitive factors?

  - attention

  - retention

  - motor reproduction

  - motivation
• what is attention?


  noticing the behaviour
• what is retention?


  remembering the behaviour
• what is motor reproduction?

  it has to be physically possible and the child must think they can do it.
• what is motivation?


  there has to be a reason to want to co[y the role model. - admiration of it. Reward or punishment is also seen as important.
• what is a similarity between social learning theory and the cognitive approach?

  both look at the role of cognitive processes - how someone is impacted by thoughts.
• what is a difference between social learning theory and the cognitive approach?

  social learning theory looks at how internal processes affect external behaviours whereas the cognitive approach only looks at internal processes and thoughts not behaviours.
• what are strengths of the social learning theory?

  1) considers the role of cognitive factors

  2) based on lab experiements

  3) have been sucessfully applied to many area of psychology, for example, offending.
• SLT is based on lab experiments which is scientific because they have what features?

  - replicable

  - control of extraneous variables

  - manipulable IV

  - standardised methods
• what are limitations of the social learning theory?

  1) does not account for all behaviours such as criminals who have not observed criminal behaviour.

  2) lab experiments are artificial. They may be learning the technique of how to use the bobo doll rather than being aggressive.

  3) there is good evidence genes predispose behaviour, and the SLT ignores biology so is incomplete.
• Imitation 


  Copying behaviours of others
• Identification


  A desire to be associated with a particular person or group often because the person / A desire to be associated with a particular person or group often because the person possesses certain desirable characteristics.
• Modelling


  From an observers perspective modelling Is imitating the behaviour of a role model. From the role models perspective modelling is the precise demonstration of a specific behaviour that may then be imitated by an observer.