social learning theory

• what are processes that learning occurs through?

  • observation
  • imitation
  • role models
  • identification
  • modelling
  • vicarious reinforcement
• what is observation?

  watching and paying close attention to other people's behaviour
• what is imitation?

  copying other people's behaviour
• what are role models?

  someone we look up to and identify with
• what is modelling?

  when the role model performs the precise demonstration of a specific behaviour
• what is vicarious reinforcement?

  • reinforcement which is not directly experienced
  • but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour
• what is identification?

  when an observer associates themselves with the role model and wants to be like the role model
• what 2 learning processes did the Bobo Doll study provide evidence for?

  • imitation
  • vicarious reinforcement
• what are mediational processes?

  cognitive processes which intervene between stimulus and response
• what are the 4 mediational processes?

  • attention
  • retention
  • motor reproduction
  • motivation
• what is meant by 'attention'?

  the behaviour of the role model must be noticed and watched
• what is meant 'retention?'

  the behaviour that has been observed, must be remembered in order to perform it
• what is meant by 'motor reproduction'?

  the previously observed behaviour is imitated by the observer
• what is meant by 'motivation'?

  we need the desire to perform the behaviour we have observed from the role model
• what were the 2 experiments in the Bobo Doll study?

  • children watched either an adult behaving aggressively towards a bobo doll or an adult behaving non-aggressively towards a bobo doll
  • children saw an adult who was either rewarded, punished or had no consequences for behaving aggressively towards a bobo doll
• give a strength of the social learning theory

  • acknowledges the role of human cognition in our behaviour
  • e.g a key assumption of social learning theory is the role of mediational processes such as attention and retention
  • therefore, social learning theory is a better explanation for human behaviour than behaviourism
• give a weakness of social learning theory

  • ignores the influence of biological factors
  • 1 consistent finding in the bobo doll study was that boys were more aggressive than girls
  • this could be explained by the fact that boys have higher levels of testosterone, which has been linked to increased aggressiveness
  • therefore, this means that social learning theory ignores an important influence on behaviour and so is too reductionist
• give a strength of social learning theory

  • real world application
  • the bobo doll study showed us that children learn social behaviour e.g aggression through the processes of observational learning
  • the study has important implications for the effects of media violence on children
  • this has led to policies such as ofcom's 9pm watershed and age certificates on films
  • this shows the value of social learning theory as it helps us make informed decisions such as policies
  • therefore, it also shows the usefulness of social learning theory
• give a weakness of social learning theory

  • over-relies on the research from lab studies
  • e.g the bobo doll study has demand characteristics because the participants may have been acting in an aggressive way towards the bobo doll because that is what they thought was expected of them rather than it being new learned behaviour
  • also, there is low ecological validity because it was conducted in a lab, meaning it cannot tell us about how children learn aggressive behaviour in everyday life
  • therefore, the research may tell us very little about how children learn aggressive behaviour in real life