4.1.7 - social learning 'stages' Flashcards
(12 cards)
what are the 4 stages of social learning proposed by Bandura?
attention, retention, reproduction, motivation
what happens during the attention stage of social learning?
the observer must pay attention to the model and their behaviour
attention depends on factors like the distinctiveness of the behaviour being modelled, and factors within the observer like their level of arousal
a child is more likely to attend to a model similar to themselves eg. of the same sex
what happens during the retention stage of social learning?
the individual must encode and store the behaviour they have attended to
retention is aided by imagery and language as humans store observed behaviours as mental images or verbal descriptors which they can recall when reproducing it
what happens during the reproduction stage of social learning?
the observer shows the modelled behaviour (reproduce what they observed)
this is affected by the physical capabilities of the individual and their self observation of reproduction (behaviour beyond capabilities can’t be reproduced)
what happens during the motivation stage of social learning?
the observer is more likely to imitate a behaviour if a reward is offered (they are motivated)
intrinsic motivation is when doing an activity offers inherent satisfaction instead of a physical outcome eg. young boy feels good about copying dad’s behaviour because he feels more like his dad
extrinsic motivation is a motivator which is something tangible with a separate outcome eg. sportsperson being given trophy
strengths of social learning theory - scientific?
has strong focus on scientific research methods as based on lab experiments which have higher reliability and validity (can establish cause and effect)
strengths of social learning theory - practical applications?
theory has contributed greatly to psychology of aggression and gender development and has formed basis of treating many problems like phobias - modelling therapies can be used for children and adults who find behaviour therapies with direct conditioning difficult
strengths of social learning theory - acknowledgment of individual differences?
theory allows for individual differences and how cognitive and motivational factors can influence behaviour (four stages)
weaknesses of social learning theory - nature of experiments?
experiments theory is based on took place in artificial lab settings which could reduce their generalisability and ecological validity
weaknesses of social learning theory - reductionist?
theory is on nurture side of nature-nurture debate as it believes that environment is the proximal influence on behaviour - it ignores how evolutionary and biological influences could affect behaviour
theory also breaks complex behaviours down and suggests they are simply due to observational learning
weaknesses of social learning theory - deterministic?
theory doesn’t really acknowledge role of free will in behaviour - an individual’s motivation is the result of prior learning, therefore their choice over the actions isn’t completely free
issues and debates - nature-nurture?
learning theories assume our behaviour is due to the environment we live in - past environments have caused us to respond to stimuli in a particular way
however, they disregard internal processes which could explain behaviour
