SLT Explanation

Question 1

Direct & Indirect Learning

Answer 1

• In SLT, Bandura acknowledged that aggression can be learned directly, through operant conditioning involving positive/negative reinforcement and punishment
• However, he also realised that aggressive behaviour often cannot be explained by such direct forms of learning, especially in humans – he argued that an indirect mechanism (observational learning) accounts for social learning of most aggressive behaviours

Question 2

Observational Learning

Answer 2

• Children acquire specific aggressive behaviours through observing aggressive models like siblings, parents, etc – the child has learned about aggressive behaviour, but it doesn’t mean they will behave aggressively themselves
• Children also observe consequences – if the model’s aggressive behaviour is rewarded, the child learns that aggression can be effective in getting what they want

Question 3

Vicarious Reinforcement/Punishment

Answer 3

• Vicarious reinforcement (explained in last bullet point on last card) makes it more likely that the observing child will imitate the model’s aggressive behaviour
• There is a parallel of indirect learning called vicarious punishment – if a model’s use of aggression to achieve a goal is punished, an observing child is less likely to imitate that specific behaviour

Question 4

Cognitive Conditions For Learning (ARMM)

Answer 4

• Attention – Observer must pay attention to model’s aggressive actions
• Retention – Observer needs to remember the model’s aggressive actions in order to form a symbolic mental representation of how the behaviour is performed
• Motor reproduction – Observer must be able to transform the mental representation into actual physical action, which involves the individual mentally appraising their ability to do this
• Motivation – Observer needs a reason to imitate behaviour, which will depend on their expectations that behaving aggressively in a specific situation will be rewarding

Question 5

Self-Efficacy

Answer 5

• The extent to which we believe our actions will achieve a desired goal
• A child’s confidence in their ability to be aggressive grows as they learn that aggression can bring rewards – their sense of self-efficacy develops with each successful outcome
• They are confident that, because their aggression has been effective in the past, it will continue to be so in the future – they learn that aggression works and they are good at it

Question 6

Bandura et al - Procedure

Answer 6

• Young children individually observed an adult model assaulting a ‘Bobo doll’ – the aggressive behaviours included throwing, kicking, and hitting with a mallet + were accompanied by verbal outbursts
• There followed a short period during which the children were not allowed to play with some attractive toys, which created a degree of frustration – they were then taken to another room where there was a Bobo doll, plus some other toys including ones the adult model had used

Question 7

Bandura et al - Findings

Answer 7

• Without instruction, many of these children imitated the behaviour they had seen performed by the model, physically and verbally – the closeness of imitation was remarkable in some cases, virtually a direct copy of what the children had observed
• Boys imitated physical aggression more than girls, but there was no difference imitating verbal aggression; boys were also more likely than girls to imitate a same-sex model
• There was another group of children who had observed an adult interacting non-aggressively with the doll – aggressive behaviour towards the Bobo doll by these children was almost non-existent

Question 8

Evaluation - Research Support (Poulin & Bolvin in 2000)

Answer 8

• Found that aggressive boys aged 9-12 formed friendships with other aggressive boys, and these friendships mutually reinforced each boy’s aggressive behaviour through modelling
• The boys would observe each other successfully using proactive aggression (to get what they wanted from peers), which provided reinforcement – they were exposed frequently to models of physical aggression and to positive consequences + also gained reinforcement from the rewarding approval of the rest of the ‘gang’
• These processes made imitation of aggressive behaviour more likely

Question 9

Evaluation - Research Support For SLT (Gee & Leith in 2007)

Answer 9

• Did a hockey study, where they analysed penalty records from 200 games of the NHL believing that players born in N. America would have been exposed to more aggressive models on TV when young compared to Europe-born players
• They found that players born in America were much more likely to be penalized for aggressive play and fighting than players born in other countries

Question 10

Evaluation - Explaining Inconsistencies In Aggressive Behaviour

Answer 10

• SLT can explain inconsistencies in an individual’s use of aggressive behaviour
• SLT would explain the fact that males would act aggressively in some situations but not others in terms of the consequences of acting aggressively in the respective situations – as a result, this means that we can predict whether or not aggression is likely in a particular situations by knowing its likely consequences

Question 11

Evaluation - Lack Of Realism In Research

Answer 11

• There are lots of methodological issues with Bandura’s research, such as the fact that a doll is not a living person and doesn’t retaliate when hit
• You have to question whether these studies tell us much about the imitation of aggression towards other human beings