social learning theory

Question 1

what are the basic assumptions of social learning theory?

Answer 1

• people learn through observation and imitation of others
  -learning can occur indirectly that will affect behaviour

Question 2

how does SLT differ from behaviourism?

Answer 2

• acknowledges the role of cognitive processes in between seeing a stimulus and deciding to imitate a behavious

Question 3

what was the Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment?

Answer 3

• to investigate if children were able to learn aggressive behaviour through observing aggressive behaviour from an adult
• 36 boys and 36 girls from Stanford University Nursery School
• participants were put in a room and either shown non-aggressive or aggressive behaviour towards a Bobo doll
• they were put in another room - “aggression arousal “ stage
• then shown a variety of toys including the doll to observe any aggressive behaviour for 20 minutes

Question 4

what were the findings of Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment?

Answer 4

• when the children (in aggression condition) were presented with the Bobo doll, they identified with the role model which made their aggressive behaviour towards the doll more likely
• shows why the children imitated the model by modelling similar behaviour to the aggressive model, unlike the control group with low levels of aggressive behaviour
• findings showed that children were also more likely to imitate aggressive behaviour if model shown was of the same gender

Question 5

what are the strengths of the social learning theory?

Answer 5

• takes cognitive factors into account that influence learning
• for example, it states that the mediational processes like attention, retention, reproduction and motivation exist between seeing stimuli and responding
• this means that the SLT recognises the importance of the role of mediational processes that neither classical or operant conditioning can conclude from the behaviourist approach
• it can account for cultural differences in behaviour - SLT principles like modelling and reinforcement can account for how children learn from others around them, including media
• this is a strength because it explains how cultural norms are transmitted through particular societies - proved useful in understanding a range of behaviours such as how children came to understand their gender role , therefore explaining behaviours that other approaches cannot

Question 6

what are the weaknesses of the social learning theory?

Answer 6

• however (from first strength), SLT has made little reference to the influence of biological factors on social learning as Bandura’s research shows how biology was under-emphasised in SLT
• furthermore, Bandura’s concepts were developed from lab studies which take in artificial environments and may lead to demand characteristics
• has been suggested with the Bobo doll that because the main purpose of the doll is to strike it that the children were simply behaving in away that they though was expected
• this a problem because the findings may lack external validity that can be generalised to all children and tell us little about how children learn aggression in everyday life
• cannot explain behaviour when there is no apparent role model in a person’s life - psychopathic behaviour in just one individual in a family
• this is a problem as there is no evidence of behaviour coming from imitation if no one else has displayed it and consequently this means that it is not a full explanation for all behaviour