social learning theory

Question 1

what is social learning theory?

Answer 1

learning theory that suggests that learning occurs directly (through conditioning) and indirectly (through vicarious reinforcement

Question 3

what are the main ways in which we learn?

Answer 3

vicarious reinforcement
modelling
identification

Question 4

what is vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 4

learning through modelling and observing other people’s behaviour when they have been rewarded which leads to imitation/ repetition of behaviour to gain the reward

Question 5

what is modelling and why is it important in social learning?

Answer 5

when an observer sees and emulates a person they look up to they may imitate their behaviour

Question 6

what are the 2 types of models?

Answer 6

live models
symbolic models

Question 7

what is a live model?

Answer 7

people physically present in our environment e.g. mother, teacher

Question 8

what is a symbolic model?

Answer 8

people present in media e.g. in films, books
symbolic models are considered to have a greater effect on cultures where media is widely available

Question 9

what is a role model?

Answer 9

a person with whom the observer identifies with
usually of a high social status, similar age and gender
a role model can exert influence indirectly by not being physically present in the environment but seen in the media

Question 10

what is identification and why is it important in social learning?

Answer 10

when we identify with someone it makes us more likely to imitate said behaviour if they share qualities, characteristics, and views that are similar to ourselves

Question 11

what is imitation and why is it important in social learning?

Answer 11

copying or reproducing behaviour that has been learned through observation
learners make a judgement about whether it is the right situation to reproduce the behaviour and whether they will be successful in the same way
they are testing whether they should reproduce the behaviour again based on the reinforcement they receive

Question 12

what are the role of mediational factors?

Answer 12

social learning theorists argued that human behaviour couldn’t be fully understood without including the role of cognitive processes that happen between observing a model (stimuli) and imitating behaviour (response) - unlike behaviourist approach

Question 13

what are the mediational processes?

Answer 13

attention
retention
reproduction
motivation

Question 14

what is attention

Answer 14

in order to learn from a model, individuals must pay attention to the model by focusing on specific behaviours

Question 15

what is retention

Answer 15

the ability to remember the observed behaviours and involves encoding this behaviour into memory so it can be retrieved later

Question 16

what is reproduction

Answer 16

the individual’s belief in their ability to replicate the behaviour observed
this depends on the physical capabilities of the individuals and the remembered details of the behaviour

Question 17

what is motivation

Answer 17

the willingness to perform the behaviour, which is influenced by the expected outcomes, such as rewards or punishments, based on observing the consequences of behaviours in others

Question 18

explain the theory that SLTs have that learning and performance is not the same

Answer 18

behaviourists believe an immediate response to a stimulus indicates learning, equating learning directly with performance

social learning theorists distinguish the difference, arguing that observed behaviours are internalised, meaning they are stored as memories for use when needed, potentially long after the initial observation

Question 19

research into social learning theory

Answer 19

Bandura’s Bobo Doll experiment (1961)
Aim: to demonstrate that aggression can be learned through modelling
Method: 72 children between 3-6 years were put into groups and observed:
Aggressive model: played in a room while an adult hit and shouted at a Bobo doll
Non-aggressive model: played in a room while an adult played quietly with a construction set
Control: did not see a model
Results: Children who saw the aggressive model produced more aggressive acts than the other groups. Boys imitated same sex models more than girls (identification). Girls imitated more physical aggression if they saw male models and more verbal aggression if they saw female models

Question 20

1963 variation of Bobo doll experiment - models

Answer 20

children were exposed to a live aggressive adult, a recording of an aggressive adult or a cartoon with an aggressive cat with aggression directed to the Bobo doll in all cases
findings indicated comparable levels of aggression across all groups, illustrating that models whether live or symbolic are imitated

Question 21

1965 variation of Bobo doll experiment - vicarious reinforcement

Answer 21

children witnessed adults acting aggressively towards a Bobo doll, followed by the adult receiving rewards, punishment or neither
findings indicated that children who observed the adult being punished displayed significantly less aggression towards the Bobo doll compared to children in other conditions

Question 22

strengths of the social learning theory

Answer 22

+ supported by robust evidence - Bobo Doll study has high internal validity due to a lab experiment - ensured environmental control by having a standardised procedure e.g. same method, same room, same toys
+ Bobo doll study used a matched pairs design to control participant variables by assessing children’s pre-existing aggression levels to ensure each group contained an equal mix of aggressive children
+ SLT is less reductionist than behaviourism - more valid in understanding human behaviour as it acknowledges the roles of consciousness and rationality - more plausible explanation for complex behaviours like aggression
+ concept of reciprocal determinism is more valid than simpler deterministic approaches - Bandura argued that environment both influences and shapes behaviour

Question 23

limitations of SLT

Answer 23

• research only demonstrated short-term social learning - questions ecological validity - behaviour observed in a lab may not translate to real-life scenarios e.g. seen on TV - raises doubts about applicability of SLT processes to everyday life
• research relies on inferences - identification, vicarious reinforcement and mediating cognitive factors are not directly observable but inferred which may be incorrect