Social Learning Theory
Psychology: AQA A Level, topic 5.1.5
Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura proposed the social learning theory. The theory takes cognitive processes into account by looking at observational learning and vicarious reinforcement.
Social learning theory
- Psychologist Albert Bandura’s ideas about learning were different from those of strict behaviourists.
- Bandura and other researchers propose social learning theory, which is an approach that takes cognitive processes into account.
Bandura's ideas
- According to Bandura, pure behaviourism could not explain why learning can take place in the absence of external reinforcement.
- He felt that internal mental states must also have a role in learning and that observational learning involves much more than imitation.
- In imitation, a person simply copies what the model does.
- In observational learning, we learn by watching others and then imitating what they do or say.
- The individuals performing the imitated behaviour are called models.
Bandura's three models
- Bandura identified three kinds of models: live, verbal, and symbolic.
- A live model demonstrates a behaviour in person, as when Ben stood up on his surfboard so that Julian could see how he did it.
- A verbal instructional model does not perform the behaviour, but instead explains or describes the behaviour, as when a football coach tells his young players to kick the ball with the side of the foot, not with the toe.
- A symbolic model can be fictional characters or real people who demonstrate behaviours in books, movies, television shows, video games, or Internet sources
Necessary steps for learning
- Of course, we don’t learn a behaviour simply by observing a model.
- Bandura described specific steps of mediational processes that must be followed if learning is to be successful: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.
Factors for learning
- First, you must be focused on what the model is doing - you have to pay attention.
- Next, you must be able to retain, or remember, what you observed; this is retention.
- Then, you must be able to perform the behaviour that you observed and committed to memory; this is reproduction.
- Finally, you need to want to copy the behaviour, and whether or not you are motivated depends on what happened to the model; this is motivation.
Vicarious reinforcement
- If you saw that a model was reinforced for their behaviour, you will be more motivated to copy them.
- This is known as vicarious reinforcement.
- On the other hand, if you observed the model being punished, you would be less motivated to copy them.
- This is called vicarious punishment.
- Once you actually demonstrate a new behaviour (eg. not copying something after vicarious punishment), the reinforcement you recieve plays a part in whether or not you will repeat the behaviour.
Bandura's Research
Bandura researched how children learn through observing and imitating the behaviour of others, especially adults displaying aggressive or violent acts.
Bobo doll
- Bandura conducted an experiment with a five-foot inflatable doll that he called a Bobo doll.
- In the experiment, children’s aggressive behaviour was influenced by whether or not the teacher was punished for her behaviour.
- In one scenario, a teacher acted aggressively with the doll, hitting, throwing, and even punching the doll, while a child watched.
Children's responses
- After watching the teacher, there were two types of responses by the children to the teacher’s behaviour.
- When the adult was punished for their aggressive behaviour, the children were less likely to imitate it.
- When the adult was praised or not punished, the children were more likely to imitate both the actions and the words used—punching, kicking, and shouting at the doll.
Implications of the study
- Bandura concluded that people can learn new behaviours simply through observing others, even without direct reinforcement.
- This process is known as observational learning and shows the importance of vicarious reinforcement.
Prosocial effects
- Prosocial (positive) models can be used to encourage socially acceptable behaviour.
- Parents in particular should take note of this finding - the main idea is that children observe and learn from their parents, even their parents’ morals, and children tend to copy what parents do instead of what they say.
- Besides parents, many public figures, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, are viewed as prosocial models who are able to inspire global social change.
Antisocial effects
- Observational learning can also lead to antisocial (negative) behaviours.
- Research suggests that this may help to explain why abused children often grow up to be abusers themselves.
- In fact, about 30% of abused children become abusive parents.
- Abused children, who grow up witnessing their parents deal with anger and frustration through violent and aggressive acts, often learn to behave in that manner themselves.
Test yourself on Social Learning Theory
What are factors for learning, according to the social learning theory?
What is likely to happen after vicarious reinforcement?
When the teacher was punished for her behaviour in Bandura's experiment, what was the reaction of the children watching?