social learning theory

imitation

what children learn is mainly acquired through imitation of attitudes and behaviour modeled by parents and significant others. they key determinants of whether that behaviour is imitated are the characteristics of the model and the observers perceived ability to perform that behaviour and the observed consequences.

the role of meditational process

bandura claimed that in order for social learning to occur the observer must form mental representations of the behavior in terms of expectations of future outcomes. when appropriate opportunities arise in the future the individual might display the learned behaviour provided that the expectation of positive consequences is greater than the expectation of negative consequences.

what are the strengths of bandura and walters experiment

by using the experimental approach to investigate learning we are able to manipulate variables and establish a casual relationship it focuses on human traits of consciousness and rationality which cannot be demonstrated with animal research, and therefor address the influence of meditational processes on learning which is neglected by behaviorists it provides explanations that relate to behaviours such as aggression and intellectual development, which allow us to develop programmes to help reduce the reaccurance of further negative behaviours e.g. 'prison me on way' project uses role models who have gone to prison to educate at risk youngsters about the consequences of criminal behaviour

why is walter and banduras research relevant?

children imitate adults behaviour which tells us we can affect our children's learning by setting an exemplar example

what is bandura's procedure into research into social learning theory?

children observed an aggressive or non-aggressive adult models and were then tested for imitative learning in the absence of the model. half children were exposed to adult models interacting aggressively with a life sized bodo doll and half exposed to non-aggressive models. the aggressive model displayed physical aggression towards the doll such as stroking it with a mallet and verbal aggression such as saying 'POW'. the children were then take to a room where there were other toys and a bodo doll

what did albert bandura propose about how we learn behaviour

he said behaviour is learnt from the environment through the process of observational learning -children observe the people around them behaving in various ways such as in society children are surrounded by family, friends, TV characters and teachers. These provide model examples of behaviour in which they observe and imitate.

vicarious reinforcement

individuals learn about the likely consequences of an action, and then adjust their subsequent behaviour accordingly. The concept suggests children do not need to experience rewards or punishments directly in order to learn, instead they can observe the consequences experienced by a model and then make judgement as to the likelihood of experiencing these outcomes themselves

what are the problems with bandura and walters research?

it only looks at one type of behaviour, the response may be different for another type of behaviour not ecologically valid, doesn't relate to real life as the conditions are controlled also the doll isn't a real person so the response may differ if the experiment involved a real person

what were the findings of banduras research?

most children who observed the aggressive model reproduced physical and verbal aggression of the model. Most children who observed the non-aggressive model showed no aggression toward the bodo doll. in a follow up, bandura and walters found that children who saw the model being rewarded for aggressive acts were more likely to show a high level of aggression in their own play

identifcation

the extent to which an individual relates to a model and feels that they are similar to them. in order to identify to a model, observers must feel that they are similar to them and that they would be likely to experience the same outcomes in that situation. identification in children is more likely in same sex models, identification with a model means that the individual is more likely to imitate their behaviour, meaning that social learning is more likely to occur