Social learning theory - Approaches [A-Level Psychology]

Summary

This video explores social learning theory, contrasting it with behaviorism by emphasizing cognitive processes and social context. Key concepts like vicarious reinforcement, modeling, and mediational factors are discussed. Albert Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment illustrates how children imitate aggressive behavior exhibited by adults, highlighting the theory's practical implications. The video also touches on reciprocal determinism, suggesting a complex interplay between behavior and environment.

Takeaways

• 🔬 **Behaviorism**: Behaviors are learned due to stimuli and response mechanisms, suggesting that we learn through interactions with our environment.
• 🌟 **Rewards and Punishments**: Rewards increase the likelihood of repeating a behavior, while punishments decrease it.
• 👀 **Social Learning Theory**: We can learn by observing others being rewarded or punished, not just through personal experience.
• 🧠 **Cognitive Processes**: Social learning theory reintroduces cognitive processes, which behaviorists rejected as unscientific.
• 👥 **Models and Imitation**: People around us act as models for our behavior, and we are more likely to imitate those we identify with or see as high status.
• 📺 **Symbolic Models**: We can also imitate behaviors modeled by characters in media, not just real-life people.
• 🤔 **Mediation Factors**: Cognitive processes like attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation are necessary for behavior imitation.
• 👶 **Bobo Doll Experiment**: Bandura's study showed that children imitate aggressive behavior they observe in adults, even if it's just through a symbolic model.
• 🏆 **Vicarious Reinforcement**: Observing rewards or punishments can influence whether we imitate a behavior.
• 📚 **Reciprocal Determinism**: Bandura argues that behavior is influenced by the environment, but also influences the environment.
• 📈 **Evaluation of Social Learning Theory**: While the theory provides a detailed understanding of human behavior, it may lack scientific rigor compared to behaviorism due to its reliance on inferred cognitive processes.

Q & A

What is behaviorism and how does it relate to learning?

Behaviorism is a learning theory that suggests behaviors are learned through stimuli and response mechanisms. It posits that we learn due to interactions with our environment, and behaviors are more likely to be repeated if they are rewarded, and less likely if they are punished.

How does social learning theory differ from behaviorism?

Social learning theory, unlike behaviorism, acknowledges that learning can occur through observation of others' behaviors and their consequences, without direct personal experience of rewards or punishments. It reintroduces the concept of internal mental processes, which behaviorism had rejected as unscientific.

Who is Albert Bandura and what is his contribution to social learning theory?

Albert Bandura is a prominent social learning theorist known for his famous Bobo Doll Experiment. He contributed to the theory by demonstrating that children can learn through observation, imitation, and modeling, and that they are more likely to imitate behaviors they see being rewarded.

What is the Bobo Doll Experiment, and what did it demonstrate?

The Bobo Doll Experiment conducted by Albert Bandura demonstrated that children between the ages of three and six would imitate aggressive behaviors exhibited by an adult towards an inflatable toy (the Bobo doll). It showed the concepts of modeling and imitation in social learning.

What are the defining features of social learning theory?

The defining features of social learning theory include the concepts of vicarious reinforcement, where observing a behavior being rewarded increases the likelihood of imitating it, and vicarious punishment, where observing a behavior being punished decreases the likelihood of imitation.

What are models in the context of social learning theory?

In social learning theory, models are individuals whose behaviors are observed and potentially imitated. They can be live models, such as parents or peers, or symbolic models, like characters from movies or books.

What factors make a model more likely to be imitated?

A model is more likely to be imitated if the observer identifies with the model, shares similar characteristics such as gender or age, and perceives the model as having high status.

What are mediational factors in social learning theory?

Meditational factors are cognitive processes that occur between observing a model and imitating their behavior. These include attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.

How does the concept of vicarious reinforcement work?

Vicarious reinforcement is the process by which individuals learn by observing others being rewarded for their behaviors. If someone sees a behavior being rewarded, they are more likely to imitate that behavior to receive a similar reward.

What is the difference between learning and performance in social learning theory?

In social learning theory, learning and performance are not the same. Learning can occur through observation and be stored as memory, which can be performed at an appropriate time in the future, not necessarily immediately after the observation.

How does Bandura's concept of reciprocal determinism challenge traditional views of determinism?

Reciprocal determinism, as proposed by Bandura, suggests a dynamic relationship between behavior and environment. It challenges the traditional view that behavior is solely determined by the environment by arguing that behavior can also influence and change the environment.