SOCIALSOCIAL LEARNINGLEARNING THEORYTHEORY

"Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had

to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do.

Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through

modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are

performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for

action."

- Albert Bandura, Social Learning Theory, 1977

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

• Social learning theory focuses on “the learning that occurs within a social

context. It considers that people learn from one another, including such

concepts as observational learning, imitation, and modeling. Albert Bandura

and Lev Vygotsky are the main contributors to this theories of social context

of learning.

• Social Learning Theory posits that learning is a cognitive process that takes

place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct

instruction, even in the absence of direct reinforcement. It was given by

Albert Bandura in 1963.

ALBERTALBERT BANDURABANDURA Albert Bandura was born on December 4, 1925, in Alberta, Canada.

He was educated in a small elementary school and the only one high school (20 students and 2 teachers) in town. In 1953, he started

teaching at Stanford University, and became full professor as well. While there, he collaborated with his first graduate student, Richard Walters, resulting in their first book, Adolescent Aggression, in 1959.

He became the president of the American Psychology Association (APA) in 1973, and received the APA’s Award for Distinguished

Scientific Contributions in 1980.

BOBOBOBO DOLLDOLL EXPERIMENTEXPERIMENT

• In 1961, Bandura and colleagues published the first paper on the results of the now-famous Bobo doll experiments. The Bobo doll is a child-sized inflatable doll with a weighted bottom that causes it to pop back up after being knocked down. In the first interaction of these studies, preschool-aged children were divided into three groups: one group that observed an adult behaving aggressively towards the Bobo doll (punching, kicking, striking with a mallet, yelling), another group that observed the adult playing peacefully, and a control group.

THE PARTICIPANTSTHE PARTICIPANTS

• 72 children (Stanford University nursery school)

• 36 boys & 36 girls• age range 37 months - 69 months• Mean age 52 months

SUPERVISORSSUPERVISORS OFOF EXPERIMENTEXPERIMENT

• TWO adult ‘role models’ one male and one female

and a female experimenter

CONDITIONSCONDITIONS

• The THREE CONDITIONS

• Non aggressive condition• Aggressive condition• Control condition

1212 TOTALTOTAL CHILDRENCHILDREN

• 6 boys saw aggressive male

• 6 boys saw non-aggressive male

• 6 boys saw aggressive female

• 6 boys saw non-aggressive female

• 6 girls saw aggressive female

• 6 girls saw non-aggressive female

• 6 girls saw aggressive male

• 6 girls saw non-aggressive male

VARIABLESVARIABLES

• Level 1 Independent Variable (IV) aggressive or non-aggressive role model• Level 2 Independent variable (IV) Same sex or opposite sex role model

PRE-TESTINGPRE-TESTING

• In order to ensure that each group contained equally aggressive children they were all rated for aggression before the experiment

• rated on -ophysical aggression, verbal aggressiono aggression to inanimate objectso aggression inhibition (self control)

RESULTSRESULTS• IMITATION - the children in the aggressive condition imitated many of the

modelled physical and verbal aggressive behaviours• they also imitated non-aggressive behaviours• IMITATION - the children in the NON- aggressive condition imitated very

few of the modelled behaviour• 70% had zero scores• NON-IMITATION • the children in the aggressive condition displayed MUCH more non-imitative

(non-copied) aggressive behaviour• NON-AGGRESSIVE CONDITION • the children in the non-aggressive condition spent more time playing with

the toys (dolls etc) also more time doing nothing

GENDERGENDER RESULTSRESULTS

• Boys imitated more physical aggression (but not verbal)

• Boys more aggressive after watching MALE aggressive model

• Girls more aggressive after watching FEMALE aggressive model

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

• Learning can take place by observation• No classical or operant conditioning• Children more likely to learn from same

sex models• Bandura suggested Freud’s theory of

identification may be used to explain how learning took place

THEORYTHEORY OFOF SOCIALSOCIAL LEARNINGLEARNING

Social learning theory integrated behavioral and cognitive theories of learning in order to provide a comprehensive model that could account for the wide range of learning experiences that occur in the real world. Key tenets of social learning theory are as follows.

• Learning is not purely behavioral; rather, it is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context.

• Learning can occur by observing a behavior and by observing the consequences of the behavior (vicarious reinforcement).

• Learning involves observation, extraction of information from those observations, and making decisions about the performance of the behavior (observational learning or modeling). Thus, learning can occur without an observable change in behavior.

• Reinforcement plays a role in learning but is not entirely responsible for learning.

• The learner is not a passive recipient of information. Cognition, environment, and behavior all mutually influence each other (reciprocal determinism).

BASIC SOCIAL LEARNING CONCEPTSBASIC SOCIAL LEARNING CONCEPTS

1. People can learn through observation. Observational Learning In his famous Bobo doll experiment, Bandura demonstrated that children

learn and imitate behaviors they have observed in other people. The children in Bandura’s studies observed an adult acting violently toward a Bobo doll. When the children were later allowed to play in a room with the Bobo doll, they began to imitate the aggressive actions they had previously observed. Bandura identified three basic models of observational learning:

• A live model, which involves an actual individual demonstrating or acting out a behavior.

• A verbal instructional model, which involves descriptions and explanations of a behavior.

• A symbolic model, which involves real or fictional characters displaying behaviors in books, films, television programs, or online media

2. Mental states are important to learning. Intrinsic Reinforcement Bandura noted that external, environmental reinforcement was not

the only factor to influence learning and behavior. He described intrinsic reinforcement as a form of internal reward, such as pride, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment. This emphasis on internal thoughts and cognitions helps connect learning theories to cognitive developmental theories. While many textbooks place social learning theory with behavioral theories, Bandura himself describes his approach as a 'social cognitive theory.'

3. Learning does not necessarily lead to a change in behavior.

While behaviorists believed that learning led to a permanent change in behavior, observational learning demonstrates that people can learn new information without demonstrating new behaviors.

THETHE MODELINGMODELING PROCESSPROCESS Not all observed behaviors are effectively learned. Factors involving both the

model and the learner can play a role in whether social learning is successful. Certain requirements and steps must also be followed. The following steps are involved in the observational learning and modeling process:

• Attention:In order to learn, you need to be paying attention. Anything that detracts your attention is going to have a negative effect on observational learning. If the model interesting or there is a novel aspect to the situation, you are far more likely to dedicate your full attention to learning.

• Retention:The ability to store information is also an important part of the learning process. Retention can be affected by a number of factors, but the ability to pull up information later and act on it is vital to observational learning.

• Reproduction:Once you have paid attention to the model and retained the information, it is time to actually perform the behavior you observed. Further practice of the learned behavior leads to improvement and skill advancement.

• Motivation:Finally, in order for observational learning to be successful, you have to be motivated to imitate the behavior that has been modeled. Reinforcement and punishment play an important role in motivation. While experiencing these motivators can be highly effective, so can observing other experience some type of reinforcement or punishment. For example, if you see another student rewarded with extra credit for being to class on time, you might start to show up a few minutes early each day.

APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL LEARNING THEORYLEARNING THEORY

• Criminology• Developmental Psychology• Media Violence• Psychotherapy• School Psychology• Acculturation and Parenting

APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL

LEARNING THEORY IN LEARNING THEORY IN

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