SCLOA: Social and Cultural Norms (Social Learning Theory)

Social Norms A norm is a set of rules based on (socially or culturally) shared beliefs of the ‘correct’ behaviour – This attempts to regulate behaviour within the group If someone strays from the norm, it can have: – Negative affects: isolated, stigmatized – Positive affects: creative, affecting change Conforming to social norms is a way in which human beings aim to belong (1 st principle)

Social Learning Theory Bandura assumes humans learn through observational behaviour – By watching models and imitating It includes the following factors: – Attention: must pay attention to model – Retention: must be able to remember it – Motor Reproduction: must be able to reproduce it – Motivation: must want to demonstrate what was learnt

Social Learning Theory ATTENTION: Must pay attention to the model RETENTION: Must be able to remember the behaviour MOTOR REPRODUCTION: Must be able to replicate the behaviour MOTIVATION: Must want to demonstrate

Factors which affect MOTIVATION Consistency: the behaviour from the model must be consistent (then the observer is more likely to imitate the model) Identification with the Model: there is a tendency to imitate those that are like us (age/gender wise) Rewards and Punishment: don’t have to experience the punishment themselves to understand the consequences – vicarious reinforcement Liking the Model: more likely to imitate warm, nurturing models than cold, mean ones (Yarrow et al. (1970) suggests that we are more likely to imitate someone we have already created a bond with)

Bandura et al. (1961) AIM: to investigate if children will imitate aggression modelled by an adult. And also if they are more likely to imitate same sex models Laboratory experiment. Group of 72 children, 36 boys and 36 girls, were divided into 3 groups – The number of boys and girls in each group was equal Then divided into further categories:

Bandura et al. (1961) Condition 1: exposed to a model for 10min being physically and verbally aggressive towards an inflatable Bobo doll Condition 2: exposed to a model for 10mins being non- aggressive who assembled toys Condition 3: didn’t see a model Children were then taken to a room full of toys, shortly afterwards, they were told the toys were for other children. Taken to a 3 rd room filled with aggressive and non-aggressive toys, including Bobo Child was allowed to play for 20mins in room with a one-way mirror, measures of physical/verbal aggression were imitated and non-aggressive measures were taken too

1 st : imitated same aggression (physically and verbally) – observational learning 2 nd : didn’t imitate aggressive behaviour Showed much less aggressive behaviour than the control group Boys in the opposite sex non-aggressive model showed more aggression than boys in the control More aggressive boys in 1 st if male model (girls were less extreme) In same-sex, girls imitated verbal aggression whilst boys showed more physical aggression Boys were more aggressive than girls in all conditions

Strengths Appropriate age group to demonstrate social learning theory, controlled, mixed gender sample Limitations Low ecological validity, aggression was not standardised across each child (wasn’t exactly the same), aggression levels may not have been accurately measured by parents and teachers, demand characteristics Ethical Considerations Teaching young children aggressive behaviour is questionable, the children could have been frightened, long-term impact of aggression is not known

Applications of Social Learning Theory There are consistent studies which suggest that a higher level of violence on television has lead to more violent children Huesmann and Eron (1986): 15-year longitudinal study; found positive correlation between number of hours of violent TV watched and the level of violence they exhibited when teenagers – Found that those who watched a lot of violent TV when they were 8, were more likely to be arrested and prosecuted for criminal acts

Konjin et al. (2007) AIM: to investigate whether playing violent video games are likely to increase aggression if players identify with the violent characters 112 Dutch adolescent boys with low education ability Randomly assigned to play a realistic or fantasy violent or nonviolent video game Competed with an ostensible partner (actually a stooge) The winner could blast the loser with a loud noise through headphones (aggression measure) and were told that the noise could cause permanent hearing damage Habitual game exposure, trait aggressiveness and sensation seeking were all controlled for

Most aggressive were those that played the violent video game and wished they were the violent character (identification) – They used loud enough noises to damage the hearing of their opponent Suggests that identifying with violent video game characters makes players more aggressive – Likely to identify with realistic games which they felt immersed in

Refuting this… Study of St Helena Site of a natural experiment Researchers investigated the effect of the introduction of television and the aggression of children Cameras were set up in the playgrounds of 2 primary schools and observed behaviour between 3-8 year olds (before and after TV was introduced) Showed little difference in the level of violence when compared with those in the UK Analysis of video and interview data (parents, teachers, older children) showed no increase in antisocial behaviour

Television isn’t always negative Shows like Sesame Street have been developed to teach academic and social skills – Help children to learn empathy, sharing and academic curiosity Bandura’s social learning theory is the basis for TV /radio shows that aim to prevent unwanted pregnancies, reduce HIV transmission, empower women and promote literacy Sabido method: method for designing and producing shows which aim to change behaviour through applying social learning theory

Evaluation of Social Learning Theory Helps explain how behaviours are passed on – Can explain why children learn behaviours without trial-and-error Behaviours can be learned without being demonstrated – Some see this as a criticism Because there is a gap between learning and exhibiting the behaviour, there is little confidence that the behaviour was the result of the model Doesn’t explain why people never learn a behaviour despite meeting the criteria

Social Learning Theory Has developed in social cognitive theory and self- efficacy theory – Focus is on beliefs and how these influence behaviour People are motivated by models but also by their beliefs and past experiences