Social Learning Theory The approaches

Learning Approach- Questions What is a basis assumption of the behaviourist approach? What is conditioning? What type of conditioning was investigated by John Watson and little albert? Who were the participants in Pavlov’s research? In Pavlov’s research what was the unconditioned response? In Pavlov’s research what was the conditioned stimulus? Define classical conditioning Who researched into operant conditioning? Define operant conditioning Name the three aspects of operant conditioning. If a rat receives a shock every time it presses a leaver what aspect of operant conditioning is being tested? What is negative reinforcement? Provide one criticism of the learning approach Provide a real life application of the learning approach Learning Approach- Questions

Video Watch the advertisement What does this suggest about behaviour? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHi2dxSf9hw Negative aswell as positive impact.

Learning objectives Explain the key assumptions of the Social Learning theory Outline and evaluate the research and main findings of Bandura et al Evaluate the Social learning approach

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY Mind-Behaviour-Environment The cognitive processes involved in learning. BEHAVIOURISM FOCUS ON HUMAN BEHAVIOUR IN RESPONSE TO REWARD/PUNISHMENT COGNITIVE FOCUS ON THE INTERNAL MENTAL PROCESS BETWEEN STIMULUS AND RESPONSE Learning occurs from OBSERVING others. The mind, behaviour and the environment ALL play a role in learning behaviour This deals with the major criticism of Behaviourist approach, which ignores mental processes, by taking account of cognitive processes. 5

What is the Social Learning Theory? Developed by Bandura Learning occurs through: Modeling Observational learning Imitation SLT take into account cognitive thought processes. These mental factors mediate in the learning process to determine if a response is acquired Learning can occur simply through observing others – also known as MODELS – in our environment Behaviour can be explained not just by our own direct experience, but through our observations of the experiences of other people. Social learning is learning through observation, imitation and modelling of another person. We learn through MODELLING - Modelling involves learning through the observation of other people (models), which may lead to imitation (repetition) of the behaviour. Unlike classical and operant conditioning, SLT takes into account the thoughts and mental process of an individual. Therefore, while it is a behaviourist theory it could be seen to have cognitive aspects. Have you ever observed a behaviour that you have then copied? What makes you want to copy some people rather than others?

On W/B Define using textbooks/pack... Attention Retention Reproduction Motivation

Bandura (1977) 4 stages to social learning Attention The individual notices someone in their environment Retention The individual remembers what they have observed Reproduction The individual replicates the behaviour shown by the model Motivation The individual seeks to demonstrate the behaviour that they have observed if it thought to be rewarded. Bandura identifies four conditions that are necessary for an individual to successfully model the behaviour of someone else: Attention: the observer pays attention to the role model. The observer identifies with the role model and sees the behaviour the role model is doing (observation)  Rentention of the observed behaviour. The capacity to remember the behaviour The observer retains the information they saw, and then imitation occurs. the ability to replicate the behaviour that the model has just demonstrated. This means that the observer has to be able to replicate the action, which could be a problem with a learner who is not ready developmentally to replicate the action. For example, little children have difficulty doing complex physical motion Reproduction of the target behaviour: (if the behaviour is beyond our capability we will not be able to reproduce it)  This is where the observer copies the behaviour they have seen – this may depend on an individual’s abilities in doing the behaviour. Motivation to imitate the observed behaviour (a reward we anticipate we will receive if we reproduce the behaviour.) (Imitation may also be affected by motivation – if a reward has been witnessed after the modeling it is more likely the behaviour will be repeated) learners must want to demonstrate what they have learned. Remember that since these four conditions vary among individuals, different people will reproduce the same behaviour differently Vicarious reinforcement is when individuals learn by watching the consequences of others e.g. a child is misbehaving and sees other children who are behaving getting sweets, they will then copy this behaviour so they too can get the reward.

We are more likely to imitate behaviour if the model we are observing is: Same age Same gender High social status Respected/admired However, Bandura stated that while these four processes explained how behaviour was imitated, there are other factors which can increase the likelihood of behaviour being imitated. The more similar the role model is to the observer, the more likely that the behaviour will be imitated

Application of Social Learning Theory Jane dyes her hair red because her favourite celebrity has done so. First Jane paid attention to what the celebrity had done Jane then retained this information Jane was capable of reproducing the behaviour of dying her hair Jane was motivated to dye her hair red and did so. Can you think of other examples

Vicarious Learning Bandura stated that we are influenced not just by the behaviour, but by the consequences for the person we are observing. We observe and learn about behaviour by watching others being reinforced or punished (vicarious learning) learning NOT a results of direct reinforcement, rather an individuals observation of another person’s experiences Bandura argued that children observe and learn about the consequences of aggressive behaviour by watching others be reinforced or punished (vicarious learning). Children witness many examples of aggressive behaviour at home or at school as well as on television and in films. By observing the consequences of aggressive behaviour for those who use it, children gradually learn something about what is considered appropriate and effective conduct. Thus they learn the behaviour through observation, and whether the behaviour is worth repeating. Bandura claimed that in order for social learning to take place, children must form mental representations of events in their social environments. They must also be able to anticipate expected rewards and punishments. Children will display a behaviour provided the anticipated rewards outweigh the anticipated punishments. Once a child has observed and imitated a behaviour, this behaviour can then be maintained through direct reinforcement (operant conditioning).

Application of vicarious reinforcement Shelby is five years old and is watching her favourite cartoon. The cartoon shows a young girl helping her mother with the house work and the mother praises the daughter for doing so. After Shelby then offers to help her mother with the house work. Shelby is not receiving any DIRECT reinforcement to persuade her to help her mother. DISCUSS: Why does Shelby do this? She observed the girl in the cartoon being praised for her behaviour and is now motivated to replicate this behaviour herself in order to gain similar praise

SLT: application to media violence Children observe and learn from role models Live models (family, friends) Symbolic models (through media: TV, films, games) They learn which behaviours are worth repeating They have a mental representation of events they observe, and can anticipate reward and punishment. SYMBOLLIC MODELLING is considered to have a greater effect on cultures where media is widely available.

In pairs/three’s create a 3 minute roleplay. Role play activity In pairs/three’s create a 3 minute roleplay. Your roleplay must include evidence of Modelling, Imitation, Identification, Direct and vicarious reinforcement Role play idea’s… Learning a new dance routine/sport Learning a new language Changing behaviour through playing a video game Children copying and learning behaviour in class A manager role modelling behaviour to their team An individual changing behaviour after watching a music video Starter next lesson

Bandura’s research Watch the video and make notes on the aim, method, results and conclusion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zerCK0lRjp8

Core study Bandura, Ross ans Ross (1961) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zerCK0lRjp8 Aim: To investigate whether exposure to a real-life aggressive model increases aggression in children.

Method: Tested 72 children enrolled at stanford university nursery 36 girls/36 boys: between ages of 3-5 Children were matched for physical and verbal aggression from ratings made by the experimenter and nursery school teacher.

Method: Stage one of the experiment children were brought individually to the experimental room by the experimenter. The room was set out for play The model was invited to come in. The child was placed in a corner of the room and shown how to design a picture The model was taken to the opposite corner (containing a table, chair, tinker toy, mallet and a 5 foot inflatable bobo doll. The children could only watch the model. Stage one of the experiment children were brought individually to the experimental room by the experimenter. The room was set out for play and the activities were chosen because they had been noted to have high interest for nursery school children, and included a Bobo doll.

Stage two of the experiment In the non-aggressive condition, the model ignored Bobo and assembled the tinker-toys in a quiet, gentle manner. In the aggressive condition the model began by assembling the tinker-toys, but after one minute turned to Bobo and was aggressive to the doll in a very stylised and distinctive way. After ten minutes the experimenter entered and took the child to a new room. Stage two of the experiment There, the child was given toys to play with, which were eventually taken away. In stage two the child was subjected to ‘mild aggression arousal’. The child was taken to a room with relatively attractive toys. As soon as the child started to play with the toys the experimenter told the child that these were the experimenter’s very best toys and she had decided to reserve them for the other children.

Stage three of the experiment Children were then taken to another experimental room and allowed to play freely for 20 minutes with aggressive and non aggressive toys and a 3 foot bobo doll. Behaviour was rated by observing through a one way mirror.

Results Children exposed to an aggressive role model displayed significantly more direct imitation than children exposed to the non-aggressive model. On average 12.7 aggressive acts were imitated from the aggressive model Girls were more likely to engage in verbal aggression and boys more likely to engage in physical aggression Watching an aggressive role model had a greater effect on boys than on girls Boys were more likely to imitate aggressive acts from the same sex role model than girls Boys copied 25.8 aggressive acts when the model was male On average girls copied 5.5 aggressive acts if the model was female and 7.2 aggressive acts if the model was male. When the male aggressive model was observed an average of 16.5 aggressive acts were copied compared to 8.95 aggressive acts copied from the female aggressive role model

Conclusion The findings support Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. That is, children learn social behaviour such as aggression through the process of observation learning – through watching the behaviour of another person. Children exposed to an aggressive model are likely to display aggression and to imitate aggressive acts.

Catch: This can only be demonstrated through images. In your groups On the big w/b: Evaluation of the Bobo doll study. Catch: This can only be demonstrated through images. Each group to present back your evaluation points Strengths Takes into account COGNITIVE PROCESSES Has many applications (gender roles) + Great deal of strong experimental evidence - Bandura’s bobo doll  study found children imitate same sex role models + + Practical applications e.g. introducing positive role models; having  age restrictions on video games and films so children are not exposed to  undesirable behaviour Weaknesses Does not explain individual differences – e.g. reinforcement to one child might not be the same for another Does not account for ALL behaviour e.g. becomes a criminal, despite not associating with criminals It has taken place in a lab and NOT a real life setting – how do we know children would react like this in the real world – this means it lack ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY Ethical Issues Is it actual aggression or just harmless play? - Lack of validity – behaviour may have been learnt but not exhibited  immediately. Lab studies only show what happens within a limit time, so it  may appear behaviour has/has not been learnt yet it may be displayed later.  - Studies often carried out on animals, difficult to generalise to  humans 

Activity Generalisability Reliability Application Validity Ethics Using the pictures from the different tables, fill in the evaluation of Bandura’s study. Generalisability. They used a large sample (of 72) so the results could be generalised to others/eq; As it was only done on children aged three to five the results may not be true for older children/teenagers/adults/eq; It was done on children in the university nursery so does not include children from other backgrounds/eq; The sample contained both boys and girls so results apply to both genders/eq; Validity. The nursery was a natural setting for the children so the study had ecological validity/eq; It was carried out in a lab setting so this makes it artificial and lacking in ecological validity. (generic point) /eq; The children had never seen a Bobo doll before so may have hit it because that is what they thought they should do with it/eq; The children had never seen a Bobo doll before so may have hit it because that is what they thought they should do with it so the experimenters weren’t measuring the effect of violent role models on children’s aggression in normal circumstances/eq; (2 marks) They deliberately made the children frustrated which may not happen after watching normal t.v. so the results may not be true of everyday life/eq;

Task…fill in the spaces Social learning theory was developed mainly by Bandura and Walters and suggests that much behaviour is learnt from the environment through reinforcement and the process of modeling. This process involves observation of other people (models), which may lead to imitation if the behaviour to be imitated leads to desirable consequences for the model (vicarious reinforcement). Learning can occur without a change in behaviour. Behaviourists say that learning has to be represented by a permanent change in behaviour, in contrast social learning theorists say that because people can learn through observation alone, their learning may not necessarily be shown in their performance. Learning may or may not result in a behaviour change. According to Bandura(1977) there are four requirements for observational learning to take place Attention: the observer focuses on the model Retention: the observer must be able to retain a memory of the observed behaviour Reproduction: the observer must be able to reproduce the observed behaviour Motivation: the observer must be motivated to reproduce the observed behaviour. This could be in the hope of a reward.

Social learning- Evaluation Social learning theory provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning than behaviourism because………………… Much of the research is based on laboratory studies which may involve demand characteristics. This is problematic because…… The Social learning theory underestimates the influence of…………………….This is a limitation because SLT can explain gender differences across…..which is useful because…………. The SLT is ….. Deterministic than behaviourism because…………………. This is an advantage because……………..

Application to real life cases… Teenager obsessed with TV killer Dexter stabbed and dismembered girlfriend Steven Miles jailed for 25 years for ‘chilling, blood-curdling’ attack on Elizabeth Thomas, 17, at his Surrey family home “This was a truly gruesome killing ripped from the pages of a hit TV script. The evidence points to the defendant trying to emulate the actions of the character Dexter, who he idolised. The case is a sad testament to the perils of how young people can become entrenched in modern TV blockbusters involving violence which shockingly led to a copycat killing in real life.” Can violence and aggression be learnt through observation and imitation and modeling – This case was in the news last week. A 17 year old boy murdered his girlfriend after he became obsessed with Dexter. The news article stated that: Maybe a discussion: do you think we learn through observation and imitation? (aren’t we usually punished for bad behaviour?) Do you think we learn through observation and imitation?

Exam question Explain one limitation of the social learning theory approach (3 marks)

Model answer- 3 marks One limitation of the Social learning approach is that it over relies on evidence from laboratory studies (1 mark) Lab studies could result in participants responding to demand characteristics. For example in bandura’s research the children may simply be behaving in a way that they thought the researcher expected them to (2 marks) The research and theory therefore lack ecological validity as it fails to tell us how children may act in everyday life. ( 3 marks)

Plenary Imagine you are an examiner. Write on a post-it a 2 mark question on today’s learning