5.1.4 Social Learning Theory

• Social learning theory (SLT) was proposed by Bandura (1972) as a more nuanced explanation of behaviourism 
• SLT takes the principles of behaviourism (people are shaped by their environment) and refines it to include the mechanisms of how people (particuarly children) learn from others
• SLT posits the idea that children learn via observation of  role models particularly parents but also other significant people such as teachers, older siblings, celebrities
• The concept behind SLT is that the child observes the behaviour of a role model and then (if the behaviour is observed frequently) imitates that behaviour in different contexts e.g. a child observes domestic violence at home and goes on to imitate this sort of behaviour at school (bullying)
• It is more likely that a child will imitate the behaviour of role models with whom they identify e.g. same-sex parent or sibling
• Reinforcement plays a role in SLT:
  
  • The child observes a specific behaviour from a role model e.g. an aggressive parent
  • The child sees that the aggressive parent is rewarded e.g. power over the other parent
  • The aggressive parent experiences positive reinforcement e.g. they got what they wanted
  • The child internalises what they have just seen e.g. 'I want to feel like that'
  • Vicarious reinforcement has  taken place e.g. the child has observed the reward gained by the aggressive parent and thus is motivated to behave similarly to gain such a reward for themselves
  • This aspect of SLT is what separates it from behaviourism as it involves a degree of cognition

• The cognitive element of SLT can be summed up via the mediational processes involved, the constituent parts being Attention-Retention-Reproduction-Motivation (ARRM):
  • Attention = noticing the behaviour, being aware of it
  • Retention = remembering the behaviour and the mechanisms involved in it 
  • Reproduction = imitating the behaviour, reproducing key features of it
  • Motivation = the desire to repeat the behaviour, the need to be rewarded for the behaviour

• Attention and retention refer to the learning of the behaviour
• Reproduction and motivation refer to the performance/enacting of that behaviour
• Learning and performance of the behaviour are not required to occur at the same time e.g. aggression observed in one setting may not be performed until some time later
• Research which supports SLT is Bandura's (1961) controversial 'Bobo doll' study (covered in more detail on the next revision note):
  • Children from Stanford University nursery aged 3-6 years old were used as participants
  • A controlled observation was used to observe the children's behaviour
  • The children had observed either a male or a female aggressive or non-aggressive model
  • The aggressive-model condition involved an adult behaving aggressively towards a large, inflatable clown toy (the Bobo doll)
  • The aggressive models used predetermined standardised aggressive behaviours e.g. hitting Bobo with a toy hammer 
  • Children who observed an aggressive model imitated the aggression they saw (plus adding additional 'freestyle' aggressive behaviours), particularly when they had observed a same-sex model
  • Children who had not observed an aggressive model were not aggressive towards Bobo
• Gergely et al. (2002) found that even very young infants have the abiltity to observe a model's behaviour and make inferences about that behaviour

Evaluation of Social Learning Theory

Strengths

• SLT provides a more rounded explanation of behaviours which are learned via environmental stimuli than that offered by behaviourism
• SLT research tends to use standardised procedures within controlled lab conditions which can be replicated to check for reliability

Weaknesses

• SLT does not account for innate and biological factors such as the influence of genes, hormones, brain structures on behaviour which limits its scope
• Using lab-based research to investigate behaviour learned in social contexts lacks ecological validity as it uses artificial tasks in unnatural settings