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Social learning theory suggests learning occurs by observing or imitating others. Social learning theory can be considered an arch between the cognitive and behavioural approaches. It considers behavioural factors and the mediational processes involved in learning.
The cognitive factors in the social learning theory include some mediational processes that play a role between the stimulus and response in learning. These mediational processes are as follows:
Attention: requires configuring a mental representation of the behaviour by paying attention to its consequences.
Retention: requires storing the observed behaviour in the long term memory for later retrieval. Imitation is a gradual process and might not occur immediately.
Reproduction: requires a person to have the ability to duplicate the observed behaviour.
Motivation: there should be an expectation to retrieve the same positive reinforcement that the model received for replicating the observed behaviour.
Top tip: we are more likely to imitate someone if we relate to them in similar characteristics as ours, for example, age, social status or gender.
Humans learn through observation and modelling, which leads to reinforcement and imitation of observed behaviour.
Cognitive factors such as the mediational processes (stated above) have a significant role in learning behaviours.
Several studies and experiments explain the methodology of the social learning theory. One of the main researchers is Albert Bandura et al. (1961/1963).
Albert Bandura (1961) conducted a lab experiment that included 36 girls and 36 boys. All the children were in the age group of 3-6 years and divided into three groups.
Group 1: 12 boys and 12 girls exposed to a model hitting an inflatable “bobo” doll with a hammer and shouting at it.
Group 2: 12 boys and 12 girls were exposed to a model displaying non-aggressive behaviour towards the doll, such as verbally abusing the doll.
Group 3: 12 girls and 12 boys were not exposed to any model (placebo group).
The children were taken to a room with a Bobo doll and various toys. To check and trigger the arousal of aggression among children, the researchers asked them not to do anything.
![Social learning theory [+] a hammer used as an aggressive tool in Bandura study [+] Studysmarter](https://studysmarter-mediafiles.s3.amazonaws.com/media/1865576/summary_images/wesley-tingey-9z9fxr_7Z-k-unsplash.jpg?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4OLDUDE42UZHAIET%2F20220629%2Feu-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20220629T145809Z&X-Amz-Expires=90000&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=0dea4ed43510411e6d6c6317d1daa362d844a47f7cbf8166d056430d61693267)
Social learning theory, a hammer used as an aggressive tool in Bandura study, wikimedia
Each child was then taken to a separate room that contained a bobo doll, a hammer and pistol (aggressive tool) and farm animals and pencils (non-aggressive tools).
Group 1 imitated the model by showing more aggression towards the doll than the other two groups.
Boys were more physically aggressive towards the doll compared to girls.
Verbal aggression among both genders was similar.
Girls were more likely to imitate behaviour if the model was a female, and the boys would imitate the male model more. The experiment showed that behaviour could be imitated by observing behaviour. Still, gender identification (following the gender you relate to in terms of characteristics like age) was also an important factor.
In 1963, Bandura and Walter repeated Bandura’s experiment but slightly changed it. “
The children were exposed to an aggressive model who also had to face the consequences for their behaviour.
Group 1: children were exposed to an aggressive model, praised for their behaviour.
Group 2: children were exposed to an aggressive model, punished for their behaviour.
Group 3: children were exposed to an aggressive model who received no consequences for their behaviour.
These children were allowed to play around and were observed. Group 1 showed the most aggression, followed by group 3. Group two was the least aggressive on the scale. The experiment showed that behaviour is more likely to be imitated or reproduced when it receives positive reinforcement.
![Social Learning Theory [+] a child playing with a doll [+] StudySmarter](https://studysmarter-mediafiles.s3.amazonaws.com/media/1865576/summary_images/doll.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4OLDUDE42UZHAIET%2F20220629%2Feu-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20220629T145809Z&X-Amz-Expires=90000&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=7eee3492e6a40a317b3587d1a379b39c45c2c9789e96bc92d64135f2a3692d84)
Compared to conditioning, social learning theory presents a more comprehensive example of human behaviour that also considers cognitive factors such as mediational processes.
Social learning theory may explain the influence of media on human behaviour.
It helps explain cultural differences in determining human behaviour because people imitate the behaviours they are exposed to.
The entire sample was children; if the experiments included adults, the results might have been different as the adults have more developed and complex moral values than children.
Both these experiments were lab-controlled, which implies that children might not have reacted the same way in real life, as at such an age, children’s behaviour can be guided or tamped down by their parents.
There might be involvement of biological factors such as high testosterone hormone levels, which may explain why boys showed more aggression than girls.
Social learning theory outlines how media influences our behaviour. The Jamie Bulgars case in 1990 was presented in the court with support from Bandura’s theory (1961). The murderers were children who confessed that they were influenced and inspired by the movie Child Play 3.
However, these children had a troubled family life and were suspected of having witnessed social violence or deprivation in their life.
Have you ever wanted to be as cool as your favourite celebrity and slowly began to change your style to match theirs? Following the same fashion style as your favorite TV stars, such as Kpop singers BTS (Korean pop group), is an example of the social learning theory. We imitate the behavior we see around us.
Social learning theory suggests learning occurs by observing or imitating others.
Social learning theory can be considered an arch between the cognitive and behavioural approaches as it combines these different explanations.
Cognitive factors include mediational processes such as attention, retention, reproduction and motivation.
Humans learn through observation and modelling, leading to reinforcement and imitation of observed behaviour.
Methodological evidence was provided by Albert Bandura et al. in 1961 and Bandura and Walter in 1963. Both experiments showed that
The case of Jamie Bulgar in 1990 was presented in the court with support from Bandura’s theory (1961).
The entire sample was children; if the experiments included adults the results might have been different as the adults have more developed and complex moral values compared to children.
Both these experiments were lab-controlled which implies that children might not have reacted the same way in real life, as at such an age children’s behaviour can be guided or tamped down by their parents.
The main idea of social learning theory suggests that learning occurs by observing or imitating others. It considers behavioural factors along with the mediational processes that are involved in learning.
The main key concepts of social learning theory is that learning occurs in two ways:
Social learning theory suggests learning occurs by observing or imitating others.
For example, Jamie Bulgar in 1990.
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