Social learning theory

Main assumptions:

 SLT suggested that learning occurs directly, but also indirectly.

 SLT proposed a different way in which people learn – through observation and
imitation of others.

 Mediational thought processes intervene in the learning process to determine whether

a new behaviour is acquired or not.

Mediational processes:

 Attention: recognition of a role model captures our attention; behaviour is also more
noteworthy if it is performed by someone the person identifies with as they are seen to
possess similar characteristics to the observer such as age/ gender so they want to be
like them

 Retention: if the behaviour is seen repeatedly, which strengthen the memory and
make it more likely to be stored in LTM

 Motor reproduction: easy to replicate; the person can easily perform the behaviour

 Motivation: if behaviour is vicariously reinforced then imitation is likely as people

expect to be rewarded in the same way they have observed

Bandura’s research:

 Albert Bandura aimed to investigate whether children imitate behaviour observed

from models.

 Children were split into three different groups, one group watched an adult behave
aggressively towards the bobo doll, one group saw an adult ignore the bobo doll and
in the control group they never encountered the model.

 The behaviour of the children towards the bobo doll and other toys was recorded.

 Bandura demonstrated that children learn and imitate behaviours they have observed
in other people.
Evaluation

There is evidence to support the social learning theory from laboratory experiments
conducted by Albert Bandura. In Bandura’s research, children were split into three different
groups. One group watched an adult behave aggressively towards the bobo doll, one group
saw an adult ignore the bobo doll and in the control group they never encountered the model.
Bandura recorded the behaviour of young children who watched an adult behave in an
aggressive way towards a Bobo doll. The adult hit the doll with a hammer and shouted abuse
at it. The behaviour of the children towards the bobo doll and other toys was recorded. He
found that there was a marked difference in aggression scores for those in aggressive
condition, compared to non-aggressive and control condition. This therefore shows that
children learn and imitate behaviours they have observed in other people.

One limitation of the research used to support the social learning theory is that it lacks
ecological validity. This is due to the fact that Bandura’s research was conducted in an
artificial setting. Furthermore, the use of the bobo doll may have caused demand
characteristics as it is designed to be hit and knocked over. Therefore, we cannot be sure if
observational learning works in the way proposed by the social learning theory in real-life
situations.

However, there is opposing research to the social learning theory by Nestadt. He found that
monozygotic twins had a higher concordance rate (68%) for OCD than dizygotic twins
(31%). This difference in concordance rates demonstrates a genetic basis to OCD as both sets
of twins share the same environment the only difference is the number of genes shared. The
social learning theory therefore provides an incomplete explanation of human behaviour as
their main assumption is that human behaviour arises as a result of direct and indirect
learning.

Another strength of the social learning theory is that it adopts soft determinism view. This is
because role models and their behaviour is determined however the mediational thought
process that occur before imitation suggest free will. This is a strength because it enables
human behaviour to be predicted and controlled. It is also more consistent with the justice
system than approaches such as behaviourist approach as the justice system holds us morally
accountable for our actions.

Further support for the social learning theory comes from its real-life application. For
instance, a teenager who has friends smoking, she may join them as she identifies with them
for being a similar age/ gender. The motivation to join in may come from seeing other friends
vicariously reinforced and expecting to be rewarded in the same way if they take the
addictive substance too.