BANDURA (1977)
SOCIAL LEARNING EXPLAINS LEARNING BY OBSERVATION

This theory was developed by Albert Bandura, an American psychologist. Behaviourism was a school of Psychology that believed that all human behaviour came about through a mixture of Classical and Operant Conditioning. However, there were problems with this. Some behaviour seemed to appear without conditioning. This is particularly true of complex behaviour, like language, or antisocial behaviour, like aggression. Bandura proposed SLT, sometimes called “observational learning”, which looks at how we learn by observing other people and imitating them, without conditioning.

This theory is significant for students in other ways:

• It shows how scientific research proceeds. The behaviourist school in Psychology was based on Classical and Operant Conditioning but SLT expands on this.
• It illustrates features of Learning Theory, since it studies behaviour as a response to external stimuli, but it also takes into account cognitions
• It ties in to your Key Question in Learning Theory, since it helps explain anorexia
  
• It is important for you to understand how Social Learning Theory developed out of Bandura’s famous lab experiments in the 1960s

LEARNING BY OBSERVATION

Observational learning takes place in 4 steps:

1. The behaviour must be modelled which means it must be carried out by a role model like a parent, friend or celebrity.
2. The observer must identify with the role model – normally because they are similar in appearance, gender, interests, etc
3. The behaviour must be observed
   • Attention: you must be attending to the behaviour
   • Retention: you must retain it in your memory
     
   • Reproduction: you must be capable of carrying out the behaviour
   • Motivation: you must have a reason to carry out the behaviour (eg a reward)
     

   4. The behaviour is imitated

There are Social and Cognitive aspects to this theory:

• The Multi Store Model of memory explains paying attention and retaining memories of what we observe
• Intergroup theories like Social Identity Theory explain why we might identify with some role models and not others

Bandura changed the name of his theory to Social Cognitive Theory to reflect this – but most people still call it SLT!

Bandura suggests the characteristics that make someone a role model:

• They are similar to the observer. This is perceived similarity – it might exist only in the observer’s imagination. Similarity in gender seems particularly important but there can be similarity in age, race, ability, social identity, interests, etc.
• They have status in the eyes of the observer. Again, this is perceived status; a naughty child in a lesson might have status in the eyes of his classmates for clowning around, but not to the teacher.
• Their behaviour is rewarded. This is called Vicarious Reinforcement. It can result in modelling (when the observer imitates the behaviour), facilitation (when the observer repeats the behaviour a bit differently), disinhibition (when someone becomes more likely to do something they used to think was wrong) and inhibition (when someone becomes less likely to do something they used to think was OK because the role model was punished).
  

RESEARCH INTO SOCIAL LEARNING
The findings of studies

Bandura’s “Bobo Doll” studies into imitation support SLT:

Bandura, Ross & Ross (1961) shows the importance of similar role models. The children were more likely to imitate aggression in a same-sex role model. Because the role models were adults, they all had status in the eyes of the children; the male role models had more status than the female ones because of the cultural expectations in the USA. The study showed modelling and facilitation (imitative aggression) as well as disinhibition (non-imitative aggression)

Bandura (1965) shows the importance of Vicarious Reinforcement. When Rocky was punished, this produced inhibition and the children did not imitate him as much. It also shows the importance of motivation: when rewards were offered, even the inhibited children imitated Rocky’s aggression.

APPLYING SOCIAL LEARNING (AO2)
OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING In the real world

Phobias

Phobias can be explained by SLT if the phobia is modelled. For example, young girls might see phobias of mice or spiders modelled by the mothers, with whom they identify, whereas boys do not imitate this behaviour. 9/10 women express a fear of spiders, but only 1/10 men do.

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns, which is increasingly common. This might be due to the appearance of “evil clowns” in horror films (like Stephen King’s It) and action movies (like the Joker in Dark Knight Returns). The reactions of characters in horror films might model a fear of clowns: they react with fear and viewers imitate them. However, this phobia is also explained by Classical Conditioning, because viewers might learn to associate the sight of a clown with a feeling of fear.

Censorship in the Media

Bandura’s 1963 study was triggered by concerns about violence on TV. In the UK, ‘terrestrial’ TV observes a “watershed” which means that programmes with violence, sexual content or obscene language are only shown after 9pm. The thinking behind this is that, before 9pm, children may be watching unattended but after 9pm parents will be present who might choose to turn off such shows.

The “watershed” is an application of Social Learning Theory. It is based on the idea that children might observe antisocial or inappropriate behaviour on TV, then imitate it in real life. This isn’t just aggression; it includes smoking, drug-taking, obscene language or sexual behaviour.

The rating system for films (U, 12, 18) and the “Parental Advisory” stickers on CDs and video games are similar applications.

There is a similar concern that Size Zero models on magazine covers and adverts function as role models and encourage young girls to imitate their extreme skinniness. One application of this has been for many fashion shows to ban Size Zero models.

Now that shows, music or games can be streamed through the Internet and TVs have “catch-up” functions, some argue that the “watershed” is redundant, because children can access anything at any time on TV, computers or mobile phones.

EVALUATING SOCIAL LEARNING (AO3)
CODA

Credibility

There’s a lot of research in support of the SLT, including the three studies led by Bandura (1961, 1963, 1965) into imitation of aggression. This research isn’t just from the start of the 20th century; it continues to the present day. The Contemporary Study by Becker et al. (2002) is an example of this.

Observational learning has also been noticed in animals like monkeys. Cook & Mineka (1990) had monkeys watch a video of another monkey reacting with fear to a snake. When the observer-monkeys had a chance to get food, they would not if it involved approaching a snake or a snake-like object (toy snakes).

Moreover, a lot of this research is strictly scientific, being carried out in lab conditions and using one-way mirrors and multiple observers for inter-rater reliability.

The greatest strength of SLT is that it explains things that Behaviourism cannot. Behaviourism was a school of Psychology that focussed on Classical and Operant Conditioning. This struggled to explain how humans learn complex behaviour so quickly. SLT proposes that huge “chunks” of behaviour can be learned “in one go” through observation and imitation.

Objections

Much of the research into SLT is carried out on children or animals. This is because it is difficult to put adult humans into controlled situations with realistic role models. There may be a problem generalising findings from children or animals to adult humans. They may not be representative samples.

Nonetheless, monkeys and chimpanzees are quite close to humans in evolutionary terms so you would expect them to learn in similar ways. Human children also have enough similarity to adults in the way they learn to make this research credible.

A deeper problem with SLT is that is involves bringing in cognitions – thought processes, which are unobservable. The old Behaviourist school of psychology only studied observable behaviour and focussed on Classical and Operant Conditioning. By including cognitions, Bandura is moving SLT away from behaviourism and into a less scientific, more subjective territory.

SLT also ignores the nature side of the nature/nurture debate. It may be that some people are born with predispositions to certain behaviours (like aggression) and don’t need role models. In fact, these people might seek out role models rather than just waiting for them to appear.

Differences

SLT is quite different from Operant and Classical Conditioning. For one thing, it includes cognitions as well as behaviours. SLT explains a child learning to talk by watching and imitating adults, whereas conditioning suggests the child needs to have each word or phrase rewarded with praise or attention; SLT seems more realistic, because children learn to speak quickly and their parents don’t pay attention to everything they say.

However, Operant Conditioning and SLT overlap in vicarious learning. This is where a person sees a role model being reinforced for their behaviour; you are MUCH more likely to imitate behaviour you see being reinforced. This combines observational learning (SLT) and reinforcement (Operant Conditioning).

Similarly, association and reinforcement may explain why a person continues with a behaviour after they have imitated it once. For example, a girl might imitate her mother’s fear of spiders and upset herself; she then comes to associate the Neutral Stimulus (a spider) with her own distress, so that it becomes a Conditioned Stimulus. This is how phobias are maintained, even if you only get exposed to a role model once.

Applications

SLT is often used alongside other therapies such as Systematic Desensitisation or Token Economies.

For example, someone with a phobia of spiders might not want to approach a picture of a spider in an early stage of the therapy. If they see someone they trust approach the picture and pick it up without harm, they will see there are no bad consequences. If they see this person being praised by the therapist, this is vicarious reinforcement.

In a TEP, participants will see other learners acquiring tokens and then spending them to get rewards. This is also vicarious reinforcement. The organisers of a TEP need to make sure that giving out tokens and purchasing rewards with them is a public event, with as many observers as possible.

EXEMPLAR ESSAY
How to write a 8-mark answer

Evaluate Social Learning Theory. (8 marks)

• A 8-mark “evaluate” question awards 4 marks for AO1 (Describe) and 4 marks for AO3 (Evaluate).

Description
Albert Bandura proposed that learning is done through observation and imitation. Role models model the behaviour to be imitated.
A role model is someone you identify with who has status in your eyes. You are more likely to identify with role models of your gender and background.
If you observe a role model being rewarded, this is vicarious reinforcement which makes imitation more likely.
If you are likely to be rewarded yourself for imitating the role model, this is motivation, which also makes imitation more likely.

Evaluation
SLT is supported by lab research on children and animals, such as Cook & Mineka’s studies on monkeys that learned to fear snakes after observing another monkey on film.
This research seems to generalise to humans. Bandura found children would imitate aggressive role models, especially those the same sex as themselves.
The theory ignores the nature side of the nature/nurture debate, since people may be born with certain predispositions and don’t need role models.
SLT might be un-scientific since it includes motives and thought processes. This cognitive side to human behaviour cannot be observed directly.

Conclusion
SLT offers a more complex picture of learning than Classical and Operant Conditioning, but it does introduce a “chicken-and-egg” problem: do people imitate role models or do they seek out role models because they already have a predisposition to behave that way?.

Apply Social Learning.

• A 4-mark “apply” question awards 4 marks for AO2 (Application) and gives you a piece of stimulus material.

Eli loves watching a cartoon show called “Punch You In The Face” in which the main character, Peter Punch, goes around punching people. Later, Eli punches his little brother.

Using social learning theory, explain Eli’s behaviour. (4 marks)

Eli may be imitating Peter Punch, who acts as a role model and models the behaviour of punching people in the face.
Eli pays attention to Peter Punch because this is his favourite show and he identifies with the character, who is also a boy.
Eli retains the memory of punching and he is capable of reproducing it because his brother is smaller than him.
A study by Bandura, Ross & Ross (1963) showed that children larn aggression just as easily from a cartoon character on TV as from a live role model.