Firstly, the child observes a model displaying a certain behaviour. If the child pays attention to the behaviour been modelled, they will repeat (imitate) the behaviour, and it will be practised and eventually interlised. It is thought that we are more likely to copy the behaviour is we see the model like ourselves, as well as if the person has a higher status then ourselves, as we have a desire to be like them. However there are many cognitive factors between the stage of observing the behaviour and imitating the behaviour, this is known as mediating cognitive factors and there are 4 steps. Stage 1 is attention, the observer pays attention to the model, stage 2 is memory, this is an effect of how much attention was given to the models behaviour, if the observer remembers the behaviour enough then the behaviour will be recalled, the observer also assesses their own ability and asked themselves if they are capable of carrying out that particular behaviour.
SLT is supported by Bandura et al (1963), who found that children who observed an adult role model behaving aggressively towards a Bobo doll were more likely to reproduce these behaviours when later allowed to interact with the doll alone, children even improvised their own violent methods towards the doll. The rate of imitation was particularly high when the role model was of the same sex as the child. These findings support the theory of imitation of aggressive acts and suggests that children do learn and model violent behaviour following observation of aggressive behaviour committed by adult role models. In their second study, Bandura et al (1965) provided further support for SLT with the replication of the original Bobo doll experiment with the addition of reinforcement conditions. They found that when children had witnessed the adult role model being rewarded for their aggressive behaviour, imitation significantly increased, whereas the lowest levels of violence were seen when children observed the role model receiving a punishment for their actions.
Social Learning Theory Evaluation Evaluate Social Learning Theory with reference to research. Social Learning Theory, first proposed by Albert Bandura, suggests that people's behaviours are molded through observational learning, that their inherent characteristics have an effect on learning and behaviour, and that learning does not always constitute a change in behaviour. The theory has been extensively researched and explains common phenomena such as behaviour being passed down through generations or within cultures. Also, it can be applied to change people's behaviour positively. However, the theory has some weaknesses, as there are criticisms with the theory and its studies.
Jacky Chen Psychology 1 Instructor: Professor Amanda Reflective Journal 1 9/26/2010 Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory Bandura’s social cognitive theory is a learning theory based on the ideas that people learn by watching what others do and that human thought processes are central to understanding personality. While social cognitists agree that there is a fair amount of influence on development generated by learned behavior displayed in the environment in which one grows up, they believe that the individual person (and therefore cognition) is just as important in determining moral development .People learn by observing others, with the environment, behavior, and cognition all as the chief factors in influencing development. These three factors are not static or independent; rather, they are all reciprocal. According to social learning theory, modeling influences learning primarily through its informative functions. Observers retain a symbolic representation of the modeled behavior, which then serves as a blueprint for the behavior.
Behaviourists are convinced that behaviour is determined by conditioning and this can be reinforced by positive or negative rewards. Positive rewards will ensure that the behaviour will be repeated while negative rewards will lead to ceasing of that behaviour. The early behaviourists were even claiming that if given neutral youngsters they would be able to mould them into ways of behaving suited for a particular purpose. It is here where psychoanalysts would argue that human behaviour cannot be measured or just reduced to stimulus response. Both behaviourists and psychoanalysts would deny the existence of a free will.
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory suggests that acts of aggression are learnt through the observation of role models. His original “Bobo Doll” study showed that when exposed to aggressive behaviour small children copied this behaviour, not just by being physically aggressive but even copying the verbally aggressive behaviour. However this study focuses on children who are supposed to learn in this manner, this doesn’t demonstrate that this would also be true in older children or adults who already have a set moral compass that would interfere with copying aggressive behaviours. However Bandura’s later study showed that if children saw someone get punished for aggressive behaviour they were less likely to be aggressive themselves when they were allowed to play with the bobo doll but if they saw someone get rewarded for this aggressive behaviour then they were much more likely to act aggressively themselves, this shows that vicarious reinforcement is important to the learning of aggression through the social learning theory, as receiving direct positive reinforcement leads to people having high self efficacy making them very likely to repeat the aggressive behaviour that they were rewarded for. In terms of aggression this reward could come in many forms such as acceptance from a violent gang they want to be a part of or just attention from a parent or teacher.
All in all, learning to respect and treat “others just like you would want to be treated.” According to Laurence Steinberg (2011) she would describe this as “mutual role taking- In Selma’s theory, the stage of social perspective taking during which the young adolescent can be an objective third party and can see how the thoughts or actions of one person can affect those of another” (p. 79). Students are engaging in peer interactions during snack time, recreational time, and homework time, which supports the social domain. Steinberg (2011) states that “according to these theorists, adolescents learn how to behave not simply by being reinforced and punished by forces in the environment but also by watching and imitating those around them”
The second level which is known as the “conventional level” is associated with teen age group. Lawrence Kohlberg states that “young people lose some of their selfishness as they learn to define right and wrong in terms of what pleases parents and conforms to cultural norms. In our activity, the young coworkers maybe in this stage of their moral development and may be socially aware of how their conversation may affect the people around them, but are still learning to conform to them in an act of social rebellion. Sigmund Freud had also developed 3 human personality models that can be applied to this activity. One of the three examples is called “superego”, this is attributed to cultural values and norms internalized by an individual.
If the behaviour concluded in positive reinforcement you are more likely to have the motivation to repeat it rather than suppress it. Bandura’s Bobo study represents that his social learning theory is correct, by showing that children imitate behaviours they observe. In his study he had two conditions where the boys and girls aged three to five years was split into two groups where they observed either an aggressive or non-aggressive adult model The aggressive model, showed physical and verbal aggression towards the doll which they was put in a room with. The non aggressive model displayed no aggression towards the doll. After the children had observed there model they was then put in a room with the Bobo doll, those in the aggressive group imitated the behaviour of which they
DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH BANDURA Background: Albert Bandura is best known for developing the Social Leaning Theory (SLT), an approach to child development that says children learn behaviours by observing those around them and then imitating them. The SLT agrees slightly with the behaviourist perspective, that is it tries to explain the cause of behaviour by studying only behaviours that can be observed by others. However the SLT also believes that cognitive processes need to be studied in order for us to understand behaviour. Aim: To see if children will observe a behaviour (in this case aggression) and then imitate it when they have the opportunity. Hypotheses: This study has four hypotheses: 1) Children who see an aggressive act will imitate it.