Week 24

Social learning theory

16 march 2016

24.01 Social Learning Theory

Bandura (1961) and his study of social learning

Read pp. 111-116 of your Crane and Hannibal textbook, Section 4.2:
Sociocultural level of analysis: social and cultural norms.
Read pp. 20-22 of the Pamoja Supplementary eText, The Sociocultural Level of
Analysis: Section 3, Social Norms: A. Social learning theory.

SCLOA: social and cultural norms 111-116

Norm: set of rules for expected behavior
Conform to group norms in order to belong
Social Learning Theory
Albert Banduras social learning theory
How a society or culture passes norms onto individuals
o Through direct and indirect models
Involves 4 factors:
o Attention: The person must first pay attention to the model.
o Retention: The observer must be able to remember the behaviour that has been
observed.
o Motor reproduction: The observer has to be able to replicate the action.
o Motivation: Learners must want to demonstrate what they have learned.
Consistency: regular behavior
Identification with the model: similarities such as age and gender
Rewards/punishment: learn by observing consequences of others
vicarious reinforcement, example of observational learning
Liking the model: friendly model

Bandura et al. (1961)

o Aims: see if children would imitate aggression modelled by an adult and know if
children were more likely to imitate same-sex models.
o Participants: Children aged 3 to 6 years (36 boys and 36 girls)
o Procedure: children split into groups by aggression evaluated by teachers and
parents
Group one: same-sex and opposite-sex adult models who showed
aggression by bashing an inflatable Bobo doll.
Group 2: same-sex and opposite-sexnon-aggressive adult who
assembled toys for 10 minutes
Group 3: served as a control and did not see any model.

After seeing the models, children were put in a room with toys and then taken
out, being told those toys were for other children, and brought to a room with a
bobo doll
o Results: children who had observed the aggressive models were significantly
more aggressiveboth physically and verbally. girls were more likely to imitate
verbal aggression, whereas boys were more likely to imitate physical aggression
o Findings: theory of social learning was demonstrated in the study, since the
children showed signs of observational learning. the children were more likely to
imitate the same-sex adult
o Evaluation
low ecological validity
In laboratory
Factors that make situation less natural
brief encounter with the model
Doesnt predict if child is repeatedly exposed to
aggressive model - parents or violence on TV
Intentionally frustrated children when begin playing
Aggression toward Bobo doll doesnt indicate learned
aggression because the situation is too specific
Methodological considerations
Differences in aggression displayed because it wasnt
standardized between models
Aggression was evaluated based on observations, so groups
may not have been accurately divided
Demand characteristics- children knew researchers wanted them
to act aggressively
Ethical considerations:
Frightened children
Teaching children violent behavior
Couldve become a permanent feature of behavior
Application of social learning theory in real life
By watching aggression, children learn how to be aggressive in new ways and they also
draw conclusions about whether being aggressive to others will bring them rewards or
punishment.
Huesmann and Eron (1986)
o longitudinal study, monitoring childrens behaviour over a 15-year period.
o positive correlation between the number of hours of violence watched on
television by elementary school children and the level of aggression
demonstrated when they were teenagers.
o those who watched a lot of television violence when they were 8 years old were
more likely to be arrested and prosecuted for criminal acts as adults
Kimball and Zabrack 1986
o In Canada, become significantly more aggressive two years after television was
introduced to their town
o link between watching violent television and aggressive behaviour
o Families could have facilitated violent behaviour as well
Natural experiment on the island of St. Helena in the Atlantic
o Television was introduced in 1995
o English psychologists are investigating the effect of the introduction of television
on aggression in children
o Cameras were set up in the playgrounds of two primary schools on the island,
and the behaviour of children (between the ages of 3 and 8 years) was observed
before and after the introduction of television
o

o little difference in the quantity or level of violence

o no increase in antisocial behaviour
Television is not always a negative influence
o can help children learn positive behaviours such as sharing, empathy, and
academic curiosity
o theory is the basis for television and radio dramas which aim to prevent
unwanted pregnancies, reduce the spread of HIV, promote literacy, and empower
women in developing countries
The Sabido Method
o designing and producing radio and television drama that aims to change peoples
behaviour
o applied social learning theory to soap operas in order to influence viewers
attitudes towards literacy
o promote safe sex, family planning, and gender equality
o Identify with models who we learn from
Evaluation of social learning theory
helps explain why behaviours may be passed down in a family or within a culture and
why children can acquire some behaviours without trial-and-error learning
Behavior can be acquired, but not demonstrated
gap exists between when one observes the model and when one may demonstrate
difficult to establish 100 per cent that the behaviour is the result of observing the model
Neither does social learning theory explain why some people never learn a behaviour
developed into social cognitive theory and self-efficacy theory
o focus is on beliefs and how self-beliefs influence behaviour
o People are motivated not only by role models but also their own beliefs and
previous experiences
SCLOA 20-22
A. Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura (1977) states behaviour is learned from the environment through the
process of observational learning
Imitate under certain circumstances
imitate those people it perceives as similar to itself
If a child imitates behaviour and the consequences are rewarding, the child is likely to
continue performing the behaviour
Reinforcement can be external or internal and can be positive or negative.
approval from parents or friends is an external reinforcement
o feeling happy about this approval is an internal reinforcement
vicarious reinforcement. If s/he sees someone punished for imitating behaviour, the child
will learn the behaviour, but will not display it.
Identification with the role model: adopting observed behaviours, values, beliefs and
attitudes of the person with whom the child is identifying
strong link to stereotype formation here
Berry (2003) explored how social learning theory and the cross-cultural images and
portrayals on television might influence the multicultural attitudes, values, and beliefs of
children
o argued for more culturally diverse role models on North American television
adolescents are especially likely to look for role models to identify with because they are
in the process of developing their own identities
Critique of social learning theory
controlled experimental approach allow inferences about cause and effect to be drawn.
lack ecological validity

influenced by demand characteristics

takes into account cognition as well as social pressures
o contributed a lot to understanding of processes like the learning of aggression,
and gender role development
its commitment to the environment as the main influence on human behaviour
Universal preferences for heterosexual relationships
o Men prioritise youth and fertility, while women prioritise status and resources.
Researchers from the BLOA would argue that this reflects genetic influences.
Study demonstrating social learning theory
Konijn et al. (2007)
hypothesis that violent video games are especially likely to increase aggression when
players identify with violent game characters
112 Dutch adolescent boys with low education ability were randomly assigned to play a
realistic or fantasy violent or nonviolent video game.
competed with an ostensible partner on a reaction time task in which the winner could
blast the loser with loud noise through headphones (the aggression measure)
told that high noise levels could cause permanent hearing damage.
most aggressive participants were those who played a violent game and wished they
were like a violent character in the game
o used noise levels loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage to their
partners, even though their partners had not provoked them
identifying with violent video game characters makes players more aggressive.

24.02 Television and Aggressive Behaviour

1. Review Huesmann and Eron (1986) p. 113 of the IB Course Companion.
2. Read Be a critical thinker: the other side of the argument p. 114 of the IB Course
Companion to learn about the longitudinal study conducted by Charlton et al.
(2002).
3. Read the Press Release from the APA about another longitudinal study by
Huesmann et al., (2003) Childhood Exposure to Media Violence Predicts Young
Adult Aggressive Behavior According to a New 15-Year Study (Links to an external
site.)

Many studies have provided insights to the social learning theory, which was first
suggested by Bandura in 1977, after his study of models showing aggression towards a
Bobo doll in 1961.

IB Psychology
Name: Natalie Cassello
Teacher: Helen Loughran

22 March 2016

Learning Outcome
Explain social learning theory making reference to two relevant studies.
Key concepts/theories
Social learning theory:
Banduras study is the key investigation of social learning theory. Other relevant studies
include Charlton et al. (2002) which challenged the theory in terms of television viewing
by children (see page 114, Course Companion eText) and Konijn (2007) who
investigated video games (see page 22, Supplementary eText).
Charlton (2002) or Konijn (2007) if you prefer
Level of Analysis

Investigator/s

Date

SCLOA

Konijn

2007

Description (Aim, Type of study, Participant, Procedures, Findings, Conclusions):

Konijn et al. (2007) hypothesized that violent video games are especially
likely to increase aggression when players identify with violent game
characters. Participants included 112 Dutch adolescent boys with low
education ability. They were randomly assigned to play a realistic or fantasy
violent or nonviolent video game and then competed with an ostensible
partner on a reaction time task in which the winner could blast the loser
with loud noise through headphones. This reward was used as the
aggression measure and they were even told that high noise levels could
cause permanent hearing damage. Results showed that the most
aggressive participants were those who played a violent game and wished
they were like a violent character in the game and used noise levels loud
enough to cause permanent hearing damage to their partners, even though
their partners had not provoked them. The study concluded that identifying
with violent video game characters makes players more aggressive.
Explain how this study is relevant to social learning theory.:

The social learning theory says that societies and cultural pass on behavior norms to
individuals through attention, retention, motor reproduction, and motivation, which
factors include consistency, identification with the model, rewards and punishments,
including vicarious reinforcement and observational learning, and liking the model.
This study is relevant to the social learning theory because it demonstrates how
children identify with characters and imitate their violent behavior once their immersed
in their video game culture.

24.03 Bandura et al. (1961)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/zerCK0lRjp8

24.04 Blog Post: Social Learning Theory and Bandura (1961)

Write a brief description of the study.

Identify the methodological limitations and ethical considerations raised by the study.

Given these concerns, reach a conclusion about the importance of this study in
understanding social learning theory.

Bandura 1961 was a studied with two aims: to investigate whether children would imitate
aggressive behavior demonstrated by adult models and to test if they are more likely to
imitate same-sex models. Participants included 36 boys and 36 girls ages 3 to 6 years
who were split into three groups with different conditions. The first group had an
aggressive model who bullied the Bobo doll for 10 minutes with 6 female and 6 male
children with a same-sex model and 6 females and 6 males with opposite-sex models.
The second group had the same set up with models as the first group, however, there
were non-aggressive models who constructed toys. The third group was the control
group, so there were 12 boys and 12 girls who did not have a model. After observing the
models, the children were put in a room with toys and then taken out and told that those
toys were for other children, so they were brought to another room with just a Bobo doll
to take out their frustration. The results showed that children who observed an
aggressive model were significantly more physically and verbally aggressive. As
hypothesized, girls seemed to imitate the verbal aggression of the same-sex model and
boys seemed to demonstrated more physical aggression. The findings concluded that
the children demonstrated signs of observational learning, which supports the social
learning theory and that the participants also imitated same-sex adult models more than
opposite-sex.
However, there were quite a few methodological limitations and ethical considerations
raised by this study. Because it was in a laboratory setting, it deemed to have low
ecological validity. The brief encounters with the model, making the kids purposefully
frustrated, and the specified aggression toward the Bobo doll did not indicate learned
aggression and make the situation less natural. In regards to the methodological
considerations, there were differences in aggression displayed because the behavior
was not standardized between the models. Also, the aggression of the children was
evaluated based on observations prior to the experiment, so groups may not have been
accurately divided and the children may have shown demand characteristics because
they noticed that the researchers were observing their aggressive behavior. Ethically, it
was not right to put children in that frightening situation or teach young children violent behavior
because it could have become a permanent feature of their behavior once they learned it.
Although there were many concerns regarding this study, it was still a crucial study in developing
the understanding social learning theory. Bandura was able to come to important conclusions
about how children learn behavior by observing and imitating adult, specifically same-sex models.
The important findings of this study have benefited the psychology community, even though there
were some limitations and ethical concerns which may not have made the experiment the most
accurate.

24.05 Psych Terms Wiki: Social Identity Theory, Stereotypes and

Social Learning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD3B6LKAHR0