SLT - evaluation

Question 1

It underestimates the influence of biological factors

Answer 1

• Boys showed more aggression than girls
• This may be explained by differences in the levels of testosterone (greater in boys than girls)
• research suggests that observational learning could be the result of mirror neurons
• allows us to empathise and imitate e.g. when we see someone crying we feel sad

Question 2

It relies too heavily on evidence from lab studies

Answer 2

• Bandura’s children were observed in lab settings and this raises the problem of demand characteristics → The main purpose of the Bobo doll is to hit it so the children may have been behaving as they thought was expected = doesnt tell us how children learn in everyday life
• doesnt account for adut behaviour
• The children were in an unfamiliar environment
• They might not have behaved as they did towards another child

Question 3

It emphasises the importance of cognitive factors in learning

Answer 3

• Humans and animals store information about the behaviour of others and use this to make judgements about when it is appropriate to perform certain actions
• Learning would be very dangerous if we only relied in the effects of our own actions to inform us what to do

Question 4

It can explain why behaviour between different culture are different - if a behaviour cannot be displayed it cannot be imitated

Answer 4

• able to explain cultural differences in behaviour
• modelling, imitation, reinforcement = shows how children learn from people around them = cultural norms have an impact on behaviour
• e.g. how child understands their gender role

Question 5

It is less determinist than the behaviourist approach → suggests that there is some free will in the way we behave