Social Learning Theory

Question 1

Define ‘role model’.

Answer 1

A person looked to by other as someone who they can identify with as an example to be imitated due to admiring them and being of higher status.

Question 2

What 3 variables did Pennington (1986) identify in a role model?

Answer 2

1) Characteristics of the role model
2) Characteristics of the observer
3) Consequences of the behaviour for the model

Question 3

Give 3 examples of relatable characteristics of the role model.

Answer 3

1) Gender
2) Age
3) Status

Question 4

Give 2 examples of characteristics of the observer.

Answer 4

1) Self-esteem

2) Self efficacy

Question 5

What are the 3 different types of role models, give an example for each.

Answer 5

1) Live (e.g. parents)
2) Verbal (e.g. Jesus)
3) Symbolic (e.g. Batman)

Question 6

State the 4 main stages of social learning.

Answer 6

1) Attention
2) Retention
3) Reproduction
4) Motivation

Question 7

Describe the first stage of social learning.

Answer 7

• The observer pays attention to the role model in order to learn from them
• It is likely to be someone the observer looks up to

Question 8

Describe the second stage of social learning.

Answer 8

• The behaviour being modeled needs to be retained by the observer
• It is usually required to be imitated at a later time
• Mental rehearsal is a good way of remembering complicated actions
• This can mean that behaviour is not copied immediately but can emerge later

Question 9

Describe the third stage of social learning.

Answer 9

• The behaviour is then performed
• This involves reproducing the actions that have been observed and retained
• People with lower self-esteem are more likely to imitate the behaviour of role models
• In order for the behaviour to be imitated the observer needs to have self efficacy to believe they have the skills to reproduce

Question 10

Describe the fourth stage of social learning.

Answer 10

• Whether the behaviour is continued depends on motivation
• Motivation may come from vicarious, external, and internal reinforcements
• The observer is more likely to copy behaviour if motivated by vicarious or internal reinforcement

Question 11

Define ‘vicarious reinforcement’.

Answer 11

If a behaviour is punished it is less likely to be repeated and if rewarded it is more likely to be repeated. It can also generalise to successful and unsuccessful actions.

Question 12

Define ‘external reinforcement’.

Answer 12

If a behaviour is rewarded it will be repeated.

Question 13

Define ‘internal reinforcement’.

Answer 13

Behaviour is more motivating if some internal need is satisfied, such as excitement.

Question 14

Define ‘vicarious learning’.

Answer 14

If an individual is rewarded for carrying out a certain behaviour then another individual may copy and so we learn through others’ mistakes or successes.

Question 15

Define ‘vicarious punishment’.

Answer 15

Occurs when engaging in a behaviour is weakened after having observed the negative consequences of another engaging in that behaviour.

Question 16

Define ‘vicarious extinction’.

Answer 16

Occurs when it is noticed that the person who has been observed engaging in the behaviour is no longer rewarded and so the behaviour that was once imitated stops.

Question 17

Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 ‘evidence’ points.

Answer 17

P - Bandura’s (1961) research supports
E - Found that children displayed more aggressive acts when they had seen an aggressive role model attack a Bobo doll
E - Therefore demonstrating that we can learn behaviours through observation
P - Bandura’s (1965) research supports
E - Found that children copied the aggressive acts from the role models more if they had seen them experience a reward compared to seeing them punished
E - Therefore demonstrating the importance of observing the consequence for a role models’ behaviour

Question 18

Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate a high and low ‘how’ point.

Answer 18

P - High reliability
E - Standardised procedure (children see same aggressive behaviour displayed) in a controlled environment
E - Easy to replicate the conditions
P - Low ecological validity
E - Artificial conditions that are unnatural to the ppts as have never see an Bobo doll before
E - Therefore doesn’t represent aggression and the imitation of behaviours in real life as Bobo doll doesn’t hit back

Question 19

Are there any applications?

Answer 19

P - Yes
E - It highlights how people, such as children, will reproduce the behaviour they observe from their role models
E - This has lead to measures such as the watershed being put in place so that TV shows that include mature content protect children by only showing them after 9pm

Question 20

Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 low ‘credibility’ points.

Answer 20

P - Low generalisability
E - Studies mainly include children due to it being hard to find adults to put in controlled conditions with realistic role models
E - Therefore may only represent how children learn from them due to the complex social differences
P - Bandura’s studies only show short-term effects
E - Don’t know whether the aggression was repeated in the future
E - In real life there is often a time lapse between retention and reproduction and so it doesn’t always happen immediately