Social learning theory and applications

Social Learning Theory emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Albert Bandura (1925-

Canadian born Stanford psychologist, is the leading proponent of the theory, which is also sometimes called Social Cognitive Theory.

According to the Social Learning Theory, the human personality and the learning process is the result of interaction between three things -- the environment, behavior, and the person's psychological processes. (Boeree) While Behaviorism emphasizes learning through personal experimentation by focusing on variables that can be observed, measured and manipulated, Bandara has based his theory on the premise that "most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others." (Bandura, 1977. p.22) Bandura is of the view that "learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do." (Ibid)

Bandura developed his theory after conducting the famous "bobo-doll" experiments in which a film of a woman beating the daylights of a bobo doll was shown to a group of young (ages 3 to 6) children. The children's behavior immediately after watching the film was to imitate the behavior of the woman, i.e., they proceeded to beat a bobo doll when taken to a playroom. The children's action was significant because they changed their behavior without being rewarded for doing so. This change of behavior could not be explained by the standard behavioristic learning theory in vogue at the time and it can be deduced from the experiments that the application of consequences was not necessary for learning to take place. Bandura termed the phenomenon observational learning or modeling and it later came to be known as the social learning theory. (Boiree)

Several variations on the "bobo doll" experiments were conducted from which Bandura determined that the following steps were involved in the modeling process:

Attention: In order to learn by observing, it is necessary for an individual to pay attention. The quality of learning depends on the state of both the "learner" and the "model." For example, if the learner is sleepy, drugged, bored or distracted he/she will learn less. Similarly, certain characteristics of the model also affect the learning process, e.g., if the model resembles the learner or is attractive, the learning process is heightened.

Retention: We must be able to remember what has been paid attention to, in order to learn. This 'retention' is done in the form of mental images or verbal descriptions which we can later recall.

Reproduction:

Reproduction involves converting symbolic representations (the images retained) into appropriate actions. This happens with practice even if it is done in the mind. Many athletes, for example, imagine their performance in their mind's eye prior to actually performing.

Motivation: A person must have some motivation to imitate a behavior. This is known as reinforcement and may be positive or negative. Both positive and negative reinforcements have been categorized as "past," "promised" or "vicarious."