Social Learning Theory Psychology

Accomplishment is socially judged by ill defined criteria so that one has to rely on others to find out how one is doing (Kearsley, 2008). ” This was stated by Albert Bandura, who is one of the two major contributors to the social learning theory. Bandura was born the youngest and only male of six siblings on December 4, 1925, in Mundare, Canada (Pajares, 2004). Fast-forwarding through his childhood, Bandura eventually found himself attending the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. His happening to fall into psychology was simply a fluke for him, for he was planning to get a degree in the biological sciences (Pajares, 2004).

Bandura carpooled with peers to school who were all majors in engineering and pre-med, which entailed them to have early morning classes (Pajares, 2004). To fill his workload, Bandura had an open-morning spot to fill on his roster, which is where he fell into an introduction to psychology course (Pajares, 2004). He was instantly intrigued, which led him on his path to becoming one of the great contributors to this field. In 1949, he graduated with the Bolocan Award in psychology from the University of British Columbia (Pajares, 2004).

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His next task was to knock down graduate school, where he attended at the University of Iowa and received his Ph. D. in clinical psychology in 1952 (Pajares, 2004). Starting already in 1953, Bandura found himself teaching at Stanford University where he came across a well-educated student by the name of Richard Walters (Pajares, 2004). The two found themselves equally interested in the studies of explaining antisocial aggression in young males who came from wholesome households in upper-class residential areas in comparison to demonstrating that multiple opposing conditions may lead to behavioral problems (Pajares, 2004).

This particular study led Bandura and Walters to co-write a book, Adolescent Aggression, in 1959 (Pajares, 2004). From there, Bandura wrote a chain of numerous books dealing with the social learning theory. Later he became a found member and elected President of the American Psychological Association in 1973 (Pajares, 2004). The second major contributor to the social learning theory came from a man by the name of Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist who was born in 1896 (Gallagher, 1999).

Vygotsky was said to be a connoisseur of literature and philosophy (Gallagher, 1999). He attended the University of Moscow, where he studied and received a degree in law (Gallagher, 1999). It was not until 1924 when Vygotsky became interested in psychology (Gallagher, 1999). He had written a paper, The Psychology of Art, in 1925 which he used primarily in his thesis at the Moscow Institute of Psychology. Between the years of 1924-1934, before his death due to Tuberculosis, is when all his psychology work was practiced (Gallagher, 1999).

In those 10 years of research and study of psychology, Vygotsky became an active follower of the sociocultural theory which suggests that development of a child relies on interaction with people and the tools or resources that the culture provides to help form their personal view of the world (Gallagher, 1999). The social learning theory (SLT), among others, is one of the most commonly used models currently. SLT is not a horribly complex model, for it is based around the interactions made from one another through observations, imitations, and modeling (Learning, 2008).

Due to the fact that the SLT encompasses attention, memory, and motivation, it is said to be a bridge for psychologists between behaviorists and cognitive learning (Learning, 2008). The SLT focuses on the prospect that people learn through observing other people’s behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes of those behaviors observed (Learning, 2008). The social learning theory has three basic principles which make the breakdown of the theory very clear. The first principle is that people can learn through observation (Boeree, 2006). Bandura had conducted a well-known experiment known as the “Bobo Doll Study” (Boeree, 2006).

In this study, Bandura had a set of dolls to which adult figures would interact with, in terms of gentle and/or aggressive behavior while children observed. Later, children were let into the room and were allowed to play with the same set of dolls that the adults had previously used. From observational learning, the children themselves inflicted the same type of behavior that the adults previously did. The children who observed a gentle act toward the Bobo doll reacted in the same way to pursue a more calm and loving affect toward the doll.

In contrast, the children who observed aggressive behavior toward the Bobo doll also copied the same behavior of aggression toward the doll (Boeree, 2006). Bandura came up with three basic models of observational learning through conducting this study (Boeree, 2006). The first model is a live model. This involves an actual human individual who is acting out or demonstrating a particular behavior (Boeree, 2006). The second model is the verbal instructional approach. This involves giving the description and directions to acting out a certain behavior (Boeree, 2006). The third and last model is the symbolic model.

This encompasses real of fictional characters. These characters are set to display behaviors in books, television, movies, or online media (Boeree, 2006). The second of the three basic principles is mental states are important to learning (Boeree, 2006). In greater detail, this involves and contributes to intrinsic reinforcement. Bandura was the contributor to this that previously noted that external, environmental reinforcement was not the only factor to influence learning and behavior (Boeree, 2006). This is where the idea of intrinsic reinforcement comes into place.

This type of reinforcement is internal, which can include feelings of satisfaction, pride, and sense of accomplishment (Boeree, 2006). This is how the term of “social cognitive theory” correlates directly with the social learning theory. These types of reinforcements emphasize the internal thoughts and cognitions to help cooperate with theories of cognitive development (Boeree, 2006). The last of the three basic principles is that learning does not necessarily lead to change in behavior (Boeree, 2006). This means that observational learning does not define all observed behaviors; not all behaviors must be and are acting on (Boeree, 2006).

One can learn something through observation without demonstrating the new information attained. These three main principles paved the way for more of Bandura’s work in the SLT, and the introduction to specific modeling process. The modeling process consists of four primary steps which lead to the development of understanding social learning theory. The first step is known by the word of “Attention” (Learning, 2008). This concept states that in order for an individual to learn, they have to be paying attention.

It is possible for distractions of course, but anything that distracts one is going to ultimately have a negative effect on the observational learning taking place (Learning, 2008). A few examples of distractions could include being sleepy, groggy, sick, nervous, drugged, or even “hyper” in a sense can affect the learning process. All of those feelings can be competing factors with one’s attention p. Likewise, for something that may be of interest to the subject, full attention could be put into place and more dedication to observing and absorbing new information could happen (Learning, 2008).

The second step is known as “Retention” (Learning, 2008). Retention is known as the storing process of observational learning. The ability or lack of to store or remember information plays an important role in the learning process (Learning, 2008). Retention, just like attention, can be affected by many different factors as well. This is also where imagery and language come into play. One is able to store information in terms of verbal knowledge or imagery knowledge, depending on the subject and situation.

Later, one is expected to “bring up” the previously observed information if retention was successful (Learning, 2008). No need to say that retaining information is a vital aspect to observational learning. Third on the list of steps for the social learning model is “Reproduction” (Learning, 2008). This is where the performance of information retained is put into place. Once one has actually gone thorough attention and retained the proper information necessary, it is expected that one can perform the behavior initially learned (Learning, 2008).

Of course, there are limitations to the ability of being able to perform certain tasks. For example, one can watch an Olympic gold medalist do an entire gymnastic tumbling routine on the mat, but may not have the ability to flex their body that particular way and be able to perform some of the stunts observed. This is why there is a leniency for the ability to perform tasks for the purpose that further practice may be needed (Learning, 2008). With a combination of practice of the learned behavior and continuous observation of the behavior, the performance level may have improvement and further skill advancement.

The final of the four proper steps is “Motivation” (Learning, 2008). In order for most observational learning to be successful to any state, motivation is crucial to imitate the modeled behavior (Learning, 2008). There are several factors that Bandura stated to be a vital part in the motivational factor of the observed behavior performance. Reinforcement and punishment are key concepts in motivation levels (Learning, 2008). Past reinforcement, such as a reward after a proper outtake of the behavior, can motivate one to imitate the new observed behavior.

In contrast, past punishment can be the same type of motivator. One who was punished previously for not conducting the observed behavior properly will make one want to conduct the new behavior successfully because they are aware of the consequences if not done properly (Learning, 2008). Also, promised reinforcements or punishments can do the same type of influence. A promised reinforcement, such as a treat, could make one strive to perform the task correctly. On the other hand, a promised punishment, such as a threat, can give the same affect (Learning, 2008).