Social Learning Theory
- Social learning theory (SLT) was proposed by Bandura (1972) as a more nuanced explanation of behaviourism
- SLT takes the principles of behaviourism (people are shaped by their environment) and refines it to include the mechanisms of how people (particuarly children) learn from others
- SLT posits the idea that children learn via observation of role models particularly parents but also other significant people such as teachers, older siblings, celebrities
- The concept behind SLT is that the child observes the behaviour of a role model and then (if the behaviour is observed frequently) imitates that behaviour in different contexts e.g. a child observes domestic violence at home and goes on to imitate this sort of behaviour at school (bullying)
- It is more likely that a child will imitate the behaviour of role models with whom they identify e.g. same-sex parent or sibling
- Reinforcement plays a role in SLT:
- The child observes a specific behaviour from a role model e.g. an aggressive parent
- The child sees that the aggressive parent is rewarded e.g. power over the other parent
- The aggressive parent experiences positive reinforcement e.g. they got what they wanted
- The child internalises what they have just seen e.g. 'I want to feel like that'
- Vicarious reinforcement has taken place e.g. the child has observed the reward gained by the aggressive parent and thus is motivated to behave similarly to gain such a reward for themselves
- This aspect of SLT is what separates it from behaviourism as it involves a degree of cognition