Psychological Explanations for Anorexia Nervosa: Social Learning Theory (AQA A Level Psychology)

The role of modelling & vicarious reinforcement

• The social learning theory of AN is based around the idea that people wish to be popular and that imitating popular people’s thinness will achieve this aim, especially in a culture where thinness is seen as a sign of beauty 

• Adolescents are seen as especially vulnerable, as they are searching for an identity and heightened self-esteem

• Social learning theory suggests that individuals observe and imitate role models in their lives, especially if they realise that the behaviour exhibited by the role model is seen as positive and rewarded (vicarious reinforcement):

  • modelling - a role model, who may be a parent, sibling, peer or media personality with whom the individual identifies, provides examples of attitudes to food or dieting that may be observed by the individual and then imitated by them

  • vicarious reinforcement - an individual imitates the behaviour of a role model in an attempt to gain the reward that the model achieves through their behaviour, like being complimented for being thin

• Through modelling and vicarious reinforcement, social learning theory can explain why AN occurs more in cultures where beauty is associated with being thin and why it is more of a female disorder, as low body weight is mainly associated with attractiveness in females

The role of the media & cultivation theory

• In many cultures, the media (which includes social media) portrays extreme thinness as being desirable 

• These images are observed and imitated by adolescents to the point at which AN develops 

• As girls and women are bombarded by more ‘desirable’ media images of thinness than men, this can explain why more females than males suffer form AN 

• Cultivation theory explains how increased interaction with the media will lead to internalisation of the messages of thinness, as extremely thin models and actresses create a new reality for media users, that thinness results in beauty, power, femininity and happiness

Cultivation theory shows how repeated interaction with media role models can lead to AN

Research which investigates social learning theory as an explanation for AN 

• Mumford et al. (1991) found heightened levels of AN among Arab and Asian women who moved to Western cultures, which suggests that cultural pressures via the media were to blame, as media emphasis on dieting and female thinness was much less common in their countries of origin

• Eisenberg et al (2005) found that peers also act as role models for social learning and are particularly influential during adolescence, with dieting among friends being significantly related to unhealthy weight control behaviours, such as the use of diet pills or purging

Evaluation of social learning theory as an explanation for AN

Strengths

• Social learning theory is better able than biological explanations or the family systems theory to explain why the prevalence of AN has increased and why it occurs more in females and in certain cultures that promote thinness as a beauty ideal

• There is research evidence that supports the effects of modelling on AN and in this way social learning theory shows practical ways to reduce the prevalence of the disorder in teenage girls through showing celebrities of all sizes in the media and emphasising female strength rather than female thinness

Weaknesses

• Social learning theory cannot explain why eating does not start again when compliments for losing weight stop and negative comments start occurring

• Social learning theory does not explain why only some females develop AN when all are subjected to the same media images of thinness

Link to Approaches: 

Social learning theory explains AN through the identification with a role model, observation of the role model, vicarious reinforcement and finally imitation of the behaviour, which shows how social learning theory can be applied to this disorder.