Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

All of us are familiar with ‘playing house.’ We have played house ourselves as kids or watched others do so. This seemingly childish game performs various developmental functions. When children play house they create stories about their roles, such as “I am the Dad,” “You are the Mom.” etc. They also imitate their parent’s roles and gestures.

The child closely observes his/her parents during early childhood and models the family dynamics. This is an example of social learning. According to the American Psychological Association, social learning is learning that is facilitated through social interactions with other individuals. Several forms of social learning have been identified, including:

• Local enhancement: Local enhancement is a type of social learning where one or more individuals engage in a behaviour in a specific location which draws another individual’s attention to that location. This can lead the observer to learn similar behaviours without any interaction between the demonstrator and the observer. For example, ducks in a pen might not notice an escape hole unless another duck escapes through it first, drawing their attention.
• Emulation: In emulation, also known as observation learning, the observer doesn’t copy the exact actions of an expert but tries to achieve the same goal.
• Imitation: Imitation is the act of recording or reproducing a similar act that is influenced by the perception of another person’s or animal’s act
• Mimicry: In mimicry people automatically copy other people’s physical movements, facial expressions, speech patterns, and emotions during interpersonal interactions  without conscious awareness or intent,

Social Learning Theories

Social learning theory focuses on the interaction between environmental and cognitive factors in human learning and behaviour. Various theories of social learning have been put forth in the past decades. We will look at the most influential one, i.e Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

The Bobo Doll Experiment & Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

One of the most famous experiments in the history of psychology was the Bobo-doll experiments conducted by Bandura and his team. It demonstrated that children learn and imitate behaviours they have observed in other people.

Bandura, Ross, and Ross in 1961 tested 36 boys and 36 girls from the Stanford University Nursery School aged between 3 to 6 years old. The children in this experiment observed an adult aggressively beating or verbally abusing a Bobo doll. Their aggressive actions were imitated when they were later allowed to play with the Bobo doll. 

Bandura wrote in his book ‘Social Learning Theory (1977)’, “Most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions, this coded information serves as a guide for action.” His name is mostly associated with observational learning which has been a major area of study in behaviourism.

It can be described as learning that occurs by observing the behaviour of others. An example of observational learning can be apprenticeships where the apprentice learns by observing professionals and is very common in jobs such as carpentry or designing.  Bandura adds two ideas to the theories of classical conditioning and operant conditioning. 

1. A mediating process occurs between stimuli and responses.
2. The process of observational learning helps us learn behaviour from the environment.

For observational learning to happen, cognitive processes need to occur. These mental factors intervene. These factors play a major role in determining whether a new response is acquired. Therefore, individuals do not mindlessly observe the behaviour of a model and imitate it. Some thought is put before imitation, and this consideration is called the mediational process.

There are Four Stages of Mediational Processes According to Bandura

• Attention: Paying attention is essential for learning. Observational learning is adversely affected by anything that distracts your attention. One will be far more likely to concentrate if the model is interesting or the situation is novel.
• Retention: Storing information is also an important part of the learning process. Pulling information later and acting according to it is integral to learning. Various factors can affect retention. 
• Reproduction: After paying attention to the model and retaining the information, it’s time to recreate what you observed. Learned behaviour can be improved and advanced with further practice.
• Motivation: Observational learning is only successful if one is motivated to imitate the modelled behaviour. Reinforcement and punishment play an important role in motivation. Observing others experiencing some type of reinforcement or punishment can also serve as a motivator. For example, in schools extra marks are given for regular class participation, this can motivate other students to participate in class. 

Real-world Instances of Social Learning

• Education: It has been found that females and racial minorities in STEM particularly benefit from exposure to positive role models in education. Research has found that women’s identification with female professors increases their belief in their abilities. Hence it plays a major role in self-efficacy and achievement in the realm of education.
• Media: The harmful effects of the portrayal of violence in media have been a contentious topic for decades. It has been proven that children are likely to imitate or mimic the violent behaviour they observe in the media. In video games where players are rewarded for violent actions enactive learning of aggression occurs which goes beyond passive observation. Consuming violent content can lead to desensitisation which can children plan aggressive acts without any qualms or thoughts about its negative effects.  Positive representation in media can also lead to greater self-confidence. Such as representation of women in STEM has led to a greater number of young girls choosing STEM as their career.

Criticism

Social Learning Theory has been criticised for its complete neglect of biological factors. It also places an excessive emphasis on observation and dismisses the fact that certain behaviours are learnt by children without observation such as walking, sitting up, etc. Researchers have also pointed out the lack of clarity in the cognitive process mentioned by Bandura. 

In conclusion, while social learning theory can describe some behaviours and sheds light on how certain things are learnt by children it alone cannot be used to solve the puzzle of understanding human behaviour.