Learning Theory
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
Theory:
Bandura believes that people learn by watching the behaviour of others.
If children watch adults gaining pleasure from an activity, or being punished for
an activity, they will either repeat or reject those behaviours.
Aggression can be learned from watching others behave in an aggressive
manner.
Bandura believed violence and aggressions are produced by:
An arousal event.
: Learned aggressive skills.
- Expected success and rewards (vicarious reinforcements)
-
Pro-violence values. Vicarious reinforcement- reinforcement that is
experienced through watching another person
Behaviour can be learnt from: being rewarded or punished for a behaviour.
family
authority figures
culture symbols(like TV)
peers
people you admire.
Bandura carried out a series of tests involving a Bobo doll.
Supporting The experiment involved exposing children to an adult models: an
research: aggressive model or a non-aggressive model.
In the aggressive model, adults were seen to kick and pummel the doll and
also hit it with a mallet and throw it in the air.
After witnessing the adults’ behaviour, the children would then be placed
in a room without the model and were observed to see if they would
imitate the behaviours they had witnessed earlier.
Children in the aggressive condition were much more likely to play aggressively with
How does this the Bobo doll than both of the other two groups of children. These children imitated
theory explain the aggression that they viewed in the adults with more imitation of same sex
criminal models.
behaviour? Bandura concluded that aggression can be learnt through imitation, by observing
aggressive models.
Key terms: Models: a model is a person who is observed/imitated.
Observational learning: this is where viewers learn behaviour from, watching others by seeing
them rewarded or punished.
Modelling: learning behaviours through viewing and identifying with others.
4
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
Theory:
Bandura believes that people learn by watching the behaviour of others.
If children watch adults gaining pleasure from an activity, or being punished for
an activity, they will either repeat or reject those behaviours.
Aggression can be learned from watching others behave in an aggressive
manner.
Bandura believed violence and aggressions are produced by:
An arousal event.
: Learned aggressive skills.
- Expected success and rewards (vicarious reinforcements)
-
Pro-violence values. Vicarious reinforcement- reinforcement that is
experienced through watching another person
Behaviour can be learnt from: being rewarded or punished for a behaviour.
family
authority figures
culture symbols(like TV)
peers
people you admire.
Bandura carried out a series of tests involving a Bobo doll.
Supporting The experiment involved exposing children to an adult models: an
research: aggressive model or a non-aggressive model.
In the aggressive model, adults were seen to kick and pummel the doll and
also hit it with a mallet and throw it in the air.
After witnessing the adults’ behaviour, the children would then be placed
in a room without the model and were observed to see if they would
imitate the behaviours they had witnessed earlier.
Children in the aggressive condition were much more likely to play aggressively with
How does this the Bobo doll than both of the other two groups of children. These children imitated
theory explain the aggression that they viewed in the adults with more imitation of same sex
criminal models.
behaviour? Bandura concluded that aggression can be learnt through imitation, by observing
aggressive models.
Key terms: Models: a model is a person who is observed/imitated.
Observational learning: this is where viewers learn behaviour from, watching others by seeing
them rewarded or punished.
Modelling: learning behaviours through viewing and identifying with others.
4
