Social Learning theory

Bandura 's Experiments

In the early 1960s Bandura and other researchers conducted a classic set of experiments that demonstrated the power of observational learning . In one experiment , a preschool child worked on a drawing while a television set showed an adult behaving aggressively toward a large inflated Bobo doll (a clown doll that bounces back up when knocked down . The adult pummeled the doll with a mallet , kicked it , flung it in the air , sat on it , and beat it in the face , while yelling such remarks as "Sock him in the

nose . Kick him . Pow " The child was then left in another room filled with interesting toys , including a Bobo doll . The experimenters observed the child through one-way glass . Compared with children who witnessed a nonviolent adult model and those not exposed to any model children who witnessed the aggressive display were much more likely to show aggressive behaviors toward the Bobo doll , and they often imitated the model 's exact behaviors and hostile words

In a variant of the original experiment , Bandura and colleagues examined the effect of observed consequences on learning . They showed four-year-old children one of three films of an adult acting violently toward a Bobo doll . In one version of the film , the adult was praised for his or her aggressive behavior and given soda and candies . In another version , the adult was scolded , spanked , and warned not to behave that way again . In a third version , the adult was neither rewarded nor punished . After viewing the film , each child was left alone in a room that contained a Bobo doll and other toys . Many children imitated the adult 's violent behaviors , but children who saw the adult punished imitated the behaviors less often than children who saw the other films . However , when the researchers promised the children a reward if they could copy the adult 's behavior , all three groups of children showed large and equal amounts of violent behavior toward the Bobo doll

Bandura concluded that even those children who did not see the adult model receive a reward had learned through observation , but these children (especially those who saw the model being punished ) would not display what they had learned until they expected a reward for doing so The term latent learning describes cases in which an individual learns a new behavior but does not perform this behavior until there is the possibility of obtaining a reward

B Bandura 's Theory of Imitation

According to Bandura 's influential theory of imitation , also called social learning theory , four factors are necessary for a person to learn through observation and then imitate a behavior : attention , retention reproduction , and motivation . First , the learner must pay attention to the crucial details of the model 's behavior . A young girl watching her father bake a cake will not be able to imitate this behavior successfully unless she pays attention to many important details - ingredients , quantities , oven temperature , baking time , and so on . The second factor is retention...