Modelling: For social learning to take place there must be a 'model' who may be parents/peers or someone in the media. They provide examples of attitudes to food or dieting behaviour that can be observed by the individual and imitated by them.
Reinforcement: Individual imitates a model's behaviour, others respond to the imitated behaviour. Positive response = makes individual feel better about themselves so they continue the behaviour (losing weight). May also see others being reinforced for their thinness (vicarious reinforcement) so they assume they'll havethe same response so then attempt to lose weight.
Maternal role models: Research suggests problematic eating behaviour is common in families of individuals with ED - focused mainly on mother-daughter relationship, some suggest that mothers 'model' weight concerns for their daughters. Studies found similarities between mothers and daughters restraint/dieting behaviours amoung children as young as 10. Other research - mothers who complain about their weight = children more likely to have weight concerns. Influence greater for daughters than sons.
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