Social learning theory

Basic assumptions:

• Behaviour is learned from the environment, so therefore it does not regard genetics as an influence on behaviour
• Behaviour is learned from observing others and the reinforcement or punishment they recieve

Bobo Doll study (Bandura 1961) -

• Children aged 3 to 5 were split into two groups
• One group saw an adult acting violently towards the bobo doll and the other group saw the adult playing nicely with the doll.
• Bandura found that when the children were left alone, the children who had saw the adult acting violently also acted violently towards the doll. The children who had saw the adult playing nicely with the doll also played nicely with the doll.
• It was also found that if the adult was of the same sex as the child, the child would copy the adult's behaviour more.

Key concepts - 

Imitation: Copying the behaviour of a role model.

Identification:

Adopting a range of attitudes…