Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory suggests that we learn from the environment through observation, reinforcement and the process of modelling. Models are more likely to be imitated if they are similar to the observers.

Vicarious Learning

We often don't need direct reinforcement to reproduce behaviour, we learn through others' mistakes or successes.

• Vicarious reinforcement - When you imitate the behaviour of someone who has been reinforced for that behaviour (eg avoiding hot water after watching someone be burned by it).
• Vicarious punishment - When the tendency to engage in a behaviour is weakened after having observed the negative consequences for another engaging in that behaviour.
• Vicarious extinction - When it is noticed that the person who has been observed engaging in the behaviour is no longer rewarded, so the behaviour that was once imitated stops.

The Social Learning Process

Bandura (1977) recognised the importance of cognitive processes and combined these with operant conditioning theory to come up with the idea that learning occurs mainly through observation and imitation. By observing others, we learn how to do things and we can also predict the likely consequences of…