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Kendra Walter

Professor Dr. Mark Hawks

Educational Psychology 302

12 November 2015

Social Learning Theory

There are various theories that have developed over the years to explain why

people behave in the way that they do. In the classroom, students learn by observing

their teachers and other students. The majority of the time students learn as a result of

these models. Models actions often speak louder than their words (Ormrod 64).

One theory that is often characterized as a stepping stone between two other

divergent theories of learning, is the social learning theory. Social learning unified

behaviorism and cognitive theory by defining learning as a function of both environment

and mental processes. Albert Bandura, who is credited as the main contributor to this

theory, began to develop this theory in reaction to the limitations that he observed in

behaviorism. For example, behaviorists proposed that learning occurs gradually,

through a series of trial and error; whereas Bandura proposed that learning could take

place without any practice or reinforcement by simply observing other, making it a faster

process (Social Learning Theory).

Many times learners shape their behavior by simply observing and imitating the

behaviors of others around them. Bandura conducted an experiment called the Bobo

Doll experiment. During this experiment, Bandura showed a video of an adult acting
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aggressively toward a Bobo Doll which the children later watched. He then put the

children inside a room and observed how they interacted with the doll. This allowed him

to confirm that these children imitated the behavior previously observed by acting

aggressively toward the doll, an example of vicarious learning (McLeod, Bobo Doll

Experiment).

This replication of a behavior that another individual has previously demonstrated

is referred to as modeling or imitating. Prospective models are evident in all aspects of

life: response facilitation, response inhibition, and response disinhibition. Response

facilitation is exhibited when learners model a behavior of someone else that has a

positive reinforcement. An example would be a student who receives permission to go

to the restroom after raising his hand to ask for permission. Another student then raises

his hand to replicate the behavior. When a students behavior ends in a punishment, this

is response inhibition. When a student is reprimanded for not raising his hand before

talking, other students would see this and decide not to replicate the behavior.

Response disinhibition takes place when a learner knows that a specific behavior is

wrong but continues the behavior when they get away with it. When a student takes a

piece of candy from the teachers candy dish and is not reprimanded for the activity,

other students may try to replicate the activity (McLeod, Social Learning Theory).

Models can be divided into other types of categories, like where the influence

originates. An individual whose behavior is directly observed in ones immediate

environment would be considered a live model. Symbolic models include either real or

fictional characters that exhibit the behavior observed in books, movies, television, and

other media. Third, the verbal instruction model involves the telling of details and
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descriptions of a behavior. Through modeling, students learn skills such as dance steps,

how to throw a ball, solving math problems and how to write organized compositions

(Sincero).

How does one determine which models to observe and replicate? Bandura

identified four characteristics of individuals that influence the modeling process. An

individual who is competent in an area, instead of those how to perform a skill poorly,

will be someone learners will try to imitate. For example, a high school basketball player

might model their shot based upon the professional athlete with the highest shooting

percentage. Other individuals that learners tend to imitate those who are famous or

powerful. These people can have prestige or power from a national level, like

professional athletes, or on the local level, like the captain of their sports team. Learners

also tend to replicate behaviors with those they believe are gender-appropriate. A

female usually looks up to a female, like a female soccer player looking up to a

professional female instead of a male. If a learner believes that a specific behavior will

help him or her later in life, he or she is more likely to model this behavior as well. For

example, a student-athlete may look up to his coach in hopes that he will eventually

become a coach as well (Ormrod, 2012, pp. 64-65).

External influences are not the only factors that can affect ones behavior and

learning. Banduras theory recognizes that the state of mind is a crucial aspect to

learning. Intrinsic reinforcement is a form of internal reward, like pride and a sense of

accomplishment. These internal rewards and cognitions assist by connecting learning

theories with cognitive development (Sincero). Self-efficacy is an important aspect of

this. Self-efficacy has three factors that affect ones behavior. The first factor is an
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individual choosing an activity that he or she enjoys and the individual can successfully

perform. The next step is persistence. The more successful an individual is at an

activity, he or she will put in more effort into the activity. Achievement is the last activity.

When a student has high self-efficacy, it will help him or her learn more effectively and

achieve more goals. A student inside of a classroom may observe another student who

is successful in an activity and it may encourage him or her to also be successful in that

activity (Ormrod 195).

Self-regulation also fits into the social cognitive theory. This is a process of taking

control of ones own learning. These types of learners take control of their learning by

making their own decisions, deciding what they want to achieve, and accomplish their

goals. An example of this in the classroom would be a student that establishes a goal of

all As on their report card and then putting in the time and effort to achieve that goal

(Ormrod 105).

Behaviorists believed that learning brought about a permanent change in

behavior; however, observational learning demonstrates that learning may not result in

immediate change. Learned behavior may only be replicated if the motivation is right.

Four specific steps are involved in observational learning in order for the modeled

behavior to be successful: attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. One must

be paying attention in order to properly learn. Relevant models will better capture and

retain a students full attention. Retention is also an intricate part of the learning

process. It is the ability to store information, ability to then pull up the information and

later act on it. Once these first two steps have been accomplished, one needs to

execute the behavior observed, reproducing the behavior. Continual reproduction will
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help one advance the skill. Without the final step of motivation observational learning is

unsuccessful. One must have the motivation to replicate the modeled behavior. This is

where punishment and reinforcement are demonstrated. For example, if one sees

another student receive extra credit for being in class on time, the individual might begin

to go to class a few minutes early (Cherry).

Social learning theory is used in classrooms every day. Banduras Bobo Doll

experiment shows how children are easily influenced. Models can come from anything

whether live, symbolic or verbal instruction. Students with high self-efficacy and self-

regulation have the tendency to be more successful and achieve more of their goals.

The environment and the learner share the influence that makes up a students

behavior.
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Bibliography

Cherry, Kendra. Social Learning Theory. n.d. 3 November 2015.

<http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/sociallearning.htm>

McLeod, Saul. Bobo Doll Experiment. 2014. 3 November 2015.

<http://www.simplypsychology.org/bobo-doll.html>.

. Social Learning Theory. 2011. 2015 November 2015.

<http://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html>.

Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis. Essentials of Educational Psychology. Boston: Pearson

Education Inc. , 2012. 3 November 2015.

Sincero, Sarah Mae. Social Learning Theory. 25 January 2011. 3 November 2015.

<https://explorable.com/social-learning-theory>.

Social Learning Theory. 2015. 3 November 2015. <http://www.enotes.com/research-

starters/social-learning-theory>.