SOCIAL

DEVELOPMENT

Unit 1 AOS1 DP 3C
REMEMBER?
HOW WE MEASURE “DEVELOPMENT”?

Social development
involves changes in an
individual’s
Physical development
relationships with
involves changes in the
other people and their
body and its various
skills in interacting
systems e.g. of the
with others e.g.
brain and the nervous
forming and
system
maintaining close
Cognitive relationships in a group
development involves situation
changes in an
Emotional
individual’s mental
development involves
abilities e.g.
changes in how an
reasoning, problem
individual experiences
solving, perception
c02Thecomplexityofpsychologicaldevelopment.pdf (jacplus.com.au) different feelings and
how these feelings are
expressed, interpreted
and dealt with
WHAT IS SOCIAL SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT = Involves active
DEVELOPMENT learning of skills, attitudes and
AND
behaviours that enable us to interact
BEHAVIOUR
(SMK) with other people.

SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR = “any action that is

influenced directly or indirectly by the
actual, imagined or implied presence of
others” (APA 2022)
SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY (SMK)
 SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY (SCT) (also known as Social Learning
Theory) created by Albert Bandura suggests that we learn social
behaviour and social norms through OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING.

 Social behaviours are modelled by members of a group and are learnt

through observation or imitation of those behaviours, based on the
consequences of the behaviour.

 Our social development is therefore impacted by the actions of those

around us

In pairs, discuss a time where you learnt how to do something by simply observing.
 Who modelled the behaviour that you observed before you tried it?
 What was the behaviour?
 Why do you think you copied them?
 MODELS (SMK)
A model is who or what is being observed (live or symbolic)
 Live – real life person acting or describing a behaviour
 Symbolic – is a real or fictional character in books/movies/other
media

SCT suggests that humans can learn from a model, either:

 Directly (through consequences) OR
 Indirectly through observation of models and the
consequences they receive (vicarious reinforcement)

 People can learn both positive and negative behaviours, but we are
more likely to imitate behaviour that has positive consequences.
 Once such information is stored in memory it serves as a guide for
future actions.

Who are some of your models?

WHERE’S THE COGNITION?
To say that simply observing behaviour automatically leads to
learning a behaviour would be a major oversimplification.

Bandura claimed that cognition needs to be viewed as a mediator

between social environmental stimuli and behaviour.

Bandura believed that we do not simply react to the world around

us (behaviourist approach), we pay attention, interpret (rewards
and punishments), design a plan considering our abilities and goals
and then behave in a way to gain desired outcome.

Bandura broke this down in to four cognitive components:

THE SCT COGNITIVE PROCESS (SMK)
Attention
The Learner must pay attention to
the model
Retention
The learner must be able to
remember the model’s behaviour
Reproduction
The observer must be physically or
mentally able to replicate the
behaviour. This influences their
decision to imitate the behaviour
Motivation
The learner must be motivated to
demonstrate the behaviour due to
observed consequences

Each cognitive stage must be met for learning and reproduction to

occur.
7
 OTHER ASPECTS OF SCT (SMK)
 Motivation relies on several factors of the role model:
1. Consistency of model’s behaviour,

2. If you identify with the model (same age, gender, etc)

3. Rewards/Punishments of model’s behaviour

4. Liking the model – Warm, friendly models are more likely

to be copied than negative, ill-tempered models.

 Self- efficacy – extent which individuals believe they can

master a particular skill or behaviour.
 Reciprocal determinism – individual behaviour is influenced by
and influences social structures.
 Human agency - we are agents of our own behaviour, self
regulating, reflecting and proactive. We don’t imitate role models
blindly.
BASHING BOBO STUDY (SMK)
In 1961, Albert Bandura conducted an observational learning
study

Findings showed:
 The majority of children mimicked the behaviour they had
seen
 Boys were much more aggressive than girls (3 to 1)
 Aggressive behaviour was higher if the “aggressive model”
the child saw was the same gender as them

Bobo Doll experiment (Bandura) - YouTube

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SCT
Does TV violence make us more violent?

Australian rating system tends to give harsher ratings to movies

that depict sexual situations rather than violence. Given what we
know about observational learning, how do you feel about this?

What about violent video games?

https://youtu.be/qwv_wTUNwLs
POSITIVE EFFECTS OF SCT
Can TV have a positive effect on our behaviour?
 https://youtu.be/opoGqpDfPAY

 https://youtu.be/eS-hPjNnQT0

 The Sabido Method - This application was pioneered by

Miguel Sabido in the 1970s, using a serial drama in Mexico
to promote family planning strategies.

 The Sabido method has been used to reduce intergroup

conflict in Kenya and to change social norms regarding
financial indebtedness in South Africa.

 Effect in South Africa

LOGBOOK ACTIVITY 6: SCT
REFLECTION
1. Write in dot point a summary of the procedure for this experiment.
Refer to handout.
2. What are two ethical concerns of Bandura’s study?
3. Why did Bandura evaluate level of aggression first? What is a problem
with the method he used?
4. What were the independent variables (3)?
5. What were the dependent variables (2)?
6. According to SCT, why does it make sense that aggressive behaviour
was higher if the “aggressive model” the child saw was the same
gender as them?
7. Do you believe watching aggression on tv or in video games has a
negative effect on our behaviour? Explain why.
8. Do you think that suggestive, sexual, or violent music lyrics
are applicable to observational learning as well? Why or why not?
9. As future parents, how will you utilize the theories of observational
learning in raising your children?