Social learning theory

Social learning theory

• “If knowledge could be acquired only through the effects of one’s own
actions, the process of cognitive and social development would be
greatly retarded, not to mention exceedingly tedious” (Bandura,1986)
Social learning theory
• Explains individual differences in behaviour as resulting from
different learning experiences

• Learning can take place through enactive learning or modelling.

• Enactive learning is based on law of effect

• Modelling can take place in four stages
• Attention
• Retention
• Reproduction
• Reinforcement
• Characteristics of the model are important
• Characteristics of the observer are important
• Vicarious reinforcement
Triadic reciprocal causation
Self-efficacy

• “People’s beliefs in their capability to exercise some measure of

control over their own functioning and over environmental events”
Bandura (2001)

• Self-efficacy vs outcome expectancies

• Self-efficacy vs individual’s aspirations

• Self efficacy vs self-esteem/self-confidence

Sources of self-efficacy - Mastery experiences
• Successful performance raises self-efficacy
in proportion to the difficulty of the task.
• Tasks successfully accomplished by oneself
are more efficacious than those completed
with the help of others.
• Failure is most likely to decrease efficacy
when we know that we put forth our best
effort.
• Failure prior to establishing a sense of
mastery is more detrimental to feelings of
personal efficacy than later failure.
The sources of self-efficacy – Social
modelling
• The vicarious experiences provided by
other people
• The effects of social modeling are not
as strong as those of personal
performance in raising levels of
efficacy, but they can have powerful
effects where inefficacy is concerned.
• The effect of vicarious experiences
may last a lifetime
The sources of self-efficacy – social
persuasion
• Under proper conditions,
persuasion from others can raise
or lower self-efficacy.
The sources of self-efficacy – Physical and
emotional states
• Strong emotion ordinarily lowers
performance and outcome
expectancies
• The nature of the fear influences self-
efficacy
• The nature of task interacts with the
level of arousal.
General strategies for strengthening self
efficacy – What to do?

• Plan moderately challenging tasks – Task should be slightly above

the athlete’s current performance level

• Use peer models – “He is like me if he can do it, I can”

• Teach specific learning strategies – Provide players with a logical

sequence of steps for attacking difficult tasks. These steps make the
task at hand manageable and provide them with a place to start
• Capitalize on athlete’s choice and interest - Lack of choice in school
reading is one reason frequently cited by secondary students who are
willing readers outside of school but resist assigned reading
(Alverman & Phelps, 1998).
• Also capitalize on interest through novelty and relevance

• Reinforce effort and correct strategy use

General strategies for strengthening self
efficacy – What to say?
• Encourage them to try - Teachers should regularly encourage
struggling learners to try new activities, telling them success is likely
if they make the effort, persist, and correctly use previously learned
strategies.
• Stress recent successes -To bolster self-efficacy, teachers/mentors
also can meet with struggling learners to record and chart their recent
successes, to teach them to do this (Alberto & Troutman, 2003; Heron
& Harris, 2001), and to regularly discuss with them the reasons for
their success.
• Give Frequent, Focused, Task-Specific Feedback. Providing
immediate, task-specific feedback is critical when struggling learners
are given something new to learn.
• Stress functional attribution statements – Functional attributions
are optimistic: They tell learners that success is possible and that
making the effort and correctly using the right strategy likely leads to
success. Dysfunctional attributions are pessimistic.
• Applying social learning theory to sport
• Pattern of sport-related behaviour
• Acquiring love of sport

• Sources of influence on social development and sport

• Primary socialisation
• Secondary socialisation
Sport as an influence on social development
• The ‘character-building’ argument – fitness, social competence,
physical competence, moral development, aggression and education

• Discussion on the role of sports in the development of antisocial

behaviour