Social Learning Theory: Observational Learning

The fundamentals of the social learning theory significantly describe offenders and their criminal behavior which is learned based on observation and imitation. A researcher by the name of Albert Bandura along with coworkers tested the social learning theory with several experiments on children and their imitation of aggression based on what they saw and were exposed to. Bandura’s focus was to prove that human behavior such as aggression is learned through social imitations and copying the actions of others. Walters (1966) gives details about the Bobo doll experiment and explains its purpose related to learning a violent behavior based on observation. In the experiment, the tested subjects were children of both sexes, ranging from the ages of three to six years. Some of the children were exposed to a non-aggressive adult, while the other children were placed in a room with an aggressive adult who would both physically and verbally attack the Bobo doll. The control group in the experiment was not exposed to any adult. During the second phase of the experiment, the children were left in a room by themselves with the toys, and watched to see if they would demonstrate the aggressive behavior like that of which they observed adults doing earlier. Walter (1966) describes the results as “children who had been exposed to an aggressive model showed more imitative physical and verbal

Behaviorists argue that people are not born with a violent disposition; rather they learn to think and act violently as a result of their everyday experiences (Bandura, 1977). Albert Bandura (1977) states behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning. This popular behavioral notion is known as the social learning theory. Bandura believes that humans are active information processors and think about the relationship between their behavior and its consequences. Studies of family life, for example, show that aggressive children often model the violent behaviors of their parents. In 1961, Bandura conducted the famous bobo doll experiment in which children observed the people around them behaving in various ways. The experiment involved exposing children to two different adult models; an aggressive model and a non-aggressive one. After observing the adults and their aggressive or non-aggressive behavior, the children were later allowed to play in a room with the Bobo doll by themselves. When they played with the doll by themselves, alone in a room, they began to imitate the actions they had previously observed by the adults. The children who had observed the adults aggressively playing with the doll imitated a similar aggressive behavior while playing with the doll alone. Those who observed the

Throughout this course, we have explored a vast amount of theories, however, Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (SLT) has been the one that intrigued me the most. Bandura’s SLT “strongly emphasized the importance of observational learning and cognitive variables in explaining human behavior (Powell, Honey, & Symbaluk 2017).” According to our readings Bandura agrees with the behaviorist learning theories of classical and operant conditioning, he proposes that the SLT is a result of both person and situation, which does not have the same effect from either component on their own (Powell, Honey, & Symbaluk 2017). One of his most well-known studies involves a bobo doll. In which Bandura demonstrates that when someone observes violent behavior it increases the chances of violence of the spectator, and

Human behaviors are learned emotion through interaction with each other. A child’s brain is like a sponge. It absorbs the behavior of its surroundings. Serial killer’s treatment and view of other people is a learned behavior through interaction with others in society. The Bobo doll experiment conducted by Albert Bandura in 1961-1963 at Stanford University shows how children’s behavior depends on adults that are around them. In the experiment, adults acted aggressively to the Bobo doll and the study was on how the children will react to it after they saw the adults’ interaction with the doll. Bandura conducted the experiment on two models where one of the models contained children exposed to the aggressive act performed by the adult on the Bobo doll. The other model contained children who saw adults act in a pleasant way to the doll. The result of this experiment showed that children exposed to the aggressive model were more likely to act physically aggressive than those who were not (McLeod). This study proved the social learning theory which basically states that children learn behaviors from

Observational learning was form by Albert Bandura during his Bobo Doll experiment. Bobo doll experiment is an experiment where a child seeing his or her parents hitting the bobo doll angrily and follows the actions that was done by their parents. The learning is also known as shaping, modelling and vicarious reinforcement as this can be done in any place at any point in life and is mostly occurs during childhood. The observational learning able to influence one behaviour. As an example, by watching my dad cooks, I’ll able to cooks the dishes that he has just make for lunch. Also by observing others doing something one able to follow and observer others behaviour. However, observational learning can be done by only when others have an authority against

In this experiment, children were first shown a video of an adult hitting, assaulting, punching and kicking the Bobo doll. Then they were brought into a room and left alone with nothing, no toys but a Bobo doll. Later, the children were seen to imitate the actions of the adult in the video, inflicting violence onto the doll. For observational learning to happen, there must be a motivation for people to perform the action. In this case, the children were left with no toys but the Bobo doll. Additionally, they must also observe the actions, retain the memory to be able to reproduce, imitate and repeat the actions carried out by the adult in the video.

In 1961, psychologist Albert Bandura came up with the Social Learning Theory which stated that children learn social behavior, such as aggression, and alter their own through the process of observational learning- observing someone else’s behavior. To test this theory, he created the Bobo Doll Experiment. During this test, three groups of 24 children were places in different rooms with different environments. In one room, 24 children were exposed to non-aggressive behavior towards a bobo doll. In the second room, the children were exposed to aggressive behavior towards the doll. The third room served as the control group; The 24 children in that room were simply taught to ignore the doll. The results showed that the children who witnessed the violent behavior quickly picked up on it and began to act the same towards the doll. Those 24 children made more immitative aggressive responses than those in the non-aggressive and control groups (McLeod 2011). This famous experiement credits many psychologists who believe genetics has nothing to do with criminal

The non-aggressive group of kids watched a video in which the doll was being treated nicely. Lastly, the control condition group was not exposed to any video. Subsequently, children were taken to room full of toys including the Bobo Doll. The observation covered 20 minutes with a kid alone in the room. The results were labeled that children from the aggressive model group tend to imitate more aggressive responses that the other two groups. Also, researchers found that there is a difference between genders; meaning that boys tend to copy the physical aggressive behavior from the same-sex child in the video. And, they also discovered that girls were more tended to show verbally aggressive behavior. In recap, simply, paying attention to a particular behavior like the one showed in the video, would lead to imitation if it calls our

In 1961 the famous Bobo doll experiment was conducted to investigate social behaviors that are acquired by reinforcement techniques. The experiment itself consisted of a modeling methods which tested 36 boys and 36 girls between the ages 3 to 6. The method used in the Bobo doll experiment was controlled by the physical researchers. The experiment itself was divided by aggressive, non-aggressive and a control models, while the children played the researches recorded the children’s behavior every 5 seconds for 20 minutes. The end conclusion of the Bobo dolls experiment is that children learn social behavior such as aggression through the process of observation learning by watching the behavior of another person.

Albert Bandura (1977), the originator of social learning theory, focused his research on the process of how people learn through observation. Social Learning stems from a cognitive and behavioral theory model. This is demonstrated through the well-known Bobo Doll experiment. The experiment entailed a child observing an adult being aggressive towards the Bobo Doll (Pavlov et al., 1961). The results indicated that children imitated the observed behaviors of being aggressive towards the doll (Pavlov et al., 1961).

There have been three suggested theories to explain our acquired patterns of behaviors or learning, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning. (Robbins and Judge, 2009, p. 55) This discussion will look at operant conditioning its extension social learning, and how it pertains to a covenantal framework. Using a personal example I am able to show how the integration of learning and covenantal thinking leads to the success of an organization.

Before the children were left alone with the toy, one group of children ( Group A) watched an adult perform violent actions towards the doll. The other group of children (Group B) watched the adult perform nonviolent acts by ignoring the doll completely and playing with other toys.When the kids were left alone the ones that were in Group A were known to be aggressive towards the toy. The ones in Group B were seen to ignore the Bobo doll and instead play with the tinkertoys left in the lab setting. Bandura applied his steps of the observational learning process to this experiment. This is known because the children must have had to pay attention to act in the way they did towards the doll. Then they had to retain the information so they could recall it back to act on the Bobo doll. The kids had to imitate the violent or nonviolent actions and finally reinforcement was used because there was question of a consequence after the behavior occurred. Throughout life people of all ages engage in this observational

The Social Learning Theory is best defined as crime is learned through associations with others who commit crimes. Juveniles are very impressionable or gullible, wherein they want to be popular or part of the in-crowd or clique. In comparison to the 1970’s versus today, juveniles are emulating criminals depicted on television not just through associations. Consider the current state of technology, specifically the internet and websites such as “You Tube.” With respect to crime and juvenile delinquents, You Tube is and can be a negative influence. In addressing the topics of associations and crime, the Columbine massacre, as well as the current school shootings, can be attributed to the Social Learning Theory.

Skinner, have conducted notable experiments in which they evoke certain behaviors in their subjects. These experiments support this theory’s claim that behavior is learned through experience. It is further believed that crimes are learned responses to various life situations. Humans will mirror the actions and behaviors of those around them, including illegal acts and hostility. Children only learn violence through watching others.

Akers and Sellers (2013) has stated that social learning theory is an expanded theory of differential association processes and improves it with differential reinforcement and other principles of the behavior theory. They added classical conditioning (the sharpening of involuntary reflex behavior); discriminative stimuli (internal stimuli that lead to signals for behavior); schedules of reinforcement (rewards and punishment ratio following behavioral feedback); and other theories of behavior (Akers & Sellers, 2013).