The social learning theory developed by Albert Bandura states that learning occurs as a result of observing the behaviour, attitudes and outcomes of behaviour of others. The theory is sometimes known as modelling as the premise of the theory rests of the fact that humans observe each other and use these observations to inform them on their own behaviour. The individual then is said to be as a result of their environment and vice versa.
Although it is Albert Bandura that is credited with the development of this theory with the paper he wrote in 1977, early stages of the theory can be traced to Robert L. Burgess and Ronald L. Akers in 1966. Burgess and Akers wrote the paper ‘A differential association-reinforcement theory of criminal behaviour’. …show more content…
The first condition is attention as social learning is a process that requires one to be attentive. As such, other factors that affect how much attention the individual is paying would affect the outcome. Secondly, one needs to remember what they have paid attention to which is termed as retention. It is not enough simply to observe the behaviour but the individual would need to retain that information if they are going to replicate it later. Visual aids such as graphics, images and such could reinforce the retention. (Johnson, 2014 p.1). The third condition necessary is reproduction which means that observed behaviour should be close to the individual learning for it to be effective. If the behaviour is not proximal, the learning situation is no longer ideal for learning to occur. Lastly, the fourth condition is motivation. If the individual possesses no motivation to imitate the activity perhaps because they do not see any rewards for it, then they will not have incentive to even pay attention (Johnson, 2014 p. …show more content…
The numerous experiments that were carried out by Bandura and subsequently other researchers show that the assumptions of the learning theory are strong. However, it is this precision and use of several experimental settings that becomes a weakness of this theory. It can be argued that experiments cannot be set up to truly imitate real life situations where other variables may be present during learning. Also, with studies where people are being observed, there is always a chance that they will behave as they feel they are expected to thus distorting the results of the
Although it is Albert Bandura that is credited with the development of this theory with the paper he wrote in 1977, early stages of the theory can be traced to Robert L. Burgess and Ronald L. Akers in 1966. Burgess and Akers wrote the paper ‘A differential association-reinforcement theory of criminal behaviour’. …show more content…
The first condition is attention as social learning is a process that requires one to be attentive. As such, other factors that affect how much attention the individual is paying would affect the outcome. Secondly, one needs to remember what they have paid attention to which is termed as retention. It is not enough simply to observe the behaviour but the individual would need to retain that information if they are going to replicate it later. Visual aids such as graphics, images and such could reinforce the retention. (Johnson, 2014 p.1). The third condition necessary is reproduction which means that observed behaviour should be close to the individual learning for it to be effective. If the behaviour is not proximal, the learning situation is no longer ideal for learning to occur. Lastly, the fourth condition is motivation. If the individual possesses no motivation to imitate the activity perhaps because they do not see any rewards for it, then they will not have incentive to even pay attention (Johnson, 2014 p. …show more content…
The numerous experiments that were carried out by Bandura and subsequently other researchers show that the assumptions of the learning theory are strong. However, it is this precision and use of several experimental settings that becomes a weakness of this theory. It can be argued that experiments cannot be set up to truly imitate real life situations where other variables may be present during learning. Also, with studies where people are being observed, there is always a chance that they will behave as they feel they are expected to thus distorting the results of the