Social learning theory explains how people acquire new behaviors, attitudes and emotional reactions through observing and imitating others. Bandura's formulation frames learning as a cognitive process occurring in a social context, with reciprocal determinism: an individual's behavior is shaped by the environment, and the environment is in turn shaped by the individual's behavior. The term predates Bandura, first used by Neal Miller and John Dollard in 1941.
Facts
Core ClaimLearning is not purely behavioral but a cognitive process occurring in a social context, through observation and imitation, with behavior and environment shaping each other reciprocally. 1 FAQs
Why do people not copy every behavior they watch, according to social learning theory?
Four mediational processes, attention, retention, reproduction and motivation, decide whether an observed behavior is imitated.
Social learning theory holds that people learn by observing and imitating others, but watching a behavior does not guarantee that it is repeated. Bandura described mediational processes, namely attention, retention, reproduction and motivation, that determine whether an observed behavior is actually imitated. An observer has to notice the model, remember what was done, be able to carry it out, and have a reason to do so. Seeing a model rewarded or punished also shapes whether an observer imitates, even when the observer is not rewarded directly.
Connections
Associated With
Observational learning is the specific mechanism at the core of Bandura's broader social learning theory. This atlas records them as related but distinct entities, so this link is an association, never a variant.
Source Wikipedia: Social learning theory
The Bobo doll experiment is the classic empirical demonstration of Bandura's social learning theory.
Source Wikipedia: Bobo doll experiment
Developed By
Source Wikipedia: Social learning theory
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Informed
Also in Crime and Justice Atlas: which this subject informed.
Source Wikipedia: Social learning theorytier 2
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Social learning theory
Wikimedia Foundationintro paragraph
Social learning theory is a psychological theory of social behavior that explains how people acquire new behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions through observing and imitating others.
body text
Learning is not purely behavioral; rather, it is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context
Associated With: Observational Learning, Article body
Learning involves observation, extraction of information from those observations, and making decisions about the performance of the behavior (observational learning or modeling).
2. Wikipedia: Albert Bandura
Wikimedia FoundationbibliographyQuote, bibliography
Social Learning Theory
Wikipedia: Bobo doll experiment
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: The Bobo Doll Experiment, Article body, section connecting the experiment's findings to social learning theoryQuote, Associated With: The Bobo Doll Experiment, Article body, section connecting the experiment's findings to social learning theory
Social learning theory proposes that people learn largely through observation, imitation, and modelling. The Bobo doll experiment demonstrates that people learn not only by being rewarded or punished but they can also learn from watching someone else being rewarded or punished.
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