PSYC 2130 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13: Social Learning Theory, Observational Learning, Classical Conditioning
18 Dec 2016
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PSYC 2130 Personality – Textbook Notes
Chapter 13: The Social Learning Approach
• The social learning approach focuses on social factors that shape personality. This approach is
concerned with three related issues:
a. The processes by which individuals learn from social models
b. The actual models to which all persons are exposed (family members, teachers, etc.)
c. The content of social learning (the various behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes learned)
• This third form of learning is called observational learning, modeling, or vicarious conditioning.
Early Social Learning Theory
• According to Bandura and Walter’s soial learning theory articulated in the 1960s, the
mechanism through which personality is shaped are classical conditioning, operant conditioning,
and modeling.
o Theory states that the ehiles or ageies through hih soial learig ours are
the persos’ faily ad other eers of the ultural eiroet.
I. Observational Learning
• Observational learning – the process by which the behavior of one person, the observer, is
altered through exposure to the behavior of one or more persons (models).
• Modeling cues – specific behaviors exhibited by the model
o Live modeling – observing models in the flesh
o Symbolic modeling – involves indirect exposure to models, through movies, reading etc.
• Observational learning is a three-stage process:
a. Exposure to modeling cues
o Someone must witness and attend to behavior of a model
b. Learning from these cues (acquisition)
o It requires that person pay adequate attention to the modeling cue and retain them
c. Accepting these ues as a guide for the oserer’s o atios (aifested i spotaeous
performance).
o Acceptance can take two force of behavior: imitation or counter-imitation.
▪ Imitation – behaving as model did
▪ Counter-imitation – behaving in a different, opposite way
▪ Indirect imitation – ioles ehaior siilar to odel’s that does ot dupliate
the odel’s ehaior preisely
▪ Indirect counter-imitation – uses modeling cues a basis for engaging in an
opposing class of behaviors.
• Bandura’s Boo Doll Study
o Demonstrated the effects of vicarious consequences – consequences received by the
model – upo oserers’ ehaior.
▪ Various reinforcement tends to increase the likelihood that a model will be
emulated, whereas vicarious punishment tends to decrease the immediate
likelihood that model will be emulated.
• Vicarious consequences
o Various consequences also have an attention-focusing effect.
o Vicarious consequences – osered outoes of a odel’s atios.
o Vicarious reinforcement – refers to a consequence for the model that an observer views
as desirable. It increases the chances that the observer will imitate the model.
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