SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

Educational Psychology 302

APRIL 11, 2017

DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
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Social Learning Theory

Carson Gross

Educational Psychology 302

10 April 2017

The Theory of Social Learning

There are three major learning theories in the field of education. They are

Constructivism, Behaviorism, and Social Learning Theory. Each type is different in their own

way, but do merge with each other in specific areas. As an educator, one will need to learn types

of theories and skills to help you become a successful role model for your students. Teaching is a

career that is not made for everyone and is a fulfilling career with countless opportunities. In my

paper, I will explain what the social learning theory is, who created it, how to implement it in a

classroom setting, and why it has such an impact on kids around the world.

The social learning theory was created by a man named Albert Bandura. Bandura was

born on December 4th, 1925. He grew up in a small town of Mundare, which is located in the

northern area of Alberta, Canada. Mr. Bandura was a hardworking man who was successful in

anything he did. After high school, he went to the University of British Columbia and received

his bachelors degree in psychology. After, he went on to the University of Iowa and received his

Ph.D. in psychology and became more interested in the field of behaviorist and the learning

theory.

Bandura then continued his own life after schooling and decided to dig deeper into the

social learning and psychology of humans. He started teaching to start off his career. First he got

a postdoctoral job at Wichita Guidance Center, then went to Stanford university. At Stanford

University, his accomplishments flourished. He teamed up with another graduate student named
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Richard Walters. The two published their first book called Adolescent Aggression in the year

1959. Other accomplishments he achieved while at Stanford University were becoming the

president of the APA and receiving the APA award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions.

To this day, Albert is still working hard each day and accomplishing many aspects to help his

learning theory.

What is the social learning theory? It is the view that people learn by observing others

(Social Learning Theory Lesson, 2017). Many individuals learn from one another by

observations, imitating, and even modeling. This theory also explains how people learn new

behaviors, attitude, and values from observing others actions. An example of a learned behavior

would be a certain slang or speech you use every day, or even manners you were taught as a

child. This is all explained by the environment you grew up in, your genetics, and past

experiences learned.

Children are always watching what an older person is doing and try and copy what they

see. When it comes to teaching, we are models to students and our actions will eventually

become theirs. We must make sure we are providing the right example and showing positive

behavior. In the theory of social learning there are four requirements that are necessity for a

successful model. They are attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. In the attention

process, students must follow and pay attention while watching a model in the most complex

ways. Attention is very crucial for retaining information for your working memory. The second

process is the retention area. Retention is when the learner must remember what they saw. In the

classroom, a teacher may give you a verbal message and a visual image. Most people are

complex learners and the more ways they retain the information, the more successful they will

be.
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Following the retention stage comes the reproduction stage. This is the third step in

becoming effective. In this stage the student must be able to act out the behavior they are

modeling. There may be some ability to lacking in motor skills, which is common. An example

used in the book included a kindergartener watching a high schooler throw a ball, while the

younger student doesnt have the strength and power to be as successful. An important note to

remember as a teacher is respecting other cultures. When learning new behavior, it can be

strenuous and some may want space before performing in front of the class. The last stage in the

modeling process is motivation. This is a major key to success. If you dont have the will power

to act out a certain behavior, why are you even doing it in the first place? When youre an

educator, you may want to give ideas of why it is worth acting out a certain behavior and give

them the positives and negatives of certain situations. Give them examples of famous people and

how they worked hard to get where they are today.

A famous experiment was completed to explain this theory in detail and to see if it

explains if humans learn by observation of others. The lab was called the bobo doll experiment

and was led by Albert Bandura, the man behind this theory. Bandura, along with two others

accumulated thirty-six boys and thirty-six girls between the age of three to six. The kids were

split into three categories; aggressive model, non-aggressive model, and a model where kids

were not shown anything, becoming the control group. Each group was given a time of ten

minutes to play in a small room with toys and a doll.

During the experiment, the aggressive modeled group watched as an adult male or female

attacked aggressive towards the bobo doll. The adults used tools to beat the doll and used verbal

language. In the non-aggressive model, the group of kids played in a quiet and meaningful

manner. The final group of kids were used as the control group and were not exposed to any
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model. While the kids were placed in different groups, the results were not shocking at all. The

kids who were placed in the aggressive model, showed angry and aggression towards the bobo

doll. Gender also played a major role in this experiment. Girls tended to show more aggression if

they were watching a male and used more verbal aggression while watching a female. The boys

intimated more males than female adults, along with being more physical than girls. As Albert

Bandura concluded this experiment, his hypothesis was correct and children do learn social

behavior through observation of another person.

Following the bobo doll experiment, Bandura came up with multiple ideas that lead to his

hypothesis being true. He came up with finding three different models of observation and they

were a live model, a verbal model, and symbolic model. In the live model, people are more

common to act out what an actual person is doing. The verbal model explains how learned

behavior is involved with telling details and description of a specific behavior. Lastly is the

symbolic model which explains modeling a character who is real or fake from a movie, radio

show, television, or other types of media. These three models explain the different types of

learning and what drives a person to act in a certain manner.

Another finding from the bobo doll experiment is reciprocal determinism. The definition

is a persons behavior and the world around them have influence on each other (K, D., 2015).

Bandura found out that young children learn from three aspects and they are the environment,

behavior, and ones psychological process. When in a classroom, it is usually the teacher that

creates the environment for a students education. As a future teacher, students will learn from

my behavior and actions that I portray to give them the best education possible.

This theory also has been classified between behaviorist and cognitive learning, because

it covers attention, memory, and motivation. While this theory has multiple similar
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characteristics to other theories, it still is used in its own ways. In the classroom students are

more likely to behave a certain way based on what they see around them. This creates many

different environments and can be used in positive and negative ways. In the classroom, if a

student sees another student acting a certain way, they are more likely to follow them and create

a link of behaviors. Also, a teacher may give a piece of candy to a kid who gave him or her the

right answer, and this shows kids if they act a certain way, they may get a piece of candy for that

behavior type. As a teacher, behavior is the most imperative component to watch and keep an

eye on. Without good classroom management, you could be stuck with a classroom full of

negative kids and behaviors that act in a poor manner, creating your job harder than it already is.

The social learning theory is an important part of the school system. The definition is

learning a certain behavior by observing a person. The man behind this theory is Albert Bandura

who was successful in many ways. The social learning theory has four requirements of learning

along with a famous bobo doll experiment that concludes that children do learn from observation

of others. There are many factors that affect how your behavior including: your environment,

physical process, and behavior. When teaching in a classroom remember kids will imitate what

they see and imitate what you do every day, so make sure youre being a noble role model!
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Works Cited

Boeree, C. G. (2006). Albert Bandura. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/bandura.html

Chegg. (2017). Social Learning Theory Lesson. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from

http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/social-learning-theory-49

Explorable. (2017). What is Social Learning Theory? Retrieved March 28, 2017, from

https://explorable.com/social-learning-theory

K, D. (2015, June 19). Social Learning Theory Bandura Social Learning Theory. Retrieved

March 28, 2017, from https://www.learning-theories.com/social-learning-theory-

bandura.html

McLeod, S. (2014). Bobo Doll Experiment. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from

https://www.simplypsychology.org/bobo-doll.html

Ormrod, J. E. (2012). Essentials of Educational Psychology: Big Ideas to Guide Effective

Teaching. Boston, Mass: Allyn & Bacon.

Teach Thought. (2014, September 30). Learning Theories: Bandura's Social Learning Theory.

Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://www.teachthought.com/uncategorized/bandura-

social-learning-theory