Social Learning

Social learning theory is an extension of behaviorism and a preview of existentialism. It is a collection of people or a movement, rather than a specific individual. But all of the theorists share an interest in how learning, social influence and behavior interact.

Behaviorism explained behavior in terms of environmental control. Pavlov’s classical conditioning maintained that behavior is the result of environmental stimuli. Something occurs in the environment (a bell rings) and we respond (salivate). Skinner’s operant conditioning emphasized the importance of the environmental reaction to behavior. We act and the environment reacts with rewards and punishments. Together, Pavlov and Skinner provide a chicken-and-egg solution to behavior. It doesn’t matter which came first-environment-behavior or behavior-environment-either deterministic explanation is fine.

Social learning theory was an extension of behaviorism. It helped bridge the gap between environment control and cognitive processing. Dollard-Miller, Bandura, and Rotter all maintained that learning is more person-driven than behaviorism would suggest. From their point of view, the environment does function as the behaviorists believed but it also provides opportunities to learn that don’t require associationism (Pavlov) or reinforcement (Skinner). Social learning theory rejected the simplistic explanations of complex behavior (like aggression, goal setting and internal conflicts) but kept the emphasis on experimental methods.

Dollard & Miller

For Dollard & Miller, learning combines four processes: drive, cue, response and reinforcement. Drive is the engine. The cue tells you when, where and how to respond. Your response is any behavior or sequence of behaviors you perform. And reinforcement is the consequence of drive being reduced (similar to Skinner’s negative reinforcement). If your behavior isn’t reinforced, that behavior will be extinguished (disappear). But the process doesn’t stop there. You keep trying different responses until one of them satisfies the drive.

Bandura

Although trained in behaviorism, Bandura maintained that it would take too long for people to learn everything by associating stimuli or being rewarded. We are much more capable than that. According to Bandura, people primarily learn by watching others.

Rotter

Rotter’s point is that we don’t behave randomly. Even in novel situations, we apply our knowledge of the past to the current conditions. Behavior is always changing in response to the environment but the rules we use to determine what we’ll do are relatively stable. We have two basic rules: (a) the bigger the reward the better, and (b) safer is better. Our behavior is a combination of these rules. We try to maximize our rewards on the basis of value and expectation. We calculate that it’s better to have a low paying job we know we can get than to try for a high-paying job we think we’re unlikely to get.

Mind Map

Notes

Dollard & Miller

• Psychoanalytic learning theory
• Combined Clark Hull & Sigmund Freud
• They met at Yale, Institute of Human Relations
• Interdisciplinary between psych, psychiatry, soc and anthro
• Experimental Analysis of Behavior
• Knowledge comes from experience;
• continually check current needs against past experience
• Clark Hull drive reduction
• Habits = learned associations between S and R
• makes them occur together frequently
• temporary structures (habits can appear and disappear)
• Drives = strong internal stimulus, produces discomfort
• 2 types
  • Primary (physiological processes)
  • Secondary (learned); elaborations of primary drives
• Reinforcer = anything that increases likelihood of particular response
• Pimary reinforcers (reduce primary drives)
• Secondary reinforces (originally neutral but acquire reward value)
• Hierarchy of response = some responses used more than others
• 4 units of learning process
  • 1. Drive = preexisting need
  • 2. Cue = stimulus that tell person when, where and how to respond
  • 3. Response = behavior
  • 4. Reinforcement = drive reduction
    • if not reinforced, extinction of that response
    • try different responses until one satisfies need
• Terms
  • Thoughts = cue-producing responses in the brain.
  • Reasoning = internal chains of drive, cue, response and reinforcement
  • Frustration = occurs when one is unable to reduce a drive; blocked
  • Conflict = incompatible responses are occurring at the same time
• Types:
  approach-approach
  approach-avoidance
  avoidance-avoidance
  double approach-avoidance
• 2 main determinants of unconscious behavior
  1. unaware of certain drives or cues; unlabeled
  2. cues or responses once conscious; repressed because ineffective
  repression is learned like all other behavior
• Defense mechanisms are learned responses
  identification = imitating behavior
  displacement = stimulus generalization
• 4 critical training states
  feeding
  cleanliness
  sex training
  control of anger-aggression
• Differences from Freud
  Freud thought anxiety, conflict & repression were inevitable
  D&M say they are learned
• Neurosis = stupidity-misery syndrome
  strong, unconscious, unlabeled emotional conflict
  can’t discriminate effectively
• Therapy
  pragmatic
  action oriented
  composed of
  unlearning old, ineffective habits
  substituting new, more adaptive and productive responses
  aims to reduce such fears so reasoning and planning can occur
• 2 phases
  • Talking Phase (problem analysis)
    habits are identified so patient can unlearn them
    providing labels – Rumpelstiltskin (lose power when confronted with his name)
  • Performance Phase (acquire new responses)
    Training in suppression (conscious, deliberate stopping of a thought or action)
    Deliberately exposed to new cues that will evoke different responses

 

Bandura, Albert

• Observational learning theory
  also called modeling or discovery learning
  most learning is by watching others
• Behaviorism
  agree with behaviorism
  use of experimental methods
  environment causes behavior
  disagree with behaviorism
  too simplistic to explain complicated issues (e.g. aggression)
• Reciprocal Determinism
  interaction between environment, behavior, person
• Principles
  observational learning is more than observing
  encoding model (words, labels or images) improves retention
  more likely to do modeled behavior if
  behavior has functional value
  model is similar to observer
  value outcome goal
  model is admired
• Bobo The Clown
  Inflatable, egg-shaped punching bag
  Film of person punching the clown, shouting “sockeroo!”
  Film shown to kindergartners
  In play time, children show increased aggression
  even without reinforcement
  more aggressive if reinforced
  more aggressive if model same gender as child
  Boys were generally more violent and aggressive than girls.
  Concluded reinforcement necessary for learning to occur
• Major components of modeling
  1. Attention
  Colorful and dramatic
  Attractive, or prestigious, or competent
  Seems like yourself
  2. Retention
  Convert observation to mental image
  Inductive process
  Remember
  3. Reproduction
  Convert mental image to behavior
  Deductive process
  Must have behavior in repertoire
  Better able to do behavior, better able to imitate
  Thinking about doing may help doing
  4. Motivation
  A reason for doing it
  Past reinforcement (rewarded)
  Promised reinforcement (incentive)
  Vicarious reinforcement (seeing others rewarded; expectation)
  Motives don’t “cause” learning; cause us to demonstrate what we have learned
• Self-efficacy
  self-knowledge of personal ability (competence)
• Self-regulation
  is self-concept or self-esteem
• Steps
  1. Self-observation = look at self, track own behavior, charting
  2. Judgment = compare with a standard (external or internal rules)
  3. Self-response = reward self for compliance; punish self?
• 3 Consequences of Excessive Punishment
  a. compensation = superiority complex or delusions of grandeur
  b. inactivity = apathy, boredom, depression
  c. escape = drugs, alcohol, television, fantasies, suicide
• Self-control Therapy
  1. Behavioral charts to track behavior
  2. Environmental planning = alter environment, remove or avoid cues
  3. Self-contracts = specify contingencies; written, witnessed.
• Modeling therapy
  Improve by watching others
  Observe someone productively dealing with the same issues
  Fear of snakes
  Client watches through a window
  Actor successfully approaches snake; models self-soothing behaviors
  Client invited to try it; some do it on first viewing
  Film of productive behaviors works nearly as well as live viewing

 

Julian  Rotter

• Social learning theory
  later called social cognitive theory
• Probability of a given behavior is a function of
  1. expectation (E) = likelihood behavior will elicit reward
  2. reinforcement value (RV) = how rewarding is for individual
• Personality is changeable collection of thoughts, environment and behavior interactions
• Characteristics of Rotter’s approach
  Optimistic
  People are goal seekers
  People try to maximize their reinforcement
• Locus of Control
  Univariant dimension that varies from internal to external
  Generalized expectation of power of behavior to get reward
  View of contingent relationship between action and outcome
  Cross-situational beliefs
• Characteristics
  extent individuals believe can control events that affect them
  high internal locus of control believe rewards come primarily from action
  high external locus of control believes reward come by chance
  different beliefs about reward contingency results in different behaviors
  internal try to change world, externals go with the flow

Terms

• approach gradient
• approach-approach conflict
• approach-avoidance conflict
• attention
• avoidance gradient
• avoidance-avoidance conflict
• behavior potential
• behaviorists
• conflict
• contingency
• contracts
• cue
• discovery learning
• double approach-avoidance conflict
• drive
• secondary reinforcer
• environment planning
• escape
• excessive punishment
• expectation (E)
• external locus of control
• extinction
• frustration
• inactivity
• incompatible response
• internal locus of control
• internal representation
• labeling
• learned helplessness
• locus on control
• minimal goal
• modeling
• motivation
• observational learning
• primary reinforcer
• psychoanalytic learning theory
• reciprocal determinism
• reinforcement
• reinforcement value (RV)
• reproduction
• response
• retention
• Rumpelstiltskin effect
• self-regulation
• self-reinforcement
• stupidity-misery syndrome
• unconscious
• unconscious behavior
• vicarious learning

Quiz

Summary

Bonus

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