Download 1 FUN WITH THEORIES OF SOCIALIZATION Albert Bandura and

FUN WITH THEORIES OF SOCIALIZATION
Albert Bandura and Social Learning Theory
Social Learning Theory (SLT) focuses on learning that happens within a social environment and
emphasizes the premise that people learn from one another by means of observational learning. The
theory argues that individuals are strongly influenced by society's reward and punishment systems
and model their behaviors accordingly. A leading proponent of social learning theory, Albert Bandura,
helped to shape the conjecture by incorporating aspects of cognitive and behavioral learning.
During the 1950s, American psychologist Julian Rotter first introduced social learning theory in his
work Social Learning and Clinical Psychology. Rotter argued that an expected outcome for a given
behavior greatly influences the actions and motivation of the individual. Bypassing a theory rooted in
behaviorism and psychoanalysis, Rotter concluded that people aspire to attain positive results for
their actions, while remaining mindful of negative behaviors and their consequences.
In the 1970s, Bandura took Rotter's theory one step further by incorporating Russian psychologist Lev
Vygotsky's social development theory into his own theory formulation. According to Vygotsky, social
interaction itself anticipates cognitive and behavioral development, which is the product of
socialization. Bandura's social learning theory ultimately proposed that there is a reciprocal
relationship between environmental, cognitive, and behavioral influences.
According to Bandura, there are several conditions that must be met before successful modeling of
behavior can occur. The individual, also referred to as the model, must pay attention to and
remember the behaviors exhibited by others. After witnessing a given behavior, the model must
possess the ability to reproduce the actions witnessed and demonstrate what has been learned.
Theorists and proponents of Bandura's theory insist that attention is the most significant factor in the
social learning process.
The environment reinforces modeling behaviors in a number of ways. Initially, the model receives
reinforcement from the person whom he is imitating, as well as, third party observers. The imitated
behavior itself results in reinforcement via positive or negative consequences. Vicarious
reinforcement occurs when the model's positively reinforced behavior is repeated by a third party.
Cognitive factors associated with social learning theory rest upon the model's ability to learn,
comprehend, formulate expectations, and understand cause and effect. Bandura argued there is a
distinction between learning via observation and the act of imitating what one has learned. The model
must be capable of comprehending situations, anticipating potential outcomes, and making a
correlation between response reinforcements, response punishments, and behavior.
Self-regulation and efficacy aid with further reinforcing positive behaviors on a personal level. The
model develops the ability to differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors and
makes choices accordingly. Self-regulation involves the process of setting personal standards and
goals while observing, judging, and reacting to the behaviors of others. Self-efficacy encourages self
confidence as the model realizes that he is capable of successfully implementing positive behaviors.
Source: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-social-learning-theory.htm
2
Social Learning Theory
The social learning theory is the behavior theory most relevant to criminology. Albert Bandura
believed that aggression is learned through a process called behavior modeling. He believed that
individuals do not actually inherit violent tendencies, but they modeled them after three principles
(Bandura, 1976: p.204). Albert Bandura argued that individuals, especially children learn aggressive
reponses from observing others, either personally or through the media and environment. He stated
that many individuals believed that aggression will produce reinforcements. These reinforcements
can formulate into reduction of tension, gaining financial rewards, or gaining the praise of others, or
building self-esteem (Siegel, 1992: p.171). In the Bobo doll experiment, the children imitated the
aggression of the adults because of the rewarded gained. Albert Bandura was interested in child
development. If aggression was diagnosed early in children, Bandura believe that children would
reframe from being adult criminals. "Albert Bandura argued that aggression in children is influenced
by the reinforcement of family members, the media, and the environment"(Bandura, 1976: pp. 206208).
Albert Bandura believed aggression reinforced by family members was the most prominent source of
behavior modeling. He reports that children use the same aggressive tactics that their parents
illustrate when dealing with others (Bandura, 1976: p.206). While studying at Iowa, Bandura became
strongly interested in aggression in children (Bandura, 1977). In order to control aggression, Bandura
stated that the problem should be diagnosed and treated during one’s childhood. "We should not be
subjecting people to treatments and then, some years later, trying to figure out what effects they
have. We should test treatments before we embark on widespread applications (Evans,1989: p3.)."
Children learn to act aggressive when they model their behavior after violent acts of adults, especially
family members. For example, the boy who witness his father repeatedly strike his mother will more
than likely become an abusive parent and husband (Siegel, 1992: p. 170)
Albert Bandura is most famous for the Bobo doll experiment. Albert Bandura believed that aggression
must explain three aspects: First, how aggressive patterns of behavior are developed; second, what
3
provokes people to behave aggressively, and third, what determines whether they are going to
continue to resort to an aggressive behavior pattern on future occasions (Evans, 1989: p.22). In this
experiment, he had children witness a model aggressively attacking a plastic clown called the Bobo
doll. There children would watch a video where a model would aggressively hit a doll and " ‘...the
model pummels it on the head with a mallet, hurls it down, sits on it and punches it on the nose
repeatedly, kick it across the room, flings it in the air, and bombards it with balls...’(Bandura, 1973:
p.72). After the video, the children were placed in a room with attractive toys, but they could not touch
them. The process of retention had occurred. Therefore, the children became angry and frustrated.
Then the children were led to another room where there were identical toys used in the Bobo video.
The motivation phase was in occurrence. Bandura and many other researchers founded that 88% of
the children imitated the aggressive behavior. Eight months later, 40% of the same children
reproduce the violent behavior observed in the Bobo doll experiment
http://www.mhcollegeco/socscienc/comm/bandur-s.mhtml.
Observational learning is also known as imitation or modeling. In this process, learning occurs when
individuals observes and imitate others’ behavior. There are four component processes influenced by
the observer’s behavior following exposure to models. These components include: attention;
retention; motor reproduction; and motivation (Bandura, 1977: pp.24-28).
Attention is the first component of observational learning. Individuals cannot learn much by
observation unless they perceive and attend to the significant features of the modeled behavior. For
example, children must attend to what the aggressor is doing and saying in order to reproduce the
model’s behavior (Allen & Santrock,1993: p.139) In the Bobo doll experiment, the children witnessed
the Bobo doll being verbally and/or physically abused by live models and filmed models.
Retention is the next component. In order to reproduce the modeled behavior, the individuals must
code the information into long-term memory. Therefore, the information will be retrieval. For example,
a simple verbal description of what the model performed would be a known as retention (Allen &
Santrock, 1993: p139). Memory is an important cognitive process that helps the observer code and
retrieve information. In the Bobo doll experiment, the children imitated the aggression they witnessed
in the video. They aggressively hit the Bobo doll because it was coded and store in their memory.
Motor reproduction is another process in observational learning. The observer must be able to
reproduce the model’s behavior. The observer must learn and posses the physical capabilities of the
modeled behavior. An example of motor reproduction would to be able to learn how to ski or ride a
bike. Once a behavior is learned through attention and retention, the observer must posses the
physically capabilities to produce the aggressive act. The children had the physically capabilities of
hitting and pummeling the doll to the ground.
The final process in observational learning is motivation or reinforcements. In this process, the
observer expects to receive positive reinforcements for the modeled behavior. In the Bobo doll
experiment, the children witnessed the adults being rewarded for their aggression. Therefore, they
performed the same act to achieve the rewards. For example, most children witnessed violence on
television being rewarded by the media. Historically, bank robbers were heroes. Many people were
highly upset about the death of Bonnie and Clyde. When individuals, especially children witness this
type of media, they attend, code, retrieve, posses the motor capabilities and perform the modeled
behavior because of the positive reinforcement determined by the media (Bootzin, Bowers, Crocker,
1991: 201-202). The Bobo doll experiment helped Bandura to theorized that "As children continue to
4
age, the experience still effected their personality, turning them into violent adults.
http://www.mhcollegeco/socscienc/comm/bandur-s.mhtml
Environmental experiences is a second influence of the social learning of violence in children. Albert
Bandura reported that individuals that live in high crime rates areas are more likely to act violently
than those who dwell in low-crime areas (Bandura, 1976: p.207). This assumption is similar to Shaw
and McKay’s theory of social disorganization. They believed that a neighborhood surrounded by
culture conflict, decay and insufficient social organizations was a major cause of criminality (Bartollas,
1990: pp.145).
Albert Bandura believed television was a source of behavior modeling. Today, films and television
shows illustrate violence graphically. Violence is often expressed as an acceptable behavior,
especially for heroes who have never be punished. Since aggression is a prominent feature of many
shows, children who have a high degree of exposure to the media may exhibit a relatively high
incidence of hostility themselves in imitation of the aggression they have witnessed (Berkowitz, 1962:
pp. 247). For example, David Phillips reported homicide rates increase tremendously after a heavy
weight championship fight (Cloward & Ohlin, 1960). There have been a number of deaths linked to
violence on television. For example, John Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Ronald
Reagen after he watched the movie "Taxi Driver" fifteen times. In the movie "Born Innocent," a girl
was raped with a bottle by four other girls. In 1974, a similar incident happened to a California’s girl.
The girls who raped her testified in court that they had witness the same scene in "Born Innocent." In
addition, Ronald Zamora brutally killed an elderly woman and pleaded the insanity defense. His
attorney argued that Zamora’s was addicted to the violence on television. As a result, he could not
differentiate between reality and fantasy. However, Zamora was founded guilty because the jury did
not believe his defense (Siegel, 1992: p.172).
Contemporary Views
Today, many social learning theorists have indicated that crime is a product of learning the values
and aggressive behaviors linked with criminality. Sutherland developed the differential association
theory that suggests that individuals learn criminal behavior while in their adolescence from family
members and peers (Sutherland, 1939, pp25). In "Deviant Behavior: A Social Learning Approach,"
Akers believed individuals learned aggressive acts through operant condition (Akers, 1977). In this
process, the aggression was acquired after through direct conditioning and modeling others’ actions.
He believed that positive rewards and the avoidance of punishment reinforced aggression (Akers,
1977). William Benson found that adolescents that watched excessive amounts of television during
their childhood became adult criminals. They committed crimes, such as rape and assault, "at a rate
49% higher than teenage boys who had watched below average quantities of television violence
(Centerwall, 1993: pp.70-71) Also, Bandura’s theory has made the public and political affairs realize
that violence does cause aggression in children. He has spoken at a number of political conferences
concerning the Bobo doll experiment and the effects television has on children. Several political
candidates have indicated that violence on television does cause aggression. President Clinton has
implemented policies that would deter violence on television.
5
Criticisms
The social learning theory advocates that individuals, especially children, imitate or copy modeled
behavior from personally observing others, the environment, and the mass media. Biological theorists
argue that the social learning theory completely ignores individuals biological state. Also, they state
that the social learning theory rejects the differences of individuals due to genetic, brain, and learning
differences (Jeffery, 1985: p.238). For example, if a person witnessed a hanging or a violent murder,
he or she might respond in many different ways. "Biological theorists believed that the responses
would be normal and come from the autonomic nervous system. In the autonomic nervous system,
the heart rate, increase blood pressure, nausea, and fainting would be normal symptoms of the
responses that individuals might expressed in this particular situation. Therefore, the symptoms and
behavior are not learned, but partially inherited. In addition, the social learning theory rejects the
classical and operant conditioning processes. The biological preparedness of the individual to learn
as well as the role of the brain in processing information from the social environment, are critical to
learning theory, but they are ignored by the social learning theory. Social reinforcement is conditioned
reinforcement based on the relationship of the conditioned stimulus to an unconditioned stimulus"
(Jeffery, 1985: p.239).
In the Bobo doll experiment, critics have argued that the children were manipulated into responded to
the aggressive movie. The children were teased and became frustrated because they could not touch
the toys. Many critics believed the experiment conducted was unethical and morally wrong because
the children were trained to be aggressive. "How many more of the experiments finding a link
between violence on television and aggressive behavior have ethical problems? It is not surprising
that the children had long-term implications because of the methods imposed in this
experiment"(Worthman and Loftus, p.45)
There have been many debates over whether or not violence on television causes aggressive
behavior in children. Many studies have indicated that television does not lead to aggressive
behavior. For instances, psychologists have found that some cartoons are very violent and cause
children to illustrate aggressive behavior. However, the general public believes that children view
cartoons such as Elmer Fudd shooting the rabbit as funny and humorous. It is the parents’
responsibility to inform their children that the cartoons are not real.
Feshbach and R.D. Singer believed that television actually decreases the amount of aggression in
children (Feshbach: 1971). They conducted a study within a six-week study on juvenile boys who
regularly watched television violence compared to juvenile boys who were exposed to non-violent
shows. After the six-week period, Feshback and R.D. Singer found out that the juvenile boys that
viewed the non-violent shows were more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior than the juvenile boys
that witnessed the violent shows. "The study show that the violence on television allows the viewer to
relate with the characters involved in the violent act (Feshback & Singer, 1971: p.247). In doing so,
the viewer is able to release all aggressive thoughts and feelings through relation, causing them to be
less aggressive than they would have been without watching the violent television. This theory that
viewing violence on television leads to a decrease in aggression is called the Catharsis effect
(Gerbner,G., Gross,L., Melody,W.H., pg.40).
Cooke believed that individuals tend to support the theory that television violence causes aggression
because the public needs to justify the aggression they see in others. He also believed television was
a form of education and positive role models. "If violence in television causes people to be more
aggressive, than shouldn’t the good-hearted qualities in television cause its audience to be kinder to
6
others (Cooke,1993, p.L19)? Therefore, television can serve as deterrence if individuals focus on the
positive qualities. Despite these criticisms, Albert Bandura’ s Social Learning Theory has maintained
an important place in the study of aggression and criminal behavior. In order to control aggression, he
believed family members and the mass media should provide positive role models for their children
and the general public (Bandura, 1976).
References
Allen,L., & Santrock, J. (1993). The Contexts of Behavior Psychology. Brown & Benchmark Press: Madison, WI.
Akers, R., (1977). Deviant Behavior: A Social Learning Approach. Belmont Mass, Wadsworth: NY
Bandura, A., & Walters, R.H. (1959). Adolescent Aggression. Ronald Press: New York.
Bandura, A. (1962). Social Learning through Imitation. University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln, NE.
Bandura, A. (1975). Social Learning & Personality Development: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, INC: NJ.
Bandura, A., & Ribes-Inesta, Emilio. (1976). Analysis of Delinquency and Aggression. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, INC: New Jersey
Berowitz, L. (1962). Aggression: A Social Psychological Analysis. McGraw-Hill: San Francisco
Bootzin, R., Bower, G., Crocker, J. (1991). Psychology Today. McGraw-Hill: New York
Bartollas, C. (1990). Juvenile Delinquency. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York
Centerwall, Brandon S. (1993). "Television and Violent Crime." The Public Interest, New York
Cooke, P. (1993), TV Causes Violence? Says Who?, The New York Times
Evans, R.I. (1989). Albert Bandura: The Man and His Ideas---A Dialogue. New York: Praeger
Feshbach, S., & Singer, R.D. (1971). Television and Aggression, Jossey-Bass, San Franisco
Gerbner,G., Gross,L.P., Melody,W.H. (1982), Violence and Aggression, Television and Behavior: Ten Years of Scientific Progress and
Implications for the Eighties : NJ
Jeffery, C.R. (1990). Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Prentice Hall, NJ
Miller & Dollard. (1941). Social learning and Imitation. Yale Univer. Press: New Haven
Seigel, L., (1992). Criminology. West Publishing Company: St. Paul, Minn
Sutherland, E., (1939). Principles of Criminology. Lippincott: Philadephia
Worthman, C., & Loftus, E. (1992), Psychology: McGraw-Hill: New York.
http://www.mhcollegeco/socscienc/comm/bandur-s.mhtml