Bandura and Bobo

Observational LearningLearning by observing

others. Also called SOCIAL LEARNING.

Do we learn by observing others?

What do we learn by observing others?

Why is this important from an evolutionary perspective?

Social Learning TheoryThe theory has often been

called a bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories

Bobo Doll ExperimentWhat is going on during the

experiment?

What does this experiment prove?

Why do you think the violence increased?

Do you think the results would be the same if this experiment was redone today?

ModelingThe process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.

When is modeling most powerful?

Necessary conditions for effective MODELING:

Attention — One’s characteristics (such as sensory capacities, arousal level, perceptual set, past reinforcement) affect attention.

Retention — Remembering what you paid attention to, including symbolic coding and rehearsal, mental images, cognitive organization, motor rehearsal

Reproduction — Being able to reproduce the image, Including physical capabilities, and self-observation of reproduction.

Motivation — Includes having a good reason to imitate.

Mirror Neurons Frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain’s mirroring of another’s action may enable imitation and empathy.

Mirror NeuronsWhile the practical application of mirror

neurons are not fully realized or understood yet, the very existence of such neurons hints at the brain-behavior link for empathy and observational learning.

Pain Empathy

Prosocial EffectModeling can promote positive, constructive, helpful

behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior.

How can we see this effect in our society?

What effect do celebrities have on our society? Movie StarsMusicians Athletes

Have you ever modeled your behavior after someone?

Antisocial EffectAbusive parents might have aggressive children Repeated exposure to violence and antisocial

behavior on TV has a correlation with an increase in Bullying Easy Sex – Untrue belief of no consequencesReduced EmpathyGender Stereotyping

Does TV cause society changes or does it reflect society?

Crime Rates per 100,000 Violent Crimes Murder

1990 729.60

1995 684.50

2000 506.50

2005 469.60

2009 429.40

1990 9.4

1995 8.2

2000 5.5

2005 5.6

2009 5.0