Ch. 9 Learning
Social Learning
How does being part of a group influences the
way individuals behave?
Why people cooperate with & help others?
What factors contribute to aggressive behavior
& violence?
Social Learning
The process of altering behavior by observing and
imitating the behavior of others.
Go beyond stimuli and mechanical responses!
Two Types1. Cognitive Learning
2. Modeling
Cognitive Learning
• Focuses on how
information is
obtained,
processed, and
organized.
• Latent Learning
– Learning without
meaning to.
• Learned
Helplessness
– After repeated
failures, the
resulting belief is
that situations are
uncontrollable.
Modeling
• “Observation and
imitation learning”
• Clap when others clap
• Sit if others are sitting
• Mannerisms
• Any modeling behavior
from “Super Nanny”?
What is Observational Learning?
Learning by observing and emulating the actions of others through
mimicking
• Also called social learning
• Can be prosocial (positive, constructive, helpful behavior) or antisocial
Your coach shows you how to properly
swing a baseball bat.
You watch a violent action movie on TV,
then go out and commit a robbery.
Historical Examples
Prosocial
Behavior
Antisocial
Behavior
Non-violent
resistance as a
means of
peaceful
demonstration
Sesame Street
teaches kids how
to behave and
learn
Other Examples???
1991 Rodney King
beating causing LA
race riots
Columbine
shooters inspired
by “Doom” and
other violent video
games
Other Examples???
Bobo Doll Study
• In 1961, Albert Bandura conducted an
observational learning study
– Kids aged 3-6 watched a video of an
adult either being nice or cruel to a Bobo
Doll
– Kids were then placed in the room with
the Bobo Doll where the majority
mimicked the behavior they had seen in
the video
– Boys were much more aggressive than
girls (by a 3 to 1 margin)
– Aggression doubled if the “aggressive
model” the kids saw was the same sex
as them
Bobo Doll Video
The Bystander Effect:
People are not likely to help others unless
they are alone with that person. (Research 1960s & 1970s)
If someone needs help & there are many
people around, diffusion of responsibility
occurs.
Bystander effect: probability of someone
helping another in distress decreases as #
of people available to help increases.
**Interestingly, people today are slightly
more likely to help because of the wellpublicized research on the bystander effect.
YouTube Video: NBC News - Bystander Effect Video:
What will people do when they watch a girl being abducted? (6 min)
Social learning can also affect how we
percieve people when we first meet
them… Social Media is a great example
of this!
How would you react to these people
if you were sitting in an empty room?
What are some words you would use
to stereotype?
On Monday…
• 30-Days : Jail
• Does our country’s “correctional learning”
method actually help the rehab criminals who
have “learned” violence for some or all of
their lives?
• Does social learning impact the system?
The BoBo Doll Experiment
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zerCK0lRj
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