Cognitive Perspective

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Cognitive Perspective

• Part 3

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Bandura and Observational Learning

• Observational learning occurs when an organisms
  responding is influenced by the observation of
  others, who are called models
• Essentially observational learning involves being
  conditioned indirectly by virtue of observing
  anothers conditioning

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Observational Learning

• Bandura asserts that previous conditioning
  theorists emphasized the organisms direct
  experience, Bandura has demonstrated that both
  classical and operant conditioning can take place
  vicariously through observational learning
• Reinforcement affects which responses are
  actually performed more than which responses are
  acquired

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Observational Learning

• Acquisition vs. Performance Bandura points out
  that organisms can store cognitive
  representations of learned responses that they
  may or may not perform, depending on the
  reinforcement contingencies
• He distinguishes between the acquisition of a
  learned response and the performance of that
  response
• Like Skinner, Bandura asserts that reinforcement
  is a critical determinant of behavior. However,
  Bandura maintains that reinforcement influences
  performance rather than learning per se

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4 Key processes that are crucial in Observational
Learning

• Attention To learn through observation, you
  must pay attention ot another persons behavior
  and its consequences
• Retention You may not have occasion to use an
  observed response for weeks, months, or even
  years. Hence, you must store a mental
  representation of what you have witnessed in your
  memory

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4 Key processes

• Reproduction Enacting a modeled response
  depends on your ability to reproduce the response
  by converting your stored mental images into
  overt behavior
• Motivation Finally, you are unlikely to
  reproduce an observed response unless you are
  motivated to do so

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BOBO Doll Studies

• Bandura and associates conducted 3 studies of
  modeled aggression and childrens responses
• 1st Live(in-person) adult models played roughly
  with Bobo Dolls while in same room as children
• 2nd Filmed adult models playing roughly with
  Bobo Dolls were viewed on TV by children
• 3rd Investigators used filmed models and
  manipulated the consequences experienced by the
  aggressive models

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BoBo studies

• Researchers found that a TV depiction of
  aggression led to increased aggression in the
  children just as exposure to a live model had
• In model 3 children in the aggressive-model-rew
  arded condition displayed significantly more
  total aggression and imitative aggression than
  children in the aggressive-model-punished
  condition

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Aggression

• Banduras findings suggested that youngsters
  watching aggressive models on TV are likely to
  learn that aggressive behavior pays off
• Critics argued that Banduras BoBo doll studies
  were too artificial to be conclusive (ecological
  validity)
• Criticism led to hundreds of more realistic
  experiments and correlational studies on the
  possible link between TV violence and
  aggressiveness

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TV Violence

• Studies demonstrate that exposure to TV and movie
  violence increases the likelihood of
• Physical aggression
• Verbal aggression
• Aggressive thoughts
• Aggressive emotions
• In both children and adults (Anderson et al.,
  2003)

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Aggressive Content

• Exposure to aggressive content in video games
  produces similar results (Anderson, 2004)
• Findings of these studies show that the more
  violence children watch on TV, the more
  aggressive the children tend to be at home and at
  school (Huesmann Miller, 1993)

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Criticism

• Critics point out that this correlation could
  reflect a variety of causal relationships, such
  as
• High aggressiveness in children causes an
  increased interest in violent TV shows (Huesmans
  studies, 1986, 2001 dispute this possibility by
  stating that high exposure to media violence
  precedes and presumably causes, high
  aggressiveness)
• Aggressive behavior is influenced by a number of
  factors besides media violence, which only has a
  modest effect on peoples aggressiveness