Social Learning Theory

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Social Learning Theory
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Do we learn from media (TV)?

• TV a powerful teacher ? vicarious learning
• What if TV program are violent?
• Will kids model TV violence?
• Will kids become desensitized/aggressive?
• Three stages in modeling
• 1. attention is attention focused
• 2. retention can be stored for later use
• 3. motivation rewards or punishment

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Bobo Doll studies

• Tests for social learning
• show video of aggressive actions
• watch kids to see if they model adults
• assess effects of reward/punishment
• Findings
• children modeled aggressiveness
• rewards increased aggressiveness
• punishment reduced aggressiveness
• same-sex modeling more powerful

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Studies highly influential

• Early, powerful evidence supporting link between
  tv and aggression
• received lots of media coverage -- cover of Life
  magazine
• prompted Congressional hearings
• networks countered with catharsis theory
• Still no regulations 1st amendment