Lecture Notes: Observational Learning and Social Cognitive Theory

Introduction

• Setting: Stanford University, 1961
• Notable Experiment: Albert Bandura's Bobo doll experiment
  • Observed adult aggression towards a Bobo doll
  • Children who observed were more likely to mimic aggression

Key Concepts

Behaviorism

• Dominant psychological theory before Bandura's research
• Focused on conditioning and association, rewards and punishments

Bandura's Contribution

• Observational Learning: Learning through observing and imitating others
• Challenged the notion that learning is solely through conditioning
• Pioneered social cognitive learning

Conditioning

Types of Conditioning

• Classical Conditioning: Associating a stimulus with an involuntary response
  • Example: Pavlov's dogs
• Operant Conditioning: Associating a stimulus with a voluntary behavior
  • Example: Rats pressing levers for food

Limitations of Behaviorist Theory

• Critics argue that learning capacity is limited by biology
• Example: Humans are more taste-averse than sight or sound-averse
• Animal Behavior: Animals learn associations that help them survive

Cognitive and Observational Learning

Cognitive Maps

• Mental representations of surroundings, developed without explicit intention
• Observed in both humans and animals

Observational Learning

• Learning by watching and being influenced by others
• Modeling: Observing and imitating behaviors
  • Examples: Chimpanzees using tools, cultural trends in humans

Mirror Neurons

• Discovered in the early 1990s
• Fire when performing an action or observing another perform the same action
• Linked to the connection between observation, imitation, and learning

Implications of Observational Learning

• Role Models: Powerful influence on behavior, starting from early childhood
• Positive Role Models: Encourage supportive and loving behaviors
• Negative Role Models: Can lead to antisocial effects

Conclusion

• Imitation as a fundamental form of learning
• Encouragement to consider who we spend time with and how we act

Credits

• Written by Kathleen Yale, edited by Blake DeBastino
• Consultant: Dr. Ranjit Bhagwat
• Director/Editor: Nicholas Jenkins
• Script Supervisor/Sound Designer: Michael Aranda
• Graphics: Thought Cafe