Marking AQA a-level Psychology Essay: Evaluate and outline the social learning theory
I am an a-level student self studying psychology as a resit and dont have any teachers to mark and grade my essays. Any feedback would on areas for improvemnt would be helpful and a mark if possible. This is 16 maker essayi have written for the question "Evaluate and outline the social learning theory "
The social-learning theory was created by psychologist Bandura and is a type of behaviourist approach but slightly differs. It agreses with the behaviourist approach that we learn through conditioning, specifically classical conditioning which is learning through association of a neutral stimuli and an uncontrolled stimulus. For example, in Pavlov's study a dog learnt to associate the sound of a ringing bel with food which created a controlled response where the bell alone could make the dog salivate. The other type of conditioning is operant condition which was created by B.F Skinner and is learning through Assocation of consequences. However, Banduras social learning theory argues we also learn through role models and some cognitive mediational processes which can be involved between the stimulus and the response.
The social learning theory argues that we learn through modelling by observing the model's behaviour and replicating it. It argues that identification is also involved as the more we relate to the model the more likely we are to replicate their behaviour. The theory also states the model is usually someone with desirable characteristics such as fame or beauty. The social learning theory also states we learn through vicarious reinforcement which involves observing how someone else is rewarded for their behaviour and copying it so to receive the same rewards. This can be seen in real life situations, for example, students often copy each other's behaviour in order to receive rewards from their teacher or praises from each other. The social learning theory explains the 4 steps involved mediational processes, attention and retention are the first two and are the steps involved in understanding the behaviour. Reproduction and motivation are the two steps involved in actually imitating behaviour. Reproduction involves reproducing the behaviour and the more you believe you can do it correctly the more likely you are to. Motivation involves analysing the rewards of the behaviour, if the rewards are positive, you are likely to continue imitating the behaviour and if the rewards are negative its likely you will not continue imitating the behaviour.
Bandura provides evidence for his social learning theory by conducting a study which involved 36 boys and 36 girls aged around 52 months who were paired with partners who matched their level of aggression. There were three conditions, one where a group was showed adults playing with toys aggressively and hitting bobo dolls, another where a group was shown adults playing with toys normally and not in an aggressive manner and a final condition where participants weren't showed the adults playing with the toys at all. The results showed that the group who observed the adults aggressively mimicked their behaviour and also played with dolls aggressively. On the other hand, the group that saw the adults playing with the dolls in a non-violent way also played with dolls normally and where less aggressive than the group that did not see the dolls be played with at all. This suggests evidence of observational learning as the group that were not shown the dolls being played with at all behaved slightly more aggressive than the group that were shown the dolls being played with normally. This indicates that was their natural behaviour and the other two groups behaviour was due to observational learning. Bandura's study has good control variables due to laboratory nature of the study which means that outside variables are unlikely to affect the study and allow for a cause and effect to be easily determined and for the study to be replicated. However, because of the artificial nature of the study such as observing adults playing with child toys which is unlikely to happen in the real world it lacks ecological validity. Another strength of the study is that children aged 52 months likely lack the social awareness to know they are being studied and as a result their behaviour is more likely to be natural which makes the findings of the study more valid. Bandura's study has been criticised for ethical reasons such as teaching infants to behave aggressively, critics have also argued that because bobo dolls are supposed to be its hard to judge the behaviour of the participants as it could be argued to show evidence of obedience rather than observational learning.
The social learning theory has been criticised for being reductionist as it looks for a simple cause an effect rather than considering other possibilities like genetics. It has also been criticised for not illustrating the long-term effects of observational learning as Bandura's study only shows the immediate effects. On the other hand, it's been praised for looking at cognitive processes which behaviourist don't typically do, as well as using human studies instead of animal studies when behaviourist psychologist often only uses animal studies, which has been criticised for being unethical such as in Harlow's study where the monkeys became psychological damaged, and for being ungeneralizable as Lorenz study showed humans and animals where quantitively different. Overall, the social learning theory does have its strengths and appears to be a good approach to psychology, however its weaknesses show the importance of multiple approaches to psychology such as the biological approach which considers genetics even though the social learning theory does not, or the psychodynamic approach which considers the role of unconscious thoughts and feelings in behaviour.
The social-learning theory was created by psychologist Bandura and is a type of behaviourist approach but slightly differs. It agreses with the behaviourist approach that we learn through conditioning, specifically classical conditioning which is learning through association of a neutral stimuli and an uncontrolled stimulus. For example, in Pavlov's study a dog learnt to associate the sound of a ringing bel with food which created a controlled response where the bell alone could make the dog salivate. The other type of conditioning is operant condition which was created by B.F Skinner and is learning through Assocation of consequences. However, Banduras social learning theory argues we also learn through role models and some cognitive mediational processes which can be involved between the stimulus and the response.
The social learning theory argues that we learn through modelling by observing the model's behaviour and replicating it. It argues that identification is also involved as the more we relate to the model the more likely we are to replicate their behaviour. The theory also states the model is usually someone with desirable characteristics such as fame or beauty. The social learning theory also states we learn through vicarious reinforcement which involves observing how someone else is rewarded for their behaviour and copying it so to receive the same rewards. This can be seen in real life situations, for example, students often copy each other's behaviour in order to receive rewards from their teacher or praises from each other. The social learning theory explains the 4 steps involved mediational processes, attention and retention are the first two and are the steps involved in understanding the behaviour. Reproduction and motivation are the two steps involved in actually imitating behaviour. Reproduction involves reproducing the behaviour and the more you believe you can do it correctly the more likely you are to. Motivation involves analysing the rewards of the behaviour, if the rewards are positive, you are likely to continue imitating the behaviour and if the rewards are negative its likely you will not continue imitating the behaviour.
Bandura provides evidence for his social learning theory by conducting a study which involved 36 boys and 36 girls aged around 52 months who were paired with partners who matched their level of aggression. There were three conditions, one where a group was showed adults playing with toys aggressively and hitting bobo dolls, another where a group was shown adults playing with toys normally and not in an aggressive manner and a final condition where participants weren't showed the adults playing with the toys at all. The results showed that the group who observed the adults aggressively mimicked their behaviour and also played with dolls aggressively. On the other hand, the group that saw the adults playing with the dolls in a non-violent way also played with dolls normally and where less aggressive than the group that did not see the dolls be played with at all. This suggests evidence of observational learning as the group that were not shown the dolls being played with at all behaved slightly more aggressive than the group that were shown the dolls being played with normally. This indicates that was their natural behaviour and the other two groups behaviour was due to observational learning. Bandura's study has good control variables due to laboratory nature of the study which means that outside variables are unlikely to affect the study and allow for a cause and effect to be easily determined and for the study to be replicated. However, because of the artificial nature of the study such as observing adults playing with child toys which is unlikely to happen in the real world it lacks ecological validity. Another strength of the study is that children aged 52 months likely lack the social awareness to know they are being studied and as a result their behaviour is more likely to be natural which makes the findings of the study more valid. Bandura's study has been criticised for ethical reasons such as teaching infants to behave aggressively, critics have also argued that because bobo dolls are supposed to be its hard to judge the behaviour of the participants as it could be argued to show evidence of obedience rather than observational learning.
The social learning theory has been criticised for being reductionist as it looks for a simple cause an effect rather than considering other possibilities like genetics. It has also been criticised for not illustrating the long-term effects of observational learning as Bandura's study only shows the immediate effects. On the other hand, it's been praised for looking at cognitive processes which behaviourist don't typically do, as well as using human studies instead of animal studies when behaviourist psychologist often only uses animal studies, which has been criticised for being unethical such as in Harlow's study where the monkeys became psychological damaged, and for being ungeneralizable as Lorenz study showed humans and animals where quantitively different. Overall, the social learning theory does have its strengths and appears to be a good approach to psychology, however its weaknesses show the importance of multiple approaches to psychology such as the biological approach which considers genetics even though the social learning theory does not, or the psychodynamic approach which considers the role of unconscious thoughts and feelings in behaviour.
(edited 1 year ago)
Reply 1
Hi, I don't think anyone has replied, so I'll try and mark it for you. I'm a Year 13 student also studying psychology a level🙂
Overall, I'd give this essay 13/16 - it's very impressive and shows a high level of understanding and knowledge of SLT.
You've described the key theories in sufficient detail, which has secured you the 6 marks for AO1. However, at the beginning you've mentioned a fair bit about the behaviourist approach, describing Pavlov's study, but this is not necessary. To make it more concise, I'd start by discussing the key assumptions of the approach and then going into the theories such as mediational processes, vicarious reinforcement, etc. Overall, AO1 is great.
Your AO3 evaluative paragraphs are also highly developed, with relevant and detailed chains of analysis, however I'd add 1-2 more evaluative paragraphs of the same quality in order to get full marks. I'd give you 7 marks for AO3 - there are no flaws with the evaluations you've provided, just that you might need one more to secure those higher marks.
Ultimately, this is a great response and if there was just a bit more evaluation, it would be a model essay for anyone to revise from. Great work!
Overall, I'd give this essay 13/16 - it's very impressive and shows a high level of understanding and knowledge of SLT.
You've described the key theories in sufficient detail, which has secured you the 6 marks for AO1. However, at the beginning you've mentioned a fair bit about the behaviourist approach, describing Pavlov's study, but this is not necessary. To make it more concise, I'd start by discussing the key assumptions of the approach and then going into the theories such as mediational processes, vicarious reinforcement, etc. Overall, AO1 is great.
Your AO3 evaluative paragraphs are also highly developed, with relevant and detailed chains of analysis, however I'd add 1-2 more evaluative paragraphs of the same quality in order to get full marks. I'd give you 7 marks for AO3 - there are no flaws with the evaluations you've provided, just that you might need one more to secure those higher marks.
Ultimately, this is a great response and if there was just a bit more evaluation, it would be a model essay for anyone to revise from. Great work!
You have WAY more AO1 than you will need for this question: you will run out of time trying to write all of that in a real exam.
For AO3, develop the points you have a bit further, as each point you have given is good but a bit thin and would miss out on marks as a result.
But this is really impressive!
For AO3, develop the points you have a bit further, as each point you have given is good but a bit thin and would miss out on marks as a result.
But this is really impressive!
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- Psychology A level
- A-Levels
- psychology- depression
- AQA A Level Psychology Paper 3 (7182/3) - 3rd June 2024 [Exam Chat]
- sociology or psych alevel
- A level psychology 16 markers
- AQA A-level Psychology Paper 1 (7182/1) - 19th May 2023 [Exam Chat]
- i got an A* in A level psychology, ask me anything
- Psychology alevel help
- AQA A Level Psychology Paper 1 (7182/1) - 17th May 2024 [Exam Chat]
- AQA A Level Sociology Paper 1 (7192/1) - 20th May 2024 [Exam Chat]
- AQA A Level Psychology Paper 2 (7182/2) - 22nd May 2024 [Exam Chat]
- Edexcel A-level Psychology Paper 1 (9PS0 01) - 19th May 2023 [Exam Chat]
- A-level Help
- A-level Psychology Study Group 2023-2024
- Marking my AQA A-Level Psychology Essay: Effects of Institutionalisation
- Sociology
- Health and Social care or Media Studies???
- sociology aqa a level essay help
- Anyone do any of these a levels lmk
Latest
Trending
Last reply 2 weeks ago
Edexcel GCSE Psychology Paper 1 (1PS0 01) - 15th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 1 month ago
AQA GCSE Psychology Paper 1 (8182/1) - 15th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 1 month ago
What are your predictions for the 16 markers in bio psych aqa a level psychology
