Social learning theory

Social learning theory is a theory of social behavior that proposes that new behaviors can be acquired by observing and imitating others. It states that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction, even in the absence of motor reproduction or direct reinforcement.^[1] In addition to the observation of behavior, learning also occurs through the observation of rewards and punishments, a process known as vicarious reinforcement. When a particular behavior is rewarded regularly, it will most likely persist; conversely, if a particular behavior is constantly punished, it will most likely desist.^[2] The theory expands on traditional behavioral theories, in which behavior is governed solely by reinforcements, by placing emphasis on the important roles of various internal processes in the learning individual.^[3] Albert Bandura^[3] is known for studying this theory.

In the 1940s, B. F. Skinner delivered a series of lectures on verbal behavior, putting forward a more empirical approach to the subject than existed in psychology at the time.^[4] In them, he proposed the use of stimulus-response theories to describe language use and development, and that all verbal behavior was underpinned by operant conditioning. He did however mention that some forms of speech derived from words and sounds that had previously been heard (echoic response), and that reinforcement from parents allowed these 'echoic responses' to be pared down to that of understandable speech. While he denied that there was any "instinct or faculty of imitation",^[4] Skinner's behaviorist theories formed a basis for redevelopment into Social Learning Theory.^[5]

At around the same time, Clark Leonard Hull, an American psychologist, was a strong proponent of behaviorist stimulus-response theories,^[6] and headed a group at Yale University's Institute of Human Relations. Under him, Neal Miller and John Dollard aimed to come up with a reinterpretation of psychoanalytic theory in terms of stimulus-response. This led to their book, Social Learning and Imitation, published in 1941, which posited that personality consisted of learned habits. They used Hull's drive theory, where a drive is a need that stimulates a behavioral response, crucially conceiving a drive for imitation, which was positively reinforced by social interaction and widespread as a result.^[7] This was the first use of the term 'social learning', but Miller and Dollard did not consider their ideas to be separate from Hullian learning theory, only a possible refinement. Nor did they follow up on their original ideas with a sustained research program.

Julian B. Rotter, a professor at Ohio State University, published his book, Social Learning and Clinical Psychology in 1954.^[8] This was the first extended statement of a comprehensive social learning theory. Rotter moved away from the strictly behaviorist learning of the past, and considered instead the holistic interaction between the individual and the environment. Essentially he was attempting an integration of behaviorism (which generated precise predictions but was limited in its ability to explain complex human interactions) and gestalt psychology (which did a better job of capturing complexity but was much less powerful at predicting actual behavioral choices). In his theory, the social environment and individual personality created probabilities of behavior, and the reinforcement of these behaviors led to learning. He emphasized the subjective nature of the responses and effectiveness of reinforcement types.^[8] While his theory used vocabulary common to that of behaviorism, the focus on internal functioning and traits differentiated his theories, and can be seen as a precursor to more cognitive approaches to learning.^[7]

Rotter's theory is also known as expectancy-value theory due to its central explanatory constructs. Expectancy is defined as the individual's subjectively held probability that a given action will lead to a given outcome. It can range from zero to one, with one representing 100% confidence in the outcome. For example, a person may entertain a given level of belief that they can make a foul shot in basketball or that an additional hour of study will improve their grade on an examination. Reinforcement value is defined as the individual's subjective preference for a given outcome, assuming that all possible outcomes were equally available. In other words, the two variables are independent of each other. These two variables interact to generate behavior potential, or the likelihood that a given action will be performed. The nature of the interaction is not specified, though Rotter suggests that it is likely to be multiplicative. The basic predictive equation is:^[8] $${\displaystyle \mathrm {BP} =f(\mathrm {E\&RV} )}$$ Where:

• BP = Behavior Potential
• E = Expectancy
• RV = Reinforcement Value

Although the equation is essentially conceptual, it is possible to enter numerical values if one is conducting an experiment. Rotter's 1954 book^[9] contains the results of many such experiments demonstrating this and other principles.

Importantly, both expectancies and reinforcement values generalize. After many experiences ('learning trials', in behaviorist language) a person will develop a generalized expectancy for success in a domain. For example, a person who has played several sports develops a generalized expectancy concerning how they will do in an athletic setting. This is also termed freedom of movement. Generalized expectancies become increasingly stable as we accumulate experience, eventually taking on a trait-like consistency. Similarly, we generalize across related reinforcers, developing what Rotter termed need values. These needs (which resemble those described by Henry Murray) are another major determinant of behavior. Generalized expectancies and needs are the major personality variables in Rotter's theory. The influence of a generalized expectancy will be greatest when encountering novel, unfamiliar situations. As experience is gained, specific expectancies are developed regarding that situation. For example, a person's generalized expectancy for success in sports will have less influence on their actions in a sport with which they have long experience.^[9]

Another conceptual equation in Rotter's theory proposes that the value of a given reinforcer is a function of the expectancy that it will lead to another reinforcing outcome and the value set upon that outcome. This is important because many social reinforcers are what behaviorists term secondary reinforcers – they have no intrinsic value, but have become linked with other, primary, reinforcers. For example, the value set on obtaining a high grade on an examination is dependent on how strongly that grade is linked (in the subjective belief system of the student) with other outcomes – which might include parental praise, graduation with honors, offers of more prestigious jobs upon graduation, etc. – and the extent to which those other outcomes are themselves valued.^[9]

Rotter's social learning theory also generated many suggestions for clinical practice. Psychotherapy was largely conceptualized as expectancy modification and, to some extent, as values modification. This may be seen as an early form of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

In 1959, Noam Chomsky published his criticism^[10] of Skinner's book Verbal Behavior, an extension of Skinner's initial lectures.^[11] In his review, Chomsky stated that pure stimulus-response theories of behavior could not account for the process of language acquisition, an argument that contributed significantly to psychology's cognitive revolution. He theorized that "human beings are somehow specially designed to" understand and acquire language, ascribing a definite but unknown cognitive mechanism to it.^[10]

Within this context, Albert Bandura studied learning processes that occurred in interpersonal contexts and were not, in his view, adequately explained either by theories of operant conditioning or by existing models of social learning.^[1] Bandura began to conduct studies of the rapid acquisition of novel behaviors via social observation, the most famous of which were the Bobo doll experiments (1961-63).

In their 1963 book Social Learning and Personality Development, Bandura and Richard Walters argued that "the weaknesses of learning approaches that discount the influence of social variables are nowhere more clearly revealed than in their treatment of the acquisition of novel responses."^[1] Skinner's explanation of the acquisition of new responses relied on the process of successive approximation, which required multiple trials, reinforcement for components of behavior, and gradual change.^[12] Rotter's theory proposed that the likelihood of a behavior occurring was a function of the subjective expectancy and value of the reinforcement.^[13] According to Bandura, this model did not account for a response that had not yet been learned – though this contention does not address the likelihood that generalization from related situations would produce behaviors in new ones.^[1]

Bandura went on to write the book Social Learning Theory in 1977.

Recent research in neuroscience has implicated mirror neurons as a neurophysiology basis for social learning, observational learning, motor cognition and social cognition.^[24] Mirror neurons have been heavily linked to social learning in humans. Mirror neurons were first discovered in primates in studies which involved teaching the monkey motor activity tasks. One such study focused on teaching primates to crack nuts with a hammer. When the primate witnessed another individual cracking nuts with a hammer, the mirror neuron systems became activated as the primate learned to use the hammer to crack nuts. However, when the primate was not presented with a social learning opportunity, the mirror neuron systems did not activate and learning did not occur.^[25] Similar studies with humans also show similar evidence to the human mirror neuron system activating when observing another person perform a physical task. The activation of the mirror neuron system is thought to be critical for the understanding of goal directed behaviors and understanding their intention. Although still controversial, this provides a direct neurological link to understanding social cognition.^[26]

In social work, some theories can be taken from many disciplines, such as criminology and education. Even though social learning theory comes from psychology, this theory can also be applied to the study of social work.^[27] Social learning theory is important in social work because of the observation of others. For example, if a child watches their sibling do their daily routine they are more likely going to want to copy the routine step by step. Feedback and reinforcement can help individuals learn and adopt new behaviors. Social workers can use feedback and reinforcements to help their clients make positive changes. For example, a social worker might provide feedback and reinforcement for a client who has made progress toward a goal, such as maintaining sobriety. Social learning provides a useful framework for social workers to help their clients make positive changes by leveraging the power of social influence and modeling.^[28]

Social learning theory has been explained and shown in many different examples. Depression in social learning can be discussed in a variety of ways.^[29] For example, a person with depression may withdraw from social situations and avoid interacting with others. They may feel like they don't have anything to contribute to conversations or others won't understand them. Depression can make it difficult for people to find the motivation to engage in social activities. They may also feel like it takes too much energy to interact with others, and they would rather stay home alone. Social learning theory provides a framework for understanding the role of social factors in depression and for developing interventions that promote positive behaviors and attitudes.

Addiction is related to the social learning theory as it emphasizes the role of social influences and reinforces the development and maintenance of addictive behaviors. The social learning theory suggests that people learn and adopt behaviors through observation, experience, and reinforcement from social interactions with others.^[32] In the case of addiction, individuals may learn and adopt substance use behaviors from peers, family members, or media exposure, and through positive reinforcement such as pleasure or relief from stress. Additionally, the social learning theory highlights the importance of social context in reinforcing addictive behaviors, as social situations and norms may influence the decision to engage in substance use. The social learning theory proposes that addiction is a learned behavior influenced by environmental and social factors.

One modern-day example of the social learning theory in action is the phenomenon of "viral challenges" on social media. These challenges involve individuals performing a specific action or task, usually for the purpose of entertainment, and then sharing the video with their online community. According to Bandura's social learning theory, people learn new behaviors by observing and imitating the actions of others. In the case of viral challenges, individuals watch others perform a specific task and then "imitate" the behavior by completing the challenge themselves.

For example, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which went viral in the summer of 2014, involved people dumping a bucket of ice water over their heads to raise awareness for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and then challenging others to do the same. The challenge quickly spread across social media platforms, with celebrities and politicians also participating, and raised over $115 million for the ALS Association.^[33]

Another example is the "In My Feelings" challenge, which took place on social media in the summer of 2018. The challenge involved people dancing to Drake's song "In My Feelings" alongside a moving car and sharing the video online. The challenge was initially started by Instagram user @theshiggyshow and quickly gained popularity across social media platforms.^[34]

These examples demonstrate how the social learning theory can be applied to real-world phenomena, with individuals learning and imitating new behaviors through the observation of others on social media platforms.

Social learning theory has been used to explain the emergence and maintenance of deviant behavior, especially aggression. Criminologists Ronald Akers and Robert Burgess integrated the principles of social learning theory and operant conditioning with Edwin Sutherland's differential association theory to create a comprehensive theory of criminal behavior.^[35][36] Burgess and Akers emphasized that criminal behavior is learned in both social and nonsocial situations through combinations of direct reinforcement, vicarious reinforcement, explicit instruction, and observation. Both the probability of being exposed to certain behaviors and the nature of the reinforcement are dependent on group norms.

• Mimetic theory