Question

Evaluate the relevance of observational learning theories (on social and moral learning) for understanding the acquisition of normative and non-normative thinking and behaviours in a culture.

Answer 1

Learning is achived not by parctise or directly, by experience on the learner's part, but also by observing another person's performance. Thorndike (1911). Was the first psychologist to study imitation as a spicies of observational learning in animals. Later Albert Bandura studied on this observational learning and gave social theory on observational learning.

Observational learning

This occurs through observing the behoviour of others. It is a form of social learning, which takes various forms. A social model is required such a parent, sibling, friend or a teacher with surrounding.

Psychologist Albert Bandura defines learning through observing the behavior of another person called model is behavioral learning.

Effective modeling process:

According to Bandura learning takes palces in four steps:

1) paying attention and preceiving the most of critical fearture of other person's behavior.

2) remembering the behavior or retention.

3) Reproucting the action

4) Motivation: having a good reason to imitate n carry out the behavior.

Social Learning Theory

Bandura's social learning theory says that people learn from one another via observertion, imtitation and modeling. This theory is known as bridge between behavior and congnitive learning theories, as it is composed of attention, memory and motivation. Most humans behavior is learned observertionally through modeling from observing others . One forms an idea how new behavior is performed and later occasionally uses this coded information which servers as guide for action.

This theory explains humans behavior occours in terms of reciprocal interaction between congnitive, behavioral and environmental influences.

Reciprocal Deteminism:

Bandura believed reciprocal Deteminism and thought that environment and behavior cause each other but later he believed that environment causes ones behavior. How ever after intensive studies later Bandura considered that personality as an interaction between components. They are as following:

1) Environment

2) Behavior

3) Cognitive and internal events.

The above picture explains the reciprocal Deteminism of the Bandura's social learning theory.

Bandu says that people's concepetions, their behavior and their environment are reciprocal Deteminants of each other. Individuals are neither powerful objects that they are controlled by environmental forces nor entirety free agents who can do whatever they want.