IB Psychology: Social Learning Theory

Social Learning Theory was one of the first topics we learned about in the SCLOA (socio-cultural level of analysis) unit last year. It is a theory proposed by psychologist Albert Bandura (1977), and states that our behavior is learned from our environment through observation. Through our observations of others, we actively process information and think about our consequences if we too did those actions.

To support his theory, Bandura conducted the Bobo Doll Experiment (1961), which is pretty silly and hilarious to watch. In the experiment Bandura basically tests the influence of television violence on children. Children are told to watch a video (in which an adult violently hits a Bobo Doll), then are brought into the exact same room as the one that appeared in the video. Experimenters then observe what the child will do.

The results showed that the children, too, start to kick and punch the Bobo Doll. I remember our psychology class laughing at the children who like little devils kept repeatedly punching the doll. The control groups, who were shown a video of a non-aggressive adult, were less violent towards the Bobo Doll. It was a weird experiment, but it was one that I wouldn't forget easily.

When we're talking about shared knowledge in TOK, we also have to consider how this knowledge becomes shared. I think that observation is important to delivering a behavior or information to others. Things in the news, television, friends and teachers, are all people that we observe. In our daily lives, we look at these people and learn from them.