Editing Social learning theory (section)

== History and theoretical background ==
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.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Skinner |first=B. F. |date=1947 |title=Verbal Behavior |url=http://www.behavior.org/resources/595.pdf}}</ref> 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",<ref name=":2" /> Skinner's [[Behaviorism|behaviorist]] theories formed a basis for redevelopment into Social Learning Theory.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gamble |first=Jowaun |date=2018-01-01 |title=Menace II Society: A Social Learning Perspective |url=https://vc.bridgew.edu/grad_rev/vol3/iss1/8/ |journal=The Graduate Review |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=24–37}}</ref>

At around the same time, [[Clark L. Hull|Clark Leonard Hull]], an American psychologist, was a strong proponent of behaviorist stimulus-response theories,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hull |first=C. L. |year=1930 |title=Simple trial and error learning: A study in psychological theory. |journal=Psychological Review |doi=10.1037/h0073614 |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=241–256}}</ref> and headed a group at [[Yale University]]'s Institute of Human Relations. Under him, [[Neal E. Miller|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.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |title=Learning |website=socrates.berkeley.edu |url=http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~kihlstrm//MemoryWeb/learning/SocialLearningTheory.html |access-date=2017-03-30}}</ref> 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 Rotter|Julian B. Rotter]], a professor at [[Ohio State University]], published his book, ''Social Learning and Clinical Psychology'' in 1954.<ref name=":4">{{cite web |title=The Social Learning Theory of Julian B. Rotter |website=psych.fullerton.edu |url=http://psych.fullerton.edu/jmearns/rotter.htm |access-date=2017-03-30}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":4" /> 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.<ref name=":3" />

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:<ref name=":4" />
<math display="block">\mathrm{BP} = f(\mathrm{E \& RV})</math>
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<ref name=":7">{{cite book |last=Rotter |first=Julian |year=1954 |title=Social learning and clinical psychology |publisher=Prentice-Hall |location=Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":7" />

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.<ref name=":7" />

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<ref name=":5">{{cite journal |last = Chomsky |first = Noam |title = A review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior |journal = Language |year = 1959 |volume = 35 |issue = 1 |pages = 26–58 |doi = 10.2307/411334 |jstor = 411334 }}</ref> of [[B. F. Skinner|Skinner]]'s book ''[[Verbal Behavior]],'' an extension of Skinner's initial lectures.<ref>{{cite book |last = Skinner |first = B. F. |title = Verbal behavior |year = 1957 |publisher = Appleton-Century-Crofts |location = New York }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":5" />

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.<ref name="SLPD" /> Bandura began to conduct studies of the rapid acquisition of novel behaviors via social observation, the most famous of which were the [[Bobo doll experiment]]s (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."<ref name="SLPD" /> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last = Skinner |first = B. F. |title = Science and human behavior |year = 1963 |publisher = Appleton |location = New York }}</ref> Rotter's theory proposed that the likelihood of a behavior occurring was a function of the subjective expectancy and value of the reinforcement.<ref>{{cite book |last = Rotter |first = Julian |title = Social learning and clinical psychology |year = 1954 |publisher = Prentice-Hall |location = Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey }}</ref> 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.<ref name="SLPD" />

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

=== Bandura's Social Learning Theory (1977) ===
Social Learning Theory integrated behavioral and cognitive theories of learning in order to provide a comprehensive model that could account for the wide range of learning experiences that occur in the real world. As initially outlined by Bandura and Walters in 1963,<ref name="SLPD" /> the theory was entirely behavioral in nature; the crucial element that made it innovative and increasingly influential was its emphasis upon the role of imitation. Over the years, however, Bandura shifted to a more cognitive perspective, and this led to a major revision of the theory in 1977.<ref name="B1977">{{cite book |last = Bandura |first = Albert |title = Social Learning Theory |year = 1977 |publisher = Prentice-Hall |location = Oxford, England }}</ref> At this time, the key tenets of Social Learning Theory were stated as follows:<ref name="Grusec">{{cite journal |last = Grusec |first = Joan |title = Social Learning Theory and developmental psychology: The legacies of Robert Sears and Albert Bandura |journal = Developmental Psychology |year = 1992 |volume = 28 |issue = 5 |doi = 10.1037/0012-1649.28.5.776 |pages = 776–786 }}</ref>
# Learning is not purely behavioral; rather, it is a ''cognitive'' process that takes place in a social context.
# Learning can occur by observing a behavior ''and'' by observing the consequences of the behavior ('''vicarious reinforcement''').
# Learning involves observation, extraction of information from those observations, and making decisions about the performance of the behavior (observational learning or '''modeling'''). Thus, learning can occur without an observable change in behavior.
# Reinforcement plays a role in learning but is not entirely responsible for learning.
# The learner is not a passive recipient of information. Cognition, environment, and behavior all mutually influence each other ('''reciprocal determinism''').

==== Observation and direct experience ====
Typical stimulus-response theories rely entirely upon direct experience (of the stimulus) to inform behavior. Bandura opens up the scope of learning mechanisms by introducing observation as a possibility.<ref name=":1" /> He adds to this the ability of modeling – a means by which humans "represent actual outcomes symbolically".<ref name=":1" /> These models, cognitively mediated, allow future consequences to have as much of an impact as actual consequences would in a typical stimulus-response theory. An important factor in Social Learning Theory is the concept of '''[[reciprocal determinism]]'''. This notion states that just as an individual's behavior is influenced by the environment, the environment is also influenced by the individual's behavior.<ref name="B1977" /> In other words, a person's behavior, environment, and personal qualities all reciprocally influence each other. For example, a child who plays violent video games will likely influence their peers to play as well, which then encourages the child to play more often.{{Citation needed|date=May 2018}}

==== Modeling and underlying cognitive processes ====
Social Learning Theory draws heavily on the concept of modeling as described above. Bandura outlined three types of modeling stimuli:<ref>{{cite web |title=Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory In Psychology |url=https://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html |access-date=24 October 2023 |date=3 November 2022}}</ref>
# '''Live models''', where a person is demonstrating the desired behavior
# '''Verbal instruction''', in which an individual describes the desired behavior in detail and instructs the participant in how to engage in the behavior
# '''Symbolic''', in which modeling occurs by means of the media, including movies, television, Internet, literature, and radio. Stimuli can be either real or fictional characters.
Exactly what information is gleaned from observation is influenced by the type of model, as well as a series of cognitive and behavioral processes, including:<ref name="B1972">{{cite book |title=Recent trends in Social Learning Theory |publisher=Academic Press |year=1972 |location=New York |chapter=Modeling theory: Some traditions, trends, and disputes |last=Bandura |first=A. |editor-last=Parke |editor-first=R. D. |isbn=0-12-545050-8 }}</ref>
* [[Attention]] – in order to learn, observers must attend to the modeled behavior. Experimental studies<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Postman|first1=Leo|last2=Sassenrath|first2=Julius|date=1961-07-01|title=The Automatic Action of Verbal Rewards and Punishments|journal=The Journal of General Psychology|volume=65|issue=1|pages=109–136|doi=10.1080/00221309.1961.9920464|issn=0022-1309|pmid=13737423}}</ref> have found that awareness of what is being learned and the mechanisms of reinforcement greatly boosts learning outcomes. Attention is impacted by characteristics of the observer (e.g., perceptual abilities, cognitive abilities, arousal, past performance) and characteristics of the behavior or event (e.g., relevance, novelty, affective valence, and functional value). In this way, social factors contribute to attention – the [[Reputation|prestige]] of different models affects the relevance and functional value of observation and therefore modulates  attention.
* [[Recall (memory)|Retention]] – In order to reproduce an observed behavior, observers must be able to remember features of the behavior. Again, this process is influenced by observer characteristics (cognitive capabilities, cognitive rehearsal) and event characteristics (complexity). The cognitive processes underlying retention are described by Bandura as visual and verbal, where verbal descriptions of models are used in more complex scenarios.
* [[Copying|Reproduction]] – By reproduction, Bandura refers not to the propagation of the model but the implementation of it. This requires a degree of cognitive skill, and may in some cases require [[Sensory-motor coupling|sensorimotor]] capabilities.<ref name=":3" /> Reproduction can be difficult because in the case of behaviors that are reinforced through self-observation (he cites improvement in sports), it can be difficult to observe behavior well. This can require the input of others to provide self-correcting feedback. Newer studies on feedback<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=Shu-Ling|last2=Wu|first2=Pei-Yi|date=2008-12-01|title=The role of feedback and self-efficacy on web-based learning: The social cognitive perspective|journal=Computers & Education|volume=51|issue=4|pages=1589–1598|doi=10.1016/j.compedu.2008.03.004}}</ref> support this idea by suggesting effective feedback, which would help with observation and correction improves the performance on participants on tasks.
* [[Motivation]] – The decision to reproduce (or refrain from reproducing) an observed behavior is dependent on the motivations and expectations of the observer, including anticipated consequences and internal standards. Bandura's description of motivation is also fundamentally based on environmental and thus social factors, since motivational factors are driven by the functional value of different behaviors in a given environment.

==== Evolution and cultural intelligence ====
Social Learning Theory has more recently applied alongside and been used to justify the theory of cultural intelligence.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=Schaik|first1=Carel P. van|last2=Burkart|first2=Judith M.|date=2011-04-12|title=Social learning and evolution: the cultural intelligence hypothesis|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences|language=en|volume=366|issue=1567|pages=1008–1016|doi=10.1098/rstb.2010.0304|issn=0962-8436|pmc=3049085|pmid=21357223}}</ref> The cultural intelligence hypothesis argues that humans possess a set of specific behaviors and skills that allow them to exchange information culturally.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Herrmann|first1=Esther|last2=Call|first2=Josep|last3=Hernàndez-Lloreda|first3=María Victoria|last4=Hare|first4=Brian|last5=Tomasello|first5=Michael|date=2007-09-07|title=Humans Have Evolved Specialized Skills of Social Cognition: The Cultural Intelligence Hypothesis|journal=Science|language=en|volume=317|issue=5843|pages=1360–1366|doi=10.1126/science.1146282|issn=0036-8075|pmid=17823346|bibcode=2007Sci...317.1360H|s2cid=686663 |doi-access=}}</ref> This hinges on a model of human learning where social learning is key, and that humans have [[Natural selection|selected]] for traits that maximize opportunities for social learning. The theory builds on extant social theory by suggesting that social learning abilities, like Bandura's cognitive processes required for modeling, correlate with other forms of intelligence and learning.<ref name=":6" /> Experimental evidence has shown that humans overimitate behavior compared to chimpanzees, lending credence to the idea that we have selected for methods of social learning.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Whiten|first1=Andrew|last2=McGuigan|first2=Nicola|last3=Marshall-Pescini|first3=Sarah|last4=Hopper|first4=Lydia M.|date=2009-08-27|title=Emulation, imitation, over-imitation and the scope of culture for child and chimpanzee|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences|language=en|volume=364|issue=1528|pages=2417–2428|doi=10.1098/rstb.2009.0069|issn=0962-8436|pmc=2865074|pmid=19620112}}</ref> Some academics have suggested that our ability to learn socially and culturally have led to our success as a species.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://secretofoursuccess.fas.harvard.edu/|title=THE SECRET OF OUR SUCCESS|website=secretofoursuccess.fas.harvard.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-03-31}}</ref>