Editing Social learning theory (section)

== Criminology ==
Social learning theory has been used to explain the emergence and maintenance of [[deviancy|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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pfohl |first=S. J. |title=Images of deviance and social control: A sociological history |location=New York |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=1994 |pages=1–16, 301–303 |isbn=0-07-049765-6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burgess |first1=R. |last2=Akers |first2=R. |title=A Differential Association-Reinforcement Theory of Criminal Behavior |journal=Social Problems |volume=14 |issue=2 |year=1966 |pages=128–147 |doi=10.2307/798612 |jstor=798612 }}</ref> 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.

=== Developmental psychology ===
In her book ''Theories of Developmental Psychology'', [[Patricia H. Miller]] lists both moral development and gender-role development as important areas of research within social learning theory.<ref name="Miller, P. H. 2011">{{cite book |last = Miller |first = Patricia H. |title = Theories of developmental psychology |year = 2011 |publisher = Worth Publishers |location = New York }}</ref> Social learning theorists emphasize observable behavior regarding the acquisition of these two skills.  For gender-role development, the same-sex parent provides only one of many models from which the individual learns gender-roles.  Social learning theory also emphasizes the variable nature of moral development due to the changing social circumstances of each decision: "The particular factors the child thinks are important vary from situation to situation, depending on variables such as which situational factors are operating, which causes are most salient, and what the child processes cognitively.  Moral judgments involve a complex process of considering and weighing various criteria in a given social situation."<ref name="Miller, P. H. 2011" />

For social learning theory, gender development has to do with the interactions of numerous social factors, involving all the interactions the individual encounters.  For social learning theory, biological factors are important but take a back seat to the importance of learned, observable behavior.  Because of the highly gendered society in which an individual might develop, individuals begin to distinguish people by gender even as infants. Bandura's account of gender allows for more than cognitive factors in predicting gendered behavior: for Bandura, motivational factors and a broad network of social influences determine if, when, and where gender knowledge is expressed.<ref name="Miller, P. H. 2011" />

=== Management ===
Social learning theory proposes that rewards are not the sole force behind creating motivation.  Thoughts, beliefs, morals, and feedback all help to motivate us.  Three other ways in which we learn are vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states.  Modeling, or the scenario in which we see someone's behaviors and adopt them as our own, aide the learning process as well as mental states and the cognitive process.<ref>Qiqi Jiang; Chuan-Hoo Tan; Choon Ling Sia; Kwok-Kee Wei / Followership in an Open-source Software Project and Its Significance in Code Reuse In: MIS Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 4</ref>

=== Media violence ===
{{Main|Media violence research}}
Principles of social learning theory have been applied extensively to the study of media violence. Akers and Burgess hypothesized that observed or experienced positive rewards and lack of punishment for aggressive behaviors reinforces aggression. Many research studies and meta-analyses have discovered significant correlations between viewing violent television and aggression later in life and many have not, as well as playing violent video games and aggressive behaviors.<ref>{{cite journal |last = Anderson |first = C.A. |author2 = Bushman, B.J. |title = Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and pro-social behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature |journal = Psychological Science |year = 2001 |volume = 12 |issue = 5 |pages = 353–359 |doi = 10.1111/1467-9280.00366 |pmid = 11554666 |s2cid = 14987425 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last = Paik |first = H. |author2 = Comstock, G. |title = The effects of television violence on antisocial behavior: A meta-analysis. |journal = Communication Research |year = 1994 |volume = 21 |issue = 4 |pages = 516–546 |doi = 10.1177/009365094021004004 |s2cid = 145694624 }}</ref> The role of observational learning has also been cited as an important factor in the rise of rating systems for TV, movies, and video games.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Okoye |first1=Chukwuemeka |last2=Obi-Nwosu |first2=Harry |date=2020 |title=OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING AND NATIONAL VALUE: THESIS OF BIG BROTHER NAIJA TV SHOW |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348390304 |journal=British International Journal of Education and Social Sciences |volume=7 |issue=2 |via=Research Gate}}</ref>

=== Creating social change with media ===
[[Educational entertainment|Entertainment-education]] in the form of a [[telenovela]] or soap opera can help viewers learn socially desired behaviors in a positive way from models portrayed in these programs.<ref name=bandura2004>{{cite book |last=Bandura |first=A. |year=2004 |chapter=Social Cognitive Theory for Personal and Social Change by Enabling Media |editor1-first=A. |editor1-last=Singhal |editor2-first=M. J. |editor2-last=Cody |editor3-first=E. M. |editor3-last=Rogers |editor4-first=M. |editor4-last=Sabido |series=LEA's communication series |title=Entertainment-education and social change: History, research, and practice |pages=75–96 |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |isbn=1-4106-0959-6 }}</ref>  The telenovela format allows the creators to incorporate elements that can bring a desired response.<ref name=singhal1993>{{cite journal |last1=Singhal |first1=A. |last2=Rogers |first2=E. M. |last3=Brown |first3=W. J. |year=1993 |title=Harnessing the potential of entertainment-education telenovelas |journal=Gazene |volume=51 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1177/001654929305100101 |s2cid=11967642 }}</ref>  These elements may include music, actors, melodrama, props or costumes.<ref name=singhal1993 />  Entertainment education is symbolic modeling and has a formula with three sets of characters with the cultural value that is to be examined is determined ahead of time:
#Characters that support a value (positive role models)
#Characters who reject the value (negative role models)
#Characters who have doubts about the value (undecided)<ref name=singhal1993 />

Within this formula there are at least three doubters that represent the demographic group within the target population.<ref name=singhal1993 />  One of these doubters will accept the value less than halfway through, the second will accept the value two-thirds of the way through and the third doubter does not accept the value and is seriously punished.  This doubter is usually killed.<ref name=singhal1993 /> Positive social behaviors are reinforced with rewards and negative social behaviors are reinforced with punishment. At the end of the episode a short epilogue done by a recognizable figure summarizes the educational content and within the program viewers are given resources in their community.<ref name=bandura2004 />

==== Applications for social change ====

Through observational learning a model can bring forth new ways of thinking and behaving.<ref name=bandura2002>{{cite journal |last=Bandura |first=A. |year=2002 |title=Growing Primacy of Human Agency in Adaptation and Change in the Electronic Era |journal=European Psychologist |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=2–16 |doi=10.1027//1016-9040.7.1.2 }}</ref>  With a modeled emotional experience, the observer shows an affinity toward people, places and objects.<ref name=bandura2004 />  They dislike what the models do not like and like what the models care about.<ref name=bandura2002 />  Television helps contribute to how viewers see their social reality.<ref name=bandura2004 />  "Media representations gain influence because people's social constructions of reality depend heavily on what they see, hear and read rather than what they experience directly".<ref name=bandura2004 />  Any effort to change beliefs must be directed toward the sociocultural norms and practices at the social system level.<ref name=bandura2004 /> Before a drama is developed, extensive research is done through focus groups that represent the different sectors within a culture.  Participants are asked what problems in society concern them most and what obstacles they face, giving creators of the drama culturally relevant information to incorporate into the show.<ref name=bandura2004 />

The pioneer of entertainment-education is [[Educational television|Miguel Sabido]] a creative writer/producer/director in the 1970s at the Mexican national television system, Televisa.  Sabido spent eight years working on a method that would create social change and is known as the Sabido Method.<ref name=singhal1993 /> He credits [[Albert Bandura]]'s social learning theory, the drama theory of [[Eric Bentley]], [[Carl Jung]]'s theory of archetypes, MacLean's [[triune brain]] theory and Sabido's own soap opera theory for influencing his method.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Singhal |first1=A. |last2=Obregon |first2=R. |year=1999 |title=Social uses of commercial soap operas: A conversation with Miguel Sabido |journal=Journal of Development Communication |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=68–77 |pmid=12295321 }}</ref> Sabido's method has been used worldwide to address social issues such as national literacy, population growth and health concerns such as HIV.<ref name=bandura2004 />

=== Psychotherapy ===

Social Learning Theory has significantly influenced psychotherapy, providing a multifaceted framework that extends beyond traditional behavioral conditioning.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Patricia H. |title=Theories of developmental psychology |date=2016 |publisher=Worth Publishers Macmillan Learning |isbn=978-1-4292-7898-0 |edition=6th |location=New York}}</ref> Social learning theory can be integrated with various therapeutic models and lends itself to a wide range of practical techniques and interventions. For example, therapists in many therapeutic approaches utilize modeling, where clients observe and learn from the therapist's behaviors and response patterns. Techniques such as behavioral rehearsal, role-playing, and social skills training empower clients to acquire new behaviors and enhance their coping mechanisms in various situations.<ref name="McCullough Chavis 471–481">{{Cite journal |last=McCullough Chavis |first=Annie |date=2011-08-31 |title=Social Learning Theory and Behavioral Therapy: Considering Human Behaviors within the Social and Cultural Context of Individuals and Families |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19371918.2011.591629 |journal=Social Work in Public Health |language=en |volume=26 |issue=5 |pages=471–481 |doi=10.1080/19371918.2011.591629 |pmid=21902482 |s2cid=27249880 |issn=1937-1918|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Additionally, social learning theory underscores the profound influence of culture on human development, and posits that cultural norms, values, and social contexts significantly shape individual development. Therapists must assess for the influence of culture in understanding their clients and adapt interventions to align with clients cultural backgrounds.

In systemic therapy, such as couples or family therapy, social learning theory assists therapists in identifying intergenerational patterns of behavior. Systemic therapists may assist clients in gaining insights into the origins of  presenting problems. Presenting problems are often conceptualized as behaviors and coping mechanisms that can be transmitted across generations through observational learning and operant conditioning. Frequently, issues are rooted in learned behaviors and coping strategies acquired through observation and modeling.<ref name="McCullough Chavis 471–481"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Powell |first1=Melissa D. |last2=Ladd |first2=Linda D. |date=2010-04-30 |title=Bullying: A Review of the Literature and Implications for Family Therapists |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01926180902961662 |journal=The American Journal of Family Therapy |language=en |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=189–206 |doi=10.1080/01926180902961662 |s2cid=144478995 |issn=0192-6187|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Social learning theory enriches psychotherapy by providing a holistic perspective that encompasses historical context, cultural considerations, family dynamics and interpersonal relationships, and intergenerational patterns. These allow therapists to have a more complex, nuanced understanding of the development and maintenance of presenting problems.

=== School psychology ===
Many classroom and teaching strategies draw on principles of social learning to enhance students' knowledge acquisition and retention. For example, using the technique of guided participation, a teacher says a phrase and asks the class to repeat the phrase. Thus, students both imitate and reproduce the teacher's action, aiding retention. An extension of guided participation is reciprocal learning, in which both student and teacher share responsibility in leading discussions.<ref>Kumpulainen, K., Wray, D. (2002). Classroom Interaction and Social Learning: From Theory to Practice. New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer.</ref> Additionally, teachers can shape the classroom behavior of students by modelling appropriate behavior and visibly rewarding students for good behavior. By emphasizing the teacher's role as model and encouraging the students to adopt the position of observer, the teacher can make knowledge and practices explicit to students, enhancing their learning outcomes.<ref>There are
 some limitations to the Social Learning Theory that make it more complicated than it is made out to be. Some of the limitations are that a changes in the environment does not automatically mean that a person changes too. The theory also seems to ignore biological and hormonal dispositions of people. You can read more about this by clicking on this link.
{{cite web |url=http://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/MPH-Modules/SB/SB721-Models/SB721-Models5.html |title=The Social Cognitive Theory |access-date=2014-03-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321022058/http://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/MPH-Modules/SB/SB721-Models/SB721-Models5.html |archive-date=2014-03-21 }}</ref>

=== Algorithm for computer optimization ===
In modern field of computational intelligence, the social learning theory is adopted to develop a new computer optimization algorithm, the social learning algorithm.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|url = http://www.ai.sysu.edu.cn/GYJ/sla/sla_smc14.pdf|title = From the Social Learning Theory to a social learning algorithm for global optimization|last = Gong|first = Yue-Jiao|date = 2014-10-11|journal = Systems, Man and Cybernetics}}</ref> Emulating the observational learning and reinforcement behaviors, a virtual society deployed in the algorithm seeks the strongest behavioral patterns with the best outcome. This corresponds to searching for the best solution in solving optimization problems. Compared with other bio-inspired global optimization algorithms that mimic natural evolution or animal behaviors, the social learning algorithm has its prominent advantages. First, since the self-improvement through learning is more direct and rapid than the evolution process, the social learning algorithm can improve the efficiency of the algorithms mimicking natural evolution. Second, compared with the interaction and learning behaviors in animal groups, the social learning process of human beings exhibits a higher level of intelligence. By emulating human learning behaviors, it is possible to arrive at more effective optimizers than existing swarm intelligence algorithms. Experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness and efficiency of the social learning algorithm, which has in turn also verified through computer simulations the outcomes of the social learning behavior in human society.<ref name=":0" />

Another example is the [[social cognitive optimization]], which is a population-based metaheuristic optimization algorithm. This algorithm is based on the [[social cognitive theory]], simulating the process of individual learning of a set of agents with their own memory and their social learning with the knowledge in the social sharing library. It has been used for solving [[continuous optimization]], [[integer programming]], and [[combinatorial optimization]] problems.

There also several [[mathematical models of social learning]] which try to model this phenomenon using probabilistic tools.