Discuss two social psychological theories of aggression
Discuss two social psychological theories of aggression (24 marks)
One social psychological theory of aggression is social learning theory. SLT argues that like all behaviour, aggression is learned through both direct and indirect reinforcement. Behaviour which is reinforced, be that positively or negatively – positive reinforcement occurs when the behaviour causes desired outcomes, negative reinforcement occurs when the behaviour causes undesirable outcomes - is more likely to be learned and repeated. Operant conditioning states that learning the behaviour occurs through direct reinforcement, for example if a child cleans their room and is given some sweets (positive reinforcement) or when a child cleans their room so their parent stops telling them off (negative reinforcement). SLT unlike operant conditioning, believes that behaviour can also be learned and repeated through indirect reinforcement or vicarious reinforcement. This theory was developed by Bandura and claimed that the majority of behaviour is learned through watching others. It states that if people observe another person’s behaviour reinforced – positively or negatively – they are more likely to repeat that behaviour. Bandura named these observed people models and said that people are more likely to imitate the behaviour if the model they are observing is similar to them, powerful, admirable or nurturing, for instance a child’s parents would be their most probable model. One of the main differences between traditional behaviourism and Bandura’s view in social learning theory is that Bandura believes that observation alone is enough for learning to take place unlike Skinner who argues that learning is a consequence of reinforcement.
Bandura says that in order for social learning to take place the following must be maintained; Attention, a person can only learn through observation if they focus on the models behaviour. Retention, the behaviour must be remembered. Production, the individual must have
One social psychological theory of aggression is social learning theory. SLT argues that like all behaviour, aggression is learned through both direct and indirect reinforcement. Behaviour which is reinforced, be that positively or negatively – positive reinforcement occurs when the behaviour causes desired outcomes, negative reinforcement occurs when the behaviour causes undesirable outcomes - is more likely to be learned and repeated. Operant conditioning states that learning the behaviour occurs through direct reinforcement, for example if a child cleans their room and is given some sweets (positive reinforcement) or when a child cleans their room so their parent stops telling them off (negative reinforcement). SLT unlike operant conditioning, believes that behaviour can also be learned and repeated through indirect reinforcement or vicarious reinforcement. This theory was developed by Bandura and claimed that the majority of behaviour is learned through watching others. It states that if people observe another person’s behaviour reinforced – positively or negatively – they are more likely to repeat that behaviour. Bandura named these observed people models and said that people are more likely to imitate the behaviour if the model they are observing is similar to them, powerful, admirable or nurturing, for instance a child’s parents would be their most probable model. One of the main differences between traditional behaviourism and Bandura’s view in social learning theory is that Bandura believes that observation alone is enough for learning to take place unlike Skinner who argues that learning is a consequence of reinforcement.
Bandura says that in order for social learning to take place the following must be maintained; Attention, a person can only learn through observation if they focus on the models behaviour. Retention, the behaviour must be remembered. Production, the individual must have