Teori inlärningsteori
Inlärningsteori är en del av psykologin som berör hur människan lär sig. Det kan ske genom bland annat respondent inlärning och operant inlärning (även kallat respondent och operant betingning). Social learning theory is a theory of social behavior that proposes that new behaviors can be acquired by observing and imitating others. It states that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction, even in the absence of motor reproduction or direct reinforcement.
When a particular behavior is rewarded regularly, it will most likely persist; conversely, if a particular behavior is constantly punished, it will most likely desist. In the s, B. Skinner delivered a series of lectures on verbal behavior, putting forth a more empirical approach to the subject than existed in psychology at the time. 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", [ 4 ] Skinner's behaviorist theories formed a basis for redevelopment into Social Learning Theory. At around the same time, Clark Leonard Hull , an American psychologist, was a strong proponent of behaviorist stimulus-response theories, [ 5 ] and headed a group at Yale University 's Institute of Human Relations. Under him, Neal Miller and John Dollard aimed to come up with a reinterpretation of psychoanalytic theory in terms of stimulus-response.
Social inlärning: Albert Banduras intressanta teori
This led to their book, Social Learning and Imitation , published in , 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. Nor did they follow up on their original ideas with a sustained research program.
Julian B. 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. 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.
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. Although the equation is essentially conceptual, it is possible to enter numerical values if one is conducting an experiment. Rotter's book [ 8 ] 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.
Så fungerar Social inlärningsteori
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. 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. 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.