Social learning is simply defined as the behavior or actions which occur by imitating and observing others. It explains how people learn new values, attitudes, and behaviors. It is divided into four subtopics: self-efficacy in social learning, self-reinforcement and self-punishment, vicarious reinforcement and punishment, and modeling and imitation. Rewards and punishments also occur when learning through observation. If a behavior is always punished than it will likely stop, however, if one is constantly rewarded, the behavior will continue (Kalat, 2017). Social learning allows for a quicker and more efficient way to learn verse trying to learn from scratch on your own.
Modeling and imitation is one variation of social learning. The main idea is that individuals model their behavior after others. This poses the question of ‘why do we imitate?’ When individuals imitate others, it is often because it establishes a rule or norm but also their behavior will likely provide information (Kalat, 2017). An example of this would be “if a friend showed interest in some boy or girl, you start to notice that person, too. You modeled or imitated your friend’s interest. The same is true in nonhumans. If one female shows an interest in mating with a particular male, other females increase their interest in him also” (Kalat, 2017).
This idea of copying isn’t always controllable. Individuals are more likely to yawn after watching another human or animal yawn. This is an automatic imitation. Modeling and imitation can be very helpful especially since Americans drive on the right side of the road, and British on the left. Driving on the right side in Britain would result in a crash. Due to this, it is helpful to imitate because, when driving we do what others do to avoid crashes.
127 our experts are availableright now
The second subtopic of social learning is vicarious reinforcement and punishment. Vicarious reinforcement is “substituting someone else’s experience for your own” (Kalat, 2017). Reinforcement is very common in people’s lives. Teams will copy styles of play from other sports team who constantly win. The same approach is used in new businesses who copy other successful companies. Advertisers are the most common example of vicarious reinforcement and punishment. In advertisements, successful and happy people are the focus, to give the impression that you’ll be happy as well if you use their product. This imitation of behavior which has been reinforced to someone else isn’t very effective because people who fail or have received punishment, do not get identified with.
Self-efficacy in social learning is the third subtopic. The belief that you have the ability to successfully perform a task is known as self-efficacy (Kalat, 2017). This is all about estimating you chance of success by considering what you’re good and bad at, and comparing it to someone successful. Self- efficacy is relatable to a majority of individuals because we would all enjoy to have top notch, well paying jobs, but since a majority of people don’t think they could be good enough for that level, they don’t try. An example of this would be that tennis players want to be as good as Serena Williams however, they don’t believe that it is possible therefore they give up early on.
The last subtopic is closely correlated to self-efficacy but contains different aspects. Self-reinforcement and self-punishment is when “your sense of self-efficacy is strong enough, you try to imitate the behavior of a successful person” (Kalat, 2017). The reinforcement and punishment, instead of if they were training someone else, are placed upon themselves. This is because they constantly monitor their progress, which is predetermined by the goals they set for themselves. Self-reinforcement and self-punishment is a method often used by therapists to help their patients through troubling times. It is best used in group settings such as family counseling, couples counseling, and alcoholics anonymous. Without methods to combat this, individuals will punish themselves along the way if they were to fail at the goal they set.
Social learning can be constantly observed by people doing everyday things such as driving a car, picking the outfits they wear, and cooking from a recipe. The Smithsonian did a study on social learning through chimpanzees. These animals have a natural curiosity which has been a key to their success and a significant reason why the study was done using these animals. Similar to humans, chimpanzees can express complex emotions. They “yawn when they’re tired, laugh when they’re having fun, and even kiss to make up after having a spat” (Smithsonian, 2017, June 09).
At a jungle rescue center, there is a troupe which will be tested for this study, to see how well they can learn from each other. In the study, a researcher set up an unused termount mound filled with honey. The challenge for the chimpanzees was how to get to the honey inside. Some of the smarter chimps were able to make a dipping stick, which would fit into the holes of the mound, and reach the honey. As the other chimpanzees watched the smarter ones, they observed what was occurring, and were able to do the same thing after.
As the years went by, most of the chimpanzees in the group had mastered this skill. The younger and more energetic chimps however, needed to be directly taught how to get to the honey. This idea of social learning throughout the years has led to different behaviors and skills among the chimpanzees (Smithsonian, 2017, June 09). The study proved that chimpanzees learn through observing and imitating others, which is known as social learning.
Frontiersin.org wrote an article on social learning which provided an example in the everyday lives of humans:
Imagine for dinner you must choose between two restaurants that you have never tried before. Your friends tell you that one of them serves excellent food, but the other restaurant has unsanitary conditions. Without directly experiencing each outcome, most people can use this information to guide their decision about where to eat. This not only applies to learning food preferences, but also to mating decisions, fear learning, and problem-solving strategies. (Frontiersin.org, 2014, March 13)
The decision on where to eat was a choice that can be easily made without needing to experience each option. A majority of people would pick the restaurant that serves excellent food, over that which is unsanitary. While humans do it constantly, animals can be presented with similar decision, but theirs is geared towards mating. Social learning can be observed between both animals and humans in the behaviors they perform.
Social learning has become an everyday habit in people’s lives. It allows for decisions to be made, whether we’re aware of what people or doing or not. Our behaviors and values are acted upon by observing and imitating others. The four subtopics: self-efficacy in social learning, self-reinforcement and self-punishment, vicarious reinforcement and punishment, and modeling and imitation help to explain the values people learn and attitudes they express. It is an efficient way of learning and will continue to be used in individuals everyday lives (Kalat, 2017).
References
- Kalat, J. W. (2017). Introduction to psychology. Australia: Cengage Learning.
- G., J., W., K, K., E., X., . . . L, M. (2014, March 13). Social learning in humans and other animals. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2014.00058/full
- Kalat, J. W. (2017). Introduction to psychology. Australia: Cengage Learning
- S. (2017, June 09). Like Humans, Chimps Learn Behavior From One Another. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjMhSfxL1sw
