Social Learning Theory

"Monkey See, Monkey Do: The Power of Modeling"

Ready: Bobo Doll Setup

🧪 Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment

Behaviorism used to claim we only learn from direct reward and punishment. Albert Bandura challenged this with his Bobo Doll Experiment. Children watched an adult beat up an inflatable doll. Later, these children imitated the exact aggressive behaviors, even inventing new ways to attack the doll.

📚 Observational Learning

This proved Observational Learning. We learn by watching others (models). This has massive implications for media violence and parenting. It also connects to the discovery of Mirror Neurons in the brain, which fire both when we act and when we see others act.