This way of learning has been in practice since the beginning of our civilisation as a method to pass on the wisdom of the elders to the younger generations in order to perform day to day tasks. Bandura on the other hand calls this form of learning as Observational Learning. This theory evolved from theories of behaviourist like B.F. Skinner and Pavlov. Bandura added that cognitive factor needed to be taken into account and not just looking at it from a behaviourist perspective.He states that learning can only occur when behaviour is observed and is working together with cognition of our brain. For example as illustrated in the now famous “Bobo Doll Experiment” by Bandura, Ross, and Ross(1961), found that children who observed a model displaying aggressive behaviour towards the Bobo doll imitated that behaviour.
Which means the behaviour that can be seen from outside. The theories of positive and negative reinforcement techniques are very effective in treating some human disorders like autism, anxiet y disorders and antisocial behaviour. Teachers who reward and punish student behaviours often uses the theories of behaviourism. (Anon., n.d.) two ways in which the behaviourism has been applied in education. The two major learning theories of behaviourism are classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
The children who viewed the male or female adult behaving aggressively to a Bobo Doll were then left alone with the doll and observed to see what type of behaviour they would display and what was shown was that the children that had witnessed the aggression to the Bobo Doll imitated the adult’s aggression. Bandura concluded that learning can take place through observation called vicarious learning however he believed that observational learning cannot be the whole answer as people also have individual differences for example personality and genes. Overall, the study is plausible as it is a well-supported account of development and it can be applied to a wide range of behaviours as children observe every type of behaviour but they only imitate the behaviours that they think that they will benefit from. The Bobo Doll study takes into account cognition as
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE The term “Behaviorism” was the science of observable behaviour according to John Broadus Watson (1903). In Behaviorism, Only behaviour that could be observed, recorded and measured was of any real value for the study of humans and animals and its goal is to explain relationships between antecedent conditions (stimuli), behaviour (responses), and consequences (reward, punishment, or neutral effect). This theory was more concerned with the effects of stimuli because Watson derived much of his thinking from classical conditioning of Pavlov’s animal studies and this is also referred to as “learning through stimulus substitution”. It is a reference to the substitution of one stimulus for another. For example, the ringing of a bell eventually produced the same response as food for Pavlov’s dog.
APPLICATIONS The theory proposed had many applications in various fields. It is used majorly as a method to eliminate phobias of people by the process of different stimuli to cure vertigo, fear of snakes etc. Some of the major fields it is being applied in is: Criminology The modelling theory is primarily useful in criminology when explaining the reasoning behind violent acts. According to Bandura, individuals learn aggressive behaviour from other people. When enforced by the media and living environment, such behaviour is modelled by the learner.
Attention; The extent to which we are exposed/notice the behaviour. Retention; the learner must remember (retain) what was done by the model so that the information can be encoded and stored for later use. Reproduction; This is the ability to perform the behaviour that the model has just demonstrated. Motivation/reinforcement; the learner must have the desire, or motivation, to repeat the observed behaviour in order to receive a reward. The rewards and punishment that follow a behaviour will be considered by the observer.
Chapter- 4: Learning Process After reading this chapter, you should be able to: • Appreciate learning process • The basic concept of learning • Know principles and doctrines of learning • Theories of learning • Learning curve and virtuous learning circle Introduction Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavioural potentiality that occurs as a result of reinforced practice. Learning is indexed by a change in behaviour which must be translated into observable behaviour. After learning, learners are capable of performing something which they could not do earlier. It is neither transitory nor fixed. The change in behaviour need not occur immediately following the learning experience.
This theory states that students learn through direct experience, observation, and modeling. Modeling is also present in how we develop language abilities (Bandura, 1989). Of course teachers exhibit different nonverbal behaviors that may influence students ' learning English. In Social Cognitive Theory, people are neither driven by inner force nor automatically shaped and controlled by the environment. Bandura (1986) states that learning can occur by watching others and then modeling what they do or say which is known as observational learning.
Interdependent learning: When a teacher teaches, it is not just the student who learns but also the teacher, who learns, unlearns and relearns as well from the student. The individual pride and ego of one should be ignored in order to keep the process of learning alive and extremely critical to create such a healthy environment. 3. Retaining Power: Indian education system is often criticised to be a rote type of education system. But the key idea behind this is to instil a retaining power in the students so that they are conceptually strong by remembering the information they receive.
Instead of placing them in front of a television. Babies are capable of many forms of learning, including classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and imitation. (Life Span: Human Development) The behaviorists viewpoint is that children learn to speak from imitating the words and sentences heard from the adults around them, mainly their parents/caretakers. This theory is especially associated with B.F.Skinner (1957) who believes that language has a string tie with human behaviour "If we do something and it has positive, pleasurable consequences, we are more likely to do it again; if it has unpleasant consequences, we are less likely to repeat the action. "(Simply Psychology) This theory is connects into how tv watching affects a child's social interactions.