The main provisions of social learning theory briefly. Social learning theory

Concept social learning shows how the child adapts to modern world how he learns habits and norms modern society. Representatives of this school of thought believe that along with classical conditioning and operant conditioning, there is also learning through imitation and imitation. Such learning began to be considered in American psychology as a new, third form of learning. It should be noted that in the theory of social learning, the problem of development is posed from the position of the initial antagonism of the child and society, borrowed from Freudianism.

IN social psychology the concept has long been firmly established socialization - the process and result of the individual’s assimilation and active reproduction of social experience carried out in communication and activity. Socialization can occur both in conditions of spontaneous influence on the individual of various circumstances of life in society, which sometimes have the nature of multidirectional factors, and in conditions of upbringing, i.e. purposeful personality formation. Education is the leading and determining beginning of socialization. This concept was introduced into social psychology in the 1940s and 1950s. in the works of A. Bandura, J. Coleman and others. In different scientific schools, the concept of socialization has received different interpretations: in neobehaviorism it is interpreted as social learning; in the school of symbolic interactionism - as a result social interaction; V " humanistic psychology" - as self-actualization of the "I-concept".

The phenomenon of socialization is multidimensional, therefore each of these directions focuses on one of the aspects of the phenomenon being studied.

American psychologists A. Bandura, R. Sears, B. Skinner and other scientists dealt with the problem of social learning.

Albert Bandura (1925) believed that reward and punishment are not enough to create new behavior. Therefore, he opposed the transfer of results obtained on animals to the analysis of human behavior. He believed that children acquire new behavior through observation and imitation, i.e. imitating people significant to them, and identification, i.e. by borrowing the feelings and actions of another authority figure.

Bandura conducted research on childhood and youth aggressiveness. A group of children were shown films in which different patterns of adult behavior (aggressive and non-aggressive) were presented, which had different consequences (reward or punishment). So, the film showed how an adult aggressively handles toys. After watching the film, the children were left alone and played with toys similar to those they saw in the film. As a result aggressive behavior in children who watched the film, it intensified and manifested itself more often than in children who did not watch it. If aggressive behavior was rewarded in the film, the children's aggressive behavior also increased. From another group

for children who watched a film where aggressive behavior by adults was punished, it decreased.

Bandura identified the stimulus-response dyad and introduced four intermediate processes into this diagram to explain how imitation of a model leads to the formation of new behavior in children:

• 1) attention to the action of the model;
• 2) memory of the influences of the model;
• 3) motor skills that allow you to reproduce what you see;
• 4) motivation, which determines the child’s desire to reproduce what he saw.

Thus, A. Bandura recognized the role cognitive processes in the formation and regulation of behavior based on imitation.

The famous American psychologist R. Sears (1908-1998) proposed principle of dyadic analysis of personality development , which consists in the fact that many personality traits are initially formed in so-called dyadic situations, because a person’s actions depend on another person and are oriented towards him. Dyadic relationships include the relationship between mother and child, teacher and student, son and father, etc. The scientist believed that there are no strictly fixed and unchangeable personality traits, since a person’s behavior always depends on the personal properties of the other member of the dyad. Sears highlighted three phases of child development."

• 1) the phase of rudimentary behavior, based on innate needs and learning in early childhood, in the first months of life;
• 2) the phase of primary motivational systems - learning within the family (the main phase of socialization);
• 3) the phase of secondary motivational systems - learning outside the family (goes beyond early age and is associated with school enrollment).

Obviously, Sears considered the influence of parents on the upbringing of children to be the most important in the process of socialization.

The central component of learning, according to Sears, was dependence, i.e. a child's need that cannot be ignored. It is known that the first dependence that arises in a child is dependence on the mother, the peak of which occurs in early childhood. Sears highlighted five shapes addictive behavior.

• 1. “Seeking negative attention” (the child tries to attract the attention of adults through quarrels, disobedience, and breakups. The reason for this may be low requirements and insufficient restrictions in relation to the child).
• 2. “Search for constant confirmation” (these are apologies, requests, unnecessary promises or a search for protection, comfort, consolation. The reason is excessive demands on the child, especially regarding his achievements on the part of both parents).
• 3. “Seeking positive attention” (expressed in the search for praise, the desire to join or leave the group).
• 4. “Staying nearby” (constant presence near another child or group of children or adults. This form can be called an “immature”, passive form of manifestation of positive dependence in behavior).
• 5. “Touch and Hold” is the non-aggressive touching, hugging or holding of others. Here we can talk about an “immature” dependent form of behavior.

R. Sears believed that parents need to find a middle path in education and adhere to the following rule: not too strong, not too weak dependence; not too strong, not too weak identification.

The role of reward and punishment in the formation of new behavior was considered by the American neobehaviorist psychologist B. Skinner (1904-1990). The main concept of his concept is reinforcement , i.e. decreasing or increasing the likelihood that a given behavior will be repeated. The researcher also considered the role of reward in this process, but separated the role of reinforcement and reward in the formation of new behavior, believing that reinforcement strengthens behavior, and reward does not always contribute to this. In his opinion, reinforcement can be positive and negative, primary (food, water, cold) and conditional (money, signs of love, attention, etc.).

B. Skinner opposed punishment and believed that it could not give a stable and lasting effect, and ignoring bad behavior could replace punishment.

The American psychologist J. Gewirtz paid great attention to the study of the conditions for the emergence of social motivation and the attachment of an infant to an adult, and an adult to a child. It was based on advances in social psychology and the ideas of Sears and Skinner. Gewirtz came to the conclusion that the source of motivation for a child’s behavior is

the stimulating influence of the environment and reinforcement learning, as well as the child’s various reactions, such as laughter, tears, smiling, etc.

American psychologist W. Bronfsnbrenner believed that the results of laboratory research must be tested in natural conditions (in a family or peer group).

He paid special attention to the structure of the family and other social institutions How the most important factors development of children's behavior. Therefore, he conducted his research by observing families.

Bronfenbrenner studied the origins of the phenomenon of "age segregation" in American families, which is that young people cannot find their place in society. As a result, a person feels disconnected from the people around him and even experiences hostility towards them. Having finally found something he likes, he does not receive satisfaction from the work, and interest in it soon fades away. This fact of isolation of young people from other people and the real matter in American psychology was called alienation.

Bronfenbrenner sees the roots of alienation in the following features modern families:

• mothers' work;
• an increase in the number of divorces and, accordingly, the number of children growing up without fathers;
• lack of communication between children and fathers due to the latter being busy at work;
• lack of communication with parents due to the advent of televisions and separate rooms;
• rare communication with relatives and neighbors.

All these and many others, even more unfavorable conditions affect the mental development of the child, which leads to alienation, the reasons for which are the disorganization of the family. However, according to Bronfenbrenner, disorganizing forces initially arise not in the family itself, but in the way of life of the entire society and in the objective circumstances that families face.

The concept of social learning (N. Miller, J. Dollard) shows how a child adapts to the modern world, how he learns the norms of society, that is, how his socialization occurs.

Socialization is the process of a child entering society, becoming a full-fledged member of it.

Proponents of this theory argue that all individual differences in child development are the result of learning.

The theory of social science is being developed by three generations of scientists. Representatives of the first - N. Miller and J. Dollard - transformed the ideas of 3. Freud, replacing the principle of pleasure with the principle of reinforcement, by which they understand everything that stimulates the repetition of a previously occurring reaction. Learning is the strengthening of the connection between a primary stimulus and the response that occurs through reinforcement. Any form of behavior can be acquired through imitation.

They saw the task of parents in the socialization of children, in preparing them for life, and the mother plays a special role in this process, setting the first example of human relations.

The relationship between parents and children within the framework of this concept was studied by the American psychologist G. Seroe. He believed that nature child development determined by the practice of child upbringing.

R. Seroe identifies three phases of child development:

The phase of rudimentary behavior is based on innate needs and learning in the first months of life;

The phase of primary motivational systems is learning in the family (the main phase of socialization);

The phase of secondary motivational systems is learning outside the family in connection with entering school.

R. Seroye considers psychological dependence to be the central component of learning in the first phase, which manifests itself in the fact that the child is afraid to be alone and seeks to attract attention to himself. Dependence is a complex motivational system; it is not innate, but is formed and is effective method raising a child's rules social life. As a result of the child's interaction with the mother, secondary reinforcers are produced such as smiling, touch, words and responses to them, as well as social expectations. Both the child and the mother respond to the posture, smile, and timbre of the voice with exactly those reactions that correspond to the expectations of the other. By mastering basic role functions, the child, through his behavior, provokes the mother to take certain actions.

The child's development is also influenced by the social environment. This concept by R. Gray includes the gender of the child, position in the family, level of education of the parents, and the psychological climate in the family. He argues that the likelihood of healthy development of a child is higher if you have a happy life.

Thus, the first phase of child development connects the newborn's biological heredity with his environment, introduces the infant to the environment and is the basis for expanding his interaction with the outside world.

The second phase of child development lasts from 1.5 years before entering school. Primary needs are still the main motive for the child’s behavior, but gradually they turn into secondary needs, the child ceases to be so dependent on the mother, and self-identification with the parents develops.

P. Seroe discovered that for the formation of dependent behavior, the participation of each parent in communication with the child is a sign and identified five forms of dependent behavior:

1. The search for negative attention, which consists of low demands from the mother and strong participation in the upbringing of the father, is manifested in attracting attention by oppositional behavior, that is, disobedience and ignoring demands.
2. The search for constant confirmation is associated with high demands for achievement on the part of both parents and manifests itself in the form of apologies, the need for protection, help, quietness, approval.
3. Seeking positive attention from others as a result of parental tolerance, approval and mild punishment on their part.
4. Staying with other children or adults as a form of immature, passive, but positive in its content dependence.
5. “Touch and content” as a form of dependence in the form of touching, hugging, etc.

The last two forms lead to the development of infantilization.

The third phase of child development ( school years) is characterized by a decrease in dependence on family and an increase in dependence on teachers and peers.

The main idea of ​​R. Sears's concept is that the development of a child is the result of the practice of upbringing and teaching.

An important direction within the framework of the theory of social learning is the study of critical periods of socialization, which, in fact, thereby again made an attempt to solve the problem of the relationship between heredity and experience in the development of a child. Representatives of this direction (Lorenz, Harlow, Gesell) argue that the influence of experience depends on the time of its action: in certain periods of a child’s life it is significant, and in others it is hardly noticeable. The deepest thing is experience early years when the first social connections and emotional attachment are formed (even for animal children, the need for contacts, not food, is important).

Two stand out critical period socialization:

1. in the first year of life the child develops psychological dependence, connections are established with people close to him;
2. at 2-3 years, when elements of independence appear in behavior. Such a sign, a socializing element, is the child’s social smile, the “revitalization complex.”

This age is critical, or sensitive, for learning and if it does not occur during this period, it will then be ineffective, and therefore mental, physical and emotional development children should be exercised from a very early age.

Many proponents have also found the behavioral approach within the framework of social learning theory. Thus, B. Skinner believes that human behavior is completely determined by the influence of the external environment.

The likelihood that a certain act of behavior will be repeated, believes B. Skinner, depends on reinforcement, which strengthens the behavior and can be either positive (the child is preparing for lessons to receive the praise of adults) or negative (the child is preparing for lessons to avoid punishment ).

Reinforcement can also be primary (food, water, temperature) and conditioned (this is a stimulus that was initially neutral, and then, when combined with the primary, received the function of reinforcement, for example, money, approval, signs of love, attention, etc.) .

Negative reinforcement and punishment are not identical: if the first strengthens behavior, then the second restrains it, and can be carried out by depriving positive reinforcement or using negative reinforcement (punishment for bad behavior the child may be deprived of the promised reward).

Punishment sometimes gives a situational, but short-term effect, and therefore Skinner suggests replacing punishment with an emphasis on what is good in the child and thereby strengthening it.

Some psychologists (J. Aronfried) do not agree with the thesis that the process of socialization can successfully occur without punishment and consider it as necessary a form of socialization as encouragement.

Another direction of the theory of social learning is learning through observation and imitation, which was developed by A. Bandura. In order for the child to develop through imitation new form behavior, it is necessary that she be attentive to the model, how it differs and has a functional meaning - has developed memory, specific motor skills to reproduce what is perceived, and positive motivation to imitate.

In general, in psychological research in this area, there is a tendency to shift emphasis from the point of view of the child as an object influenced by family and culture, to the recognition of his active essence and active interaction with the environment. Due to this special attention is devoted to analyzing the role of the family and social institutions in the development of the child (V. Bronfenbrenner), the reasons for alienation, “age segregation” of modern youth are considered, manifested in their inability to find their place in society. Psychologists see the roots of this in the peculiarities of life modern family: high employment of parents at work, low material standard of living, increase in funds mass media, and, as a consequence, a decrease in the need for communication, which affects, first of all, mental development children.

But if we analyze more deeply, then the real factor, which essentially leads to the disorganization of the family, is the way of life of the entire society, which does not recognize the family and the child as its highest value.

Social learning theories

Personality theories from a social perspective. learning is primarily a theory of learning. At the beginning of its formation, T. s. n. attached extreme importance to the ideas of reinforcement, but modern. T.s. n. acquired a clearly expressed cognitive character. The importance of reinforcement was taken into account in the concepts describing the thinking and knowing person, who has expectations and beliefs (beliefs). Thus, the roots of modern T.s. n. can be traced back to the views of theorists such as Kurt Lewin and Edward Tolman. As for social and the interpersonal aspects of this theory, the work of George Herbert Mead and Harry Stack Sullivan should probably also be mentioned.

Currently, among the most influential social theorists. teachings include Julian Rotter, Albert Bandura and Walter Mischel. However, social The behaviorism of Arthur Staats bears some notable similarities to Bandura's work. Among the social theorists. teachings sometimes even include Hans Eysenck and Joseph Wolpe due to the nature of their therapies stemming from a learning model.

Rotter's social learning theory

Rotter's theory is distinguished by several important features. Firstly, Rotter accepts the view. on theory as a construct. This means that he is not interested in the reconstruction of reality through theory, but in the development of a system of concepts that would have predictable utility. Secondly, he pays great attention to the language of description. This was expressed in the search for such formulations of concepts that would be free from uncertainty and ambiguity. Third, he puts a lot of effort into using operational definitions that establish real measurement operations for each concept.

Rotter's choice of the term “social learning” is not accidental. He believes that most people. behavior is acquired or learned. More importantly, it happens in a personally meaningful environment, replete with social media. interactions with other people.

The main feature of this theory is that it involves two types of variables: motivational (reinforcement) and cognitive (expectancy). It is also distinguished by the use of the empirical law of effect. A reinforcer is anything that causes movement toward or away from a goal.

Finally, this theory places primary importance on the performance rather than the acquisition of behavior.

Basic concepts. Rotter's theory requires four concepts or variables to predict an individual's behavior. First of all, this is behavioral potential (BP). This variable characterizes the potential of any behavior in question to arise in a particular situation in connection with the pursuit of a particular reinforcer or set of reinforcers. In this case, behavior is defined broadly and includes motor acts, cognitive activity, verbalizations, emotional reactions, etc.

The second important variable is expectation (expectancy, E). It is an individual's assessment of the likelihood that a particular reinforcer will occur as a result of a specific behavior performed in a particular situation. Expectations are subjective and do not necessarily coincide with actuarial probability, which is calculated in an objective manner based on previous reinforcement. The individual's perceptions play a decisive role here.

The third important concept is reinforcement value (RV). It is defined as the degree of preference given by an individual to each of the reinforcers given hypothetically equal chances of their occurrence.

Finally, the psychologist herself. situation, according to social learning theory, serves as an important predictive factor. For accurate prediction behavior in any situation, it is necessary to understand psychology. the significance of the situation in terms of its impact on both the value of reinforcers and expectations.

Problem solving expectations. IN recent years large number research was devoted to generalized expectations in the field of problem solving (problem-solving generalized expectancies). These cognitive variables are akin to attitudes, beliefs or mental. mental sets regarding how to interpret problematic situations to make their solution easier. People vary widely in these cognitions. The subject of these studies. steel, ch. arr., two types of generalized expectations: internal/external control of reinforcement (locus of control) and interpersonal trust. In the first case, people differ in their beliefs about whether the events that happen to them are caused by their own behavior and attitudes (internally) or are determined by luck, fate, chance or the will of other people (externally). In the case of interpersonal trust, there are people who rely on others to tell the truth, although there are also those who are convinced of the opposite. On the other hand, how people approach the problems they face will depend significantly on the nature of these generalized expectations.

Bandura's observational learning theory

Approach to social Albert Bandura's teachings are supplemented by T. s. n. Rotter, since it involves an explanation of the ways in which people acquire various types of complex behavior in social conditions. environment.

Bandura's core idea was expressed in the concept of observational learning, or learning through observation, the roots of which can be traced to the work of George Herbert Mead on imitation and vocal gestures. Subsequent analysis of imitation by Neil Miller and John Dollard provided an important starting point for Bandura. O. Hobart Maurer's work on sign learning and reward learning has also been influential.

Basic concepts. Bandura speaks of the presence of a reciprocal connection between behavior, subjective and environmental variables. We are not driven solely by internal forces, nor are we pawns in a game dictated by the prevailing set of circumstances. We are influenced, but we also influence our environment.

Bandura believes that learning in humans is largely determined by the processes of modeling, observation and imitation. Consequently, he does not view the formation of complex behavior as the cumulative product of the interaction of elementary conditioning processes.

Hence, Bandura claims that most people. learning is carried out without traditional reinforcement, which is required by the principles of operant and classical conditioning. People can learn in the absence of both reward and punishment. This does not mean, however, that reinforcement is not important. In fact, once a behavior is learned, reinforcement plays an important role in determining whether the behavior will occur. Observational learning is neither permanent nor automatic. Numerous factors influence whether such learning will occur in a given situation. Such factors include the model's age and competence. Level of motivation of people can also enhance or impair modeling, imitation, and observation. People observe and subsequently master a wide variety of social networks. reactions such as aggression, sexual behavior, ways emotional response and much more.

Cognitive emphasis. In his interpretation of the phenomena of observational learning, Bandura proceeds from the widespread use by people of symbolic representations of events in the environment. Without recognizing such symbolic activity, it is extremely difficult to explain the incredible flexibility of people. behavior. He formulates the thesis that changes in behavior caused by classical and instrumental conditioning, as well as extinction and punishment, are actively mediated by cognitions. An important role in human self-regulation processes also play a role in behavior. People regulate their behavior by visualizing its consequences. Thus, the very formation of connections between stimulus and response is influenced by these processes of self-control.

Michel continued the line of emphasizing cognitive factors in his analysis of a number of cognitive social variables. learning from people. He argues that people differ with respect to several personality variables, and it is these differences that give rise to wide diversity individual characteristics, a cut that can be observed in others. Firstly, these include various types competence. They are sets of abilities that influence our thoughts and actions. Second, people differ in their encoding strategies, in the sense that they represent or symbolize environmental stimulation differently. Third, they are expectations or subjective probabilities that reflect the degree of likelihood that certain behaviors or events will lead to certain outcomes. The fourth variable, subjective values, indicates that people differ in the value they place on different outcomes. Finally, there are systems and plans for self-regulation. What is meant here is that behavior is regulated on the basis of individually set standards.

Behavior change. Bandura's work has been extremely important in the development of new approaches to therapeutic intervention. Most notable here was the use of modeling procedures to develop new cognitive and behavioral competence.

See also Learning by imitation

In recent decades, developing the ideas of classical behaviorism, a social-cognitive direction has emerged. Its representatives Albert Bandura and Julian Rotter showed that although human behavior is influenced by the environment, people also play an active role in creating social environment by being active participants in events that affect their lives. Learning does not only occur through direct experience and external reinforcement, human behavior is shaped through observation or examples. Although social cognitive theories differ significantly from Skinner's classical behaviorism, they retain the rigorous scientific and experimental methodology common to the approach.

As J. Rotter believes, social behavior can be described using the following concepts:

1. Behavioral potential: each person has a certain set of actions and behavioral reactions formed during life.
2. A person's behavior is influenced by his expectations, his subjective probability, with which, in a person’s opinion, a certain reinforcement will occur after this or that behavior in a certain situation (in the case of a high probability of receiving it, he quickly learns the necessary behavior corresponding to the situation and reinforcement).
3. Affects human behavior nature of reinforcement, its value for a person (different people value and prefer different reinforcements: some - praise, respect from others, some - money, some are more sensitive to punishment, etc.).
4. A person's behavior is influenced by his personality type, his locus of control, he is either external or interval - that is, does he feel like a “pawn” or believes that achieving goals depends on his own efforts. Externals attribute responsibility for all events that happen to them to other people and external circumstances.

Internals They consider themselves responsible for all the good and bad events in their lives. Externals are more easily influenced and externally controlled; their behavior is easier to program by change external influences, situations, incentives and reinforcements, since they are initially more dependent on external circumstances.

Behavioral potential, according to Rotter, includes five main blocks of reactions, “techniques of existence”:

1. Behavioral reactions aimed at achieving success, results, serve as the basis for social recognition.
2. Behavioral adaptation reactions- these are techniques for coordinating with the requirements of other people, social norms, etc.
3. Defensive Behavioral Reactions used in situations whose demands exceed human capabilities at the moment(these are reactions such as denial, suppression of desires, devaluation, shading, etc.).
4. Avoidance Techniques- behavioral reactions aimed at “exiting the field of tension”, leaving, escape, rest, etc.
5. Aggressive behavioral reactions- this can be real physical aggression, and symbolic forms of aggression: irony, criticism of another, ridicule, intrigue directed against the interests of another person, etc.

Social learning theory shows that reward and punishment are not sufficient to teach new behavior. This can be achieved through imitation, emulation, identification, which is the most important form of learning. Identification is a process in which a person borrows thoughts, feelings and actions from another person who acts as a model. People can learn by observing, or reading, or hearing about other people's behavior. A person observes what others do and then repeats these actions - this is learning through observation or example (A. Bandura).

In the “stimulus-response” scheme, A. Bandura includes four intermediate processes that help explain how imitation leads to the formation of a new reaction:

1. A child's attention to the actions of a role model. Requirements for the model are clarity, distinguishability, emotional appeal, functional significance.
2. Memory that stores information about the influences of the model.
3. The child has the necessary sensory capabilities and motor skills to reproduce what he perceives from the role model.
4. Motivation that determines the child’s desire to fulfill what he sees in the role model.

In early childhood, a child feels that his personal well-being depends on his willingness to behave as others expect of him; he begins to master actions that bring satisfaction to him and suit his parents, and learns to act “like others.”

Bandura, proposing his social cognitive theory, notes that although human behavior is influenced by the external and social environment, it is also a product of human activity. This means that people, through their behavior, can change their environment, influence their environment and their own behavior. A person is able to symbolically imagine and understand the consequences, the outcome of his actions, take the necessary precautions in advance, form images of desired future results and behavioral strategies aimed at achieving the desired results (this is a person’s ability to self-regulate, to learn through observation and modeling).

People form an image of a certain behavioral reaction by observing the behavior of a model, and then this encoded information serves as a guide in their actions. The behavior of the model is stored in a person’s memory thanks to figurative (mental visual images) and verbal encoding (while observing the model, a person can repeat to himself the order of actions he saw). The benefits of observing the successes and failures of others are the same as those of your own direct experience. Observable or indirect consequences of other people's actions (punishment or reward) often play an important role in regulating our behavior.

Indirect reinforcement occurs when the observer sees the action of the model with the subsequent result:

• indirect positive reinforcement(observers then behave in the same way as the previously observed models, because they achieved success and received positive reinforcement);
• indirect punishment(the observer saw that the model was punished after his actions, as a result he himself was not inclined to repeat such actions).

People evaluate their behavior, reward, or criticize, or punish themselves. Bandura called this process self-reinforcement: a person rewards himself with what is at his disposal whenever he achieves the standard of behavior he himself has established. Self-regulation of behavior includes the processes of self-observation, self-evaluation and self-reinforcement (self-encouragement or self-criticism, self-punishment).

In the 90s XX century Bandura introduced into his theory and concept self-efficacy. People are able to recognize and evaluate the level of their abilities, build successful behavior appropriate to a specific task or situation, and evaluate their effectiveness. Those who perceive self-efficacy put more effort into completing difficult tasks than those who doubt their abilities. Actively mastered knowledge, actions, and past experiences of success are a powerful source of self-efficacy. A person can also convince himself that he has the necessary abilities and skills to successfully achieve a goal, and thereby increase his self-efficacy. He is more likely to succeed if he is not stressed and calm, i.e. emotional state directly influences self-efficacy.

Behaviorists have identified factors that prevent a person from controlling his behavior. Firstly, punishment is an obstacle to human development, since a prohibition (negative function) does not explain what needs to be done or how to behave. The victim of punishment, fulfilling external demands and avoiding threats, does not solve the problem, and sooner or later it will appear again, and the person will again commit wrong actions. Secondly, ignorance of the reasons plays a big role. If we want to understand real reasons behavior, it is necessary to abandon many words that do not explain anything; that is, a person’s justifications and explanations for his actions do not correspond to the real reasons for his behavior.

Already in the works of E. Tolman and B. Skinner, questions were raised about the need to study and manage social behavior. Analysis of the process of socialization, factors that determine and guide the acquisition of social experience and norms of behavior, determined the content of the concepts of a wide range of scientists, especially in the second half of the 20th century.

One of the first to address these problems D.G.Mead(1863-1931). After graduating from Harvard University (1888), where he studied psychology and philosophy, Mead interned in Europe. Returning to America, he worked with Dewey at the University of Chicago, where he received a doctorate in psychology in 1894.

Mead, in his works, first addressed the problem of personality, showing how awareness of one’s “I” is born. He argued that a person’s personality is formed in the process of his interaction with other people, being a model of those interpersonal relationships that are most often repeated in his life. Since in communication with different people the subject plays different “roles”, his personality is a kind of unification of various roles that he constantly “assumes”, and language is of the utmost importance.

At first, the child has no self-awareness, but through social interaction, communication and language, he develops it, learns to play roles and gains experience in social interaction. This experience allows him to objectively evaluate his behavior, that is, he develops awareness of himself as social subject. Of great importance both in the formation and awareness of oneself and one’s roles is story game, in which children first learn to take on various roles and follow certain rules of the game. Thus, the idea of ​​"I" arises from the social environment, and due to the existence of many social environments, there is the possibility of developing many different types of "I".

Mead's theory is also called expectancy theory because, in his opinion, people play their roles taking into account the expectations of others. It is precisely depending on expectations and past experience (observation of parents, acquaintances) that children play the same roles differently. Thus, the role of a student is played by a child, from whom parents only expect excellent grades, in a completely different way from the role of a child who is “passed” to school only because it is necessary and so that he does not get underfoot at home for at least half a day.

Mead also distinguishes between story games and games with rules. Story games They teach children to accept and play different roles, to change them during the game, just as they will later have to do in life. Before the start of these games, children know only one role - a child in their family, now they learn to be a mother, a pilot, a cook, and a student. Games with rules help children develop arbitrary behavior and master the norms that are accepted in society, since in these games there is, as Mead writes, a “generalized other,” that is, a rule that children must follow. Concept generalized other was introduced by Mead to explain why children follow the rules in a game, but cannot yet follow them in real life. From his point of view, in a game the rule is like another generalized partner who monitors the children’s activities from the outside, not allowing them to deviate from the norm.

Mead first addressed the problems social learning and had a significant influence on many prominent psychologists, especially G. Sullivan.

Of great interest are studies of antisocial (aggressive) and prosocial behavior undertaken by psychologists in this area. This problem was at the center of scientific interests D.Dollard(1900-1980). After graduating from the University of Wisconsin and receiving his doctorate, he began work at Yale University, where he became interested in Hull's ideas. His goal was to combine reinforcement theory and psychoanalysis. Already in his first works, he expressed the idea of ​​​​the connection between aggression and frustration, which formed the basis of his frustration theories . According to this theory, holding back weak manifestations of aggressiveness (which were the result of past frustrations) can lead to their compounding and creating very powerful aggressiveness. Dollard also suggested that all the frustrations experienced in childhood and which, according to frustration theory, always lead to aggression, can lead to aggression in mature age. However, this widely held belief is now being questioned and considered controversial.

Dollard considered his best work to be the book “Personality and Psychotherapy” (1950), written in collaboration with N. Miller.

Scientific interests N.Miller(b. 1909) were associated with the development of problems of motivation, drives and the nature of reinforcement. His experiments aimed at studying motivation examined various types of instrumental learning related to the satisfaction of basic human needs. The principles of teaching socially adaptive behavior he developed formed the basis of his concept of psychotherapy, considered as a process of acquiring more adaptive social and personal skills. Miller's work stripped psychotherapy of its purely medical aura and provided it with a rational basis based on the principles of behavioral learning.

In their joint books Social Learning and Imitation (1941), Personality and Psychotherapy, Dollard and Miller attempted to interpret Freud's basic concepts (addiction , aggression, identification, conscience) in terms of learning theory. Dollard and Miller sought to create a psychotherapy based on the principles of social learning theory; Much of Dollard's research was devoted to this subject in the 50s of the 20th century. Their work was the first to develop the foundations of the concept of social learning, including the concept of skill, which laid the foundation for social learning theory in the 60s.

One of the first terms social learning used D.B.Rotter(b. 1916). He specialized in chemistry, but an interest in psychology and a meeting with A. Adler led him to graduate school at the University of Illinois. After serving as a military psychologist during World War II, he engaged in research and teaching at various universities in the United States.

Rotter's main research concerns the study of individual differences in people's beliefs about sources of reinforcement. These ideas depend on who people hold responsible for what happens to them. He introduced the concept expectations , those. confidence (or subjective probability) that a certain behavior in a given psychological situation will be reinforced. Some people are confident that they can influence the reinforcements they receive, and these are people with internal (internal) locus of control . The other part believes that reinforcements are a matter of chance or fate, these are people with external locus of control.

Rotter's work has shown that people with an internal locus of control are not only more successful, but also healthier, both mentally and physically. It has also been shown that locus of control is established in childhood and is largely determined by parenting style. Rotter developed the widely used Internality-Externality Scale test, as well as a number of other popular personality tests.

The most significant works in the field of social learning belong to A. Bandura(1925-1988). Bandura was born and educated in Canada, then moved to the United States, where he graduated from the University of Iowa, receiving a doctorate in clinical psychology in 1952. In 1953, he began working at Stanford University, where he became acquainted with the works of Miller and Dollard, which had a significant influence on him.

Early in his career, Bandura focused primarily on problems of learning as a consequence of direct experience. This interest led to a research program devoted to studying the mechanisms of learning. Starting with the stimulus-response methodology, he came to the conclusion that this model was not entirely applicable to human behavior, and proposed his own model that better explains the observed behavior. Based on numerous studies, he came to the conclusion that people do not always need direct reinforcement to learn; they can also learn from the experiences of others. Observational learning is necessary in situations where mistakes can lead to unpleasant or even fatal consequences.

This is how the concept important for Bandura’s theory appeared indirect reinforcement , based on observing the behavior of other people and the consequences of this behavior. In other words, a significant role in social learning is played by cognitive processes, what a person thinks about the reinforcement scheme given to him, anticipating the consequences of specific actions. Based on this, Bandura paid special attention to the study of imitation. He found that role models tend to be people of the same gender and about the same age who have successfully solved problems similar to those of them. that they confront the subject himself. Imitation of people in high positions is widespread. At the same time, more accessible, i.e. simpler, samples, as well as those with which the subject is in direct contact, are imitated more often.

Research has shown that children tend to imitate adults first and then peers whose behavior has led to success, i.e. to achieve what the child is striving for. Bandura also found that children often imitate even behavior that they have seen that did not lead to success, that is, they learn new behavior patterns as if “in reserve.”

A special role in the formation of behavior patterns is played by the media, which disseminate symbolic models in a wide social space.

Imitation of aggressive behavior is also easy to provoke, especially in children. Thus, fathers of hyper-aggressive teenagers serve as models of such behavior, encouraging them to display aggression outside the home. Research by Bandura and his first graduate student, R. Walters, into the causes of aggression in the family demonstrated the roles of reward and imitation in the formation of certain behavior patterns in children. At the same time, Walters came to the conclusion that one-time reinforcements are more effective (at least in the development of aggression) than constant ones.

Bandura's work was the first to explore the mechanisms of self-reinforcement associated with assessmentown efficiency , ability to solve complex problems. These studies have shown that human behavior is motivated and regulated by internal standards and a sense of adequacy (or inadequacy) to them. People with a high assessment of their own effectiveness are more able to control their behavior and the actions of others, and are more successful in their careers and communications. People with a low assessment of personal effectiveness, on the contrary, are passive, cannot overcome obstacles and influence others. Thus, Bandura comes to the conclusion that the most significant mechanism of personal action is the person’s perceived effectiveness of attempts to control various aspects of human existence.

Of great importance are the works of F. Peterman, A. Bandura and other scientists dedicated to correction of deviant behavior. Lesson plans were developed to reduce aggression in children aged 8-12 years, which consisted of six lessons of 45 minutes each, taught individually or in a group. In individual lessons, alternatives to aggressive behavior are discussed, videos and problem games are used. In group classes, various behavior options are played out using role playing game in situations close to life. In addition, the classes included a “model child” who had already “acquired a set of well-adjusted social behavior skills” and whose behavior children began to imitate.

Bandura is also the author of a psychotherapeutic method called “systematic desensitization.” At the same time, people observe the behavior of the “model” in situations that seem dangerous to them, causing a feeling of tension and anxiety (for example, indoors, in the presence of a snake, an angry dog, etc.). Successful activity evokes a desire to imitate and gradually relieves tension in the client. These methods have been found wide application not only in education or treatment, but also in business, helping to adapt to difficult work situations.

Bandura's contribution to the development and modern modification of behaviorism is undoubted and is recognized by all scientists who consider him the most significant figure of this movement at the end of the 20th century.

Behaviorism became the leading psychological school of the 20th century. in the USA. It has not lost its significance to this day, despite various (and often serious) criticisms from representatives of other directions. Although during the last 60 years there has been a major modification of the principles of behaviorism laid down by Watson, the basic postulates of this school have remained unchanged. This is the idea of ​​the predominantly intravital nature of the psyche (although the presence of innate elements is now recognized), the idea of ​​​​the need to study reactions mainly accessible to experiment and observation (although the content of internal variables and their significance is not denied), as well as the belief in the possibility of influencing the process formation of the psyche using a number of well-thought-out technologies.

Confidence in the need and possibility of directed training that forms a certain type of personality, as well as the methods that carry out the learning process, are one of the most important advantages of this direction. Learning theories (operant, social, role), as well as various trainings to correct behavior, ensured not only the vitality of behaviorism in the United States, but also its spread throughout the world, although this school did not receive wide recognition in Europe.