THEORIES USED IN SOCIAL WORK

A theory can be defined as a set of interrelated ideas or concepts that is used to make explanations
about a certain phenomenon. Theory in social work is about how we relate to others and how we
make sure that we are providing effective services. Through understanding and applying theory to
social work practice social workers’ work with clients become far more effective and person centred.
Generally, a theory helps to explain a situation and perhaps how it came about. In science, a theory is
seen as helping to:
 Describe (e.g.: what is happening?)
 Explain (e.g.: why is it happening?)
 Predict (e.g.: what is likely to happen next?)
A theory is an essential ingredient in practice that guides the way in which social workers view and
approach individuals, groups, communities and society. Theory helps to predict, explain and assess
situations and behaviours, and provide a rationale for how the social worker should react and
intervene with clients who have particular histories, problems or goals. As interrelated concepts, a
theory often informs social workers as to the type of method they should use with clients in certain
situations. A theory assists social workers in understanding various situations, difficulties, behaviours
and experiences of different kinds of clients.
The function of social work theory
Why should social workers utilize theory in practice? Theories assist social workers in understanding,
explaining or making sense of situations or behaviours and in understanding into what might have
occurred in the past or might occur in the future regarding a client. In work with individuals, making
use of the theories which may relate to their specific situation will give a social worker more direction
in their work with clients.
Social workers have a professional and ethical responsibility to observe, assess, interact and intervene
with clients and their environments in a way that is based on theories and methods shown to be
credible and in alignment with social work values.

Theories that are utilized in social work practice are to be reliable and effective, which is usually
established through quantitative and qualitative research. Social workers should critically assess,
evaluate and reflect on their own practice and implementation of theories in social work situations in
order to determine what works, what does not work, or what needs modified, adjusted or maintained
for future situations. This process enables the social worker to utilize theories that are found to be the
most appropriate and effective for the current client and situation.

An effective social worker should be knowledgeable and familiar with various theories that can be
applied in social work and in particular client with a particular problem so as to know which theories
to combine in order to solve the problem or problems.

Some of the theories applicable in social work include:

1. FREUD’S PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
This theory was developed by Sigmund Freud a psychiatrist who lived in Austria and is believed to be
the grandfather of modern psychology. He believed that human beings are motivated to act because of
a force that he called instinct. An instinct refers to all the innate (inborn) needs, desires, drives,
wishes etc. that an individual have.
He argued that human beings have 2 kinds of instincts: the life instinct (eros) and the death instinct
(thanatos). Life instincts are responsible for pleasures (what Freud referred to as libidos) seeking
activities of an individual. An individual who is friendly, helpful, empathetic, warm, approachable etc.
would be said to be expressing the life instinct. Death instincts are represented by aggressive,
destructive, hostile activities of a human behaviour. If an individual is abusive, violent, and unfriendly
and exposes others to harm, then he is said to be expressing the thanatos.
Freud argued that both these instincts exist in an individual at the same time. The instinct with the
strongest energy at that time is the one that can be expressed. The two instincts can be either be
directed to an individual or away from an individual. If ero is directed within the individual, the
individual becomes responsible for his survival. If it is directed away from the individual, he or she
will be concerned about the comfort of others.
If thanatos is directed towards the individual, the individual engages in deliberate harming activities to
the self such as committing suicide. If the thanatos is directed away from the individual, he or she
becomes aggressive, destructive, violent and can harm those around him or her. These two instincts
can occur with the same intensity and the individual becomes happy and sad at the same time,
aggressive and friendly at the same time etc.
Freud also argued that human personality has three parts namely the id, the ego and the superego.
The Id is the first portion of the personality to develop. The Id is focused on the wants and needs of a
person. The Id does not care about consequences, and aims at achieving pleasure and avoiding pain.
The Id is not rational, and does not care how its wants are obtained. The Id is present from birth,
where babies only care about their needs being met. To
make things easier, think of the Id as a spoiled child, who cries if they do not get what they want.
The Ego is the opposite of the Id, which focuses on morality and justice. The Ego is the judgement
portion of the personality, who uses intellect to gain order within a situation. The Ego is a sort of
‘traffic cop’, who controls how to best operate. The Ego works against the Id and tries to control the
Id’s impulses. While the Id worked around the pleasure principle, the Ego works as the reality
principle, and sees the world as it should be.
The Superego is the bridge by which tempers the Id and Ego. The purpose of the Superego is to
provide a balance so both sides are at an equilibrium. The Superego makes decisions if things are
right or wrong. The Superego has the ability to reward by feelings of acceptance and self love, and
punish by feelings of guilt and shame.
Freud also argued that human beings have three levels of awareness ((the ability to perceive stimuli
from internal and external environments):
a. The unconscious –it is the largest part of the human mind and it functions on the pleasure
principle. It hosts the Id materials and it is concerned with pleasure seeking activities and
avoiding pain.
b. The preconscious-it is the part that hosts the ego’s and superego’s materials and it functions on
the reality principle. It evaluates instincts to see whether they are beneficial to the self before they
are satisfied or gratified.
c. The conscious-it is the part of the mind we are aware of. It includes the thoughts and feelings of a
person. It is the thinking part of the human brain that helps us to be aware, to perceive stimuli, to
learn, to acquire knowledge etc.
Anxiety-Anxiety, according to Freud, is a state of tension which motivates us to action. It develops as
a conflict between the id, ego, and superego. Anxiety warns of awaiting danger. There are three kinds
of anxiety: reality, neurotic, and mortal.
a. Reality anxiety deals with threats from the external world. The level of anxiety depends on
the degree of danger.
b. Mortal anxiety is the fear of one’s own conscience. A person with a well developed ego may
feel guilty when doing something against their moral code, and punish themselves.
c. Neurotic anxiety occurs when a person fears they will do something by which they will be
punished.
Defense Mechanisms - With the presence of anxiety, the ego can become overwhelmed. To keep the
Ego from collapse, the ego has developed defense mechanisms. The defense mechanisms below are
normal, and are often experienced by a majority of people.:
a. Sublimation : It is considered as the most complete and successful of all defense mechanisms. It
is the transformation of sexual and aggressive urges into creative work into socially acceptable
directions. Thus, it is the form of channeling socially unacceptable impulses and urges into
socially acceptable behaviour. For example, a person who is very aggressive becomes a
professional cricket player.
b. Denial : It is a type of defense mechanism in which the person refuses to acknowledge a
threatening situation. It is the most primitive form of defense mechanism. For example, a person
who is a drug addict denies being a drug addict.
c. Regression: It is a form of defense mechanism in which a person falls back on child like patterns
of responding in reaction to stressful situation. It refers to a state where an adult behaves like a
child. For example, a six year old baby starts wetting his bed after his parents bring home a new
baby.
d. Repression: It is a primary defense mechanism and it is a direct method of dealing with anxiety.
Repression is a defense mechanism in which the person refuses to consciously remember a
threatening or unacceptable event, instead putting those events in to the unconscious mind. For
example, a person who was sexually abused as a child can not able to remember the incident
because bad memory has got repressed inside.
e. Projection: The literal meaning of projection is “throwing out”. It is commonly used by
everyone. Projection is a form of defense mechanisms by which one transfers the blame of his
own shotcomings, mistakes and misdeeds to others and attributes to others his own unacceptable
thoughts. For example, a lady is attributed to her friend‟s husband but denies this and believes the
friend‟s husband is attracted to her.
f. Rationalization: It is the invention of unconsciously acceptable motives by the ego to cover up
those unconscious motives which it cannot accept. In other words, it refers to the substitution of a
socially approved motive for a socially disapproved one. In this type defense mechanism a person
invents acceptable excuses for a unacceptable behaviour. For example, a person who gives a lot of
donation to charity may consider himself to be a very generous but in fact he is motivated by
guilty conscience.
g. Reaction Formation: It is the defense mechanism by which a person forms an opposite
emotional or behavioural reaction one‟s true feelings. Reaction formation is the development of
behaviour which is opposite to the unconscious desires of the person. For example, a person is
very angry but overtly he may state that he is not angry by showing smiles.
h. Displacement: Displacement is commonly found in dreams of normal adults. It implies that
redirecting feelings from a threatening target to a less threatening one. In this defense mechanism
the discharge of an unconscious impulse by shifting from one original object to a substitute takes
place. For example, a child may be angry with his mother, he may not express his anger towards
his mother due to social restriction, but may do so by breaking his doll into pieces.
i. Identification: It is a mechanism which is very often used by normal people. In this defense
mechanism a person tries to become like someone else to deal with anxiety. For example, a
student may identify himself with a bachelor professor whose qualities he may like.
j. Compensation: Compensation is also called as substitution. In this defense mechanism a person
makes up for inferiorities in one area by becoming superior in another area. In the process of
compensation a person tries to maintain balance of his weaknesses by overemphasizing strengths
in other areas. For example, a person who is not a good player, he may put all his energises to
become a good academician.
Besides the above mentioned defense mechanisms there are some other mechanisms like isolation,
fantasy, fixation, etc. people use to overcome their unpleasant experiences. When the ego of the
individual is threatened, the various defense mechanisms are used to resolve conflict and the person
would have able to maintain a balanced personality. However, excessive use of defense mechanism is
dangerous for the ego. Defense mechanisms are generally learned by the person during childhood.
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
Freud devised a series of stages by which a person enters at specific points in development. These
stages occur in order, however a person can become stuck at a specific stage, called fixation.
 Oral Stage: Occurring during the first year of life, the child receives oral gratification by
sucking at its mother’s breast. By doing so, the child receives both the nutrition and love it
needs. Children who do not bond with a parent or ones who do not receive proper nutrition
may become orally fixated, possibly resulting in mistrust of others, fear, loss of love and
relationship difficulties. People also fixated in this stage may develop some oral personalities
different from others such as smoking, drinking alcohol, biting nails and they can be
pessimistic, easy to fool and overly dependent on others. naive
 Anal Stage: The anal stage occurs during the second and third years of live, where the child
becomes potty trained. During this period the child learns independence and personal power.
A child who does not successfully complete this stage may feel inferior, and depend on others
instead of themselves, have perfectionism, disorganized, sometimes messy and sometimes too
clean.
 Phallic Stage: The child first begins to discover sexual desires. This often occurs during years
three through six, where the child experiences unconscious desires for the opposite sex parent.
This often resolves itself through wanting love and acceptance from the opposite sex parent.
The child may also possess anxiety or fear from the same sex parent. For boys, it is known as
the Oedipus complex, and for girls it is known as the Electra complex.
 Latency Stage: With the trauma of the phallic stage over, the child moves from sexual
desires to ones of belonging and acceptance from others. Interests in friends, school, and
socialization are the main drives here. This stage often begins at six, and ends at puberty.
 Genital Stage: Beginning, at puberty, the genital stage begins with a reawaking of sexual
energy. This is a period where a child will likely form their sexual identity. The genital stage
is the final stage, lasting until death.
2. PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY OF ERIK ERIKSON
- Erik Erikson (1902 – 1994) was a German born psychoanalyst, a pioneer in a life span
perspective. Erikson viewed that ego development occurs through one’s life time. Erikson’s
theory of psychosocial development covers eight stages across the life span. According to
Erikson each stage involves a “crisis” in personality – that is important at that time and will
remain an issue to some degree throughout the rest of life. In each stage there is the balancing
of a positive tendency and a corresponding negative one. Initiative vs. guilt is a conflict
children face between their urge to form and carry out goals. When they fail to reach their
goals, they feel guilty. The sense of right and wrong morality emerges as a result of
identification with the parents. Children can resolve this crisis to acquire the virtue of purpose.
Erikson defines it as the courage to envisage and pursue valued goals. Children can then
develop into adults who combine spontaneous enjoyment of life with a sense of responsibility.
Those who cannot resolve this crisis may become repressed. If initiative dominates, they must
continue to believe. Erikson‟s last stage is ego-integrity. The virtue of this stage is wisdom.
- As Erikson mentioned different stages of human development, crisis is very typical of each
stage and resolution of it is a must. Resolution requires balancing a positive trait and a
 corresponding negative trait. Both are required for healthy development. If either of the two
predominates, there will be imbalance and the conflict remains. Hence, the development of ego
suffers.

The table below presents the eight stages: -

State/ Age Developmental Successful Unsuccessful

Stage Stage Dealing with Dealing with
Crisis Crisis
1 Birth Trust versus If babies’ needs are met, they If babies’ needs are
to 1 Mistrust learn to trust people and expect not met, they learn
year Babies learn to trust or mistrust life to be pleasant. not to trust.
old others based on whether or not their
needs such as food and comfort are
met.
2 1 to 3 Autonomy versus Shame and If toddlers are successful in If toddlers’ attempts
years Doubt directing their own at being
old Toddlers realize that they can direct behaviour, they learn to be independent are
their own behaviour. independent blocked, they learn
self-doubt and
shame for being
unsuccessful.
3 3 to 5 Initiative versus Guilt If preschoolers If preschoolers fail
years Preschoolers are challenged to succeed in taking responsibility, in taking
old control their own behaviour, such they feel capable and develop responsibility,
as controlling their excitement initiative they feel
when they are in a restaurant. irresponsible,
anxious and guilty.

4 5 to 12 Industry versus Inferiority When children succeed a If children fail to

years When children succeed in learning learning new skills, they develop develop new ability,
old new skills and obtaining new a sense of industry, a feeling of they feel
knowledge, they develop a sense of competence incompetent,
industry, a feeling of industry, and self esteem inadequate, and
a feeling of arising from their work inferior.
competence arising from their and effort.
work and effort.
5 Adoles Identity versus Role confusion Adolescents who succeed in Adolescents
cence Adolescents are faced with defining who they are and find a who fail to define
deciding who or what they want to role for their identity
be in terms of occupation, beliefs, themselves become confused
attitudes, and behaviour patterns. develop a strong sense of and withdraw, or
identity. want to
inconspicuously
blend in the crowd
6 Early Intimacy versus Isolation
Adulth The task facing those in early
ood adulthood is to be able to share who
they are with another person in a
close, committed relationship.
7 Middl Generativity versus Stagnation
e The challenge is to be creative,
Adulth productive, and nurturant of the
ood next generation.
8 Late Ego Integrity versus Despair
Adulth The issue is whether a person will
ood reach wisdom, spiritual,
tranquillity,
sense of wholeness, and
acceptance of his or her life.
People who succeed in this task
will have intimate relationships.
Adults who succeed in this
challenge will be
creative, productive, and
nurturant (nourishing and
caring), thereby benefiting
themselves, their family,
community,
country, and future generations.
Elderly people who succeed in
addressing this issue will enjoy
life and not fear death.
Adults who fail at
this task will be
isolated from other
people and may
suffer from
loneliness.
Adults who fail will
be passive, and self-
centered , feel that
they have done
nothing for the next
generation, and feel
that the world is no
better off for their
being alive.
Elderly people who
fail will feel that
their life is empty
and will fear death.

3. PIAGET’S THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Jean Piaget was born in Switzerland in 1896. After receiving his doctoral degree at age 22, Piaget
formally began a career that would have a profound impact on both psychology and education. Piaget
developed an interest in the intellectual development of children. Based upon his observations, he
concluded that children were not less intelligent than adults, they simply think differently.
Piaget's stage theory describes the cognitive development of children. Cognitive development
involves changes in cognitive process and abilities. In Piaget's view, early cognitive development
involves processes based upon actions and later progresses into changes in mental operations.
He developed the following stages that children go through in their cognitive development:
Level Stage Age Description
Infancy Sensory motor Birth-2 Learning is through the senses. Infants use
stage years sensory and motor activities to understand
The world.
Early child Preoperational 2-7 There is a great expansion in the use of symbolic
hood stage of cognitive years thought, or representational ability. But they are not
development able to use logic. In this stage children do not need to
be in sensory motor contact with an object, person or
event in order to think about it and also understand the
cause-effect relationship. They develop the ability to
classify objects, people and events. Children can count
and deal with quantities. During this stage, young
children are able to think about things symbolically.
Thinking is still egocentric, and the infant has
difficulty taking the viewpoint of others.
Middle Concrete 7-12 In this period children can use mental operations to
childhood operational stage years solve actual problems and they can think more
logically. They can perform many tasks at a much
higher level than before. They have developed
abilities to use maps and models and to communicate
spatial information improve with age. They have a
better understanding of cause and effect relationship,
of categorisation of inductive and deductive reasoning
and of conservation. Piaget considered the concrete
stage a major turning point in the child's cognitive
development, because it marks the beginning of logical
or operational thought. This means the child can work
things out internally in their head (rather than
physically try things out in the real world). Children
can conserve number (age 6), mass (age 7), and weight
(age 9). Conservation is the understanding that
something stays the same in quantity even though its
appearance changes
Late Formal 12 years The formal operational stage begins at approximately
childhood Operational Stage and age eleven-twelve and lasts into adulthood. During this
over time, people develop the ability to think about abstract
concepts, and more logically.

BASIC THEORIES OF LEARNING

Learning is a permanent change in behaviour which is due to experience. Psychologists test whether
something has been learnt by looking at behaviour. E.g. a boy watches a video of a boy damaging
toys. Afterwards, the boy is given the same type of dolls to play with. He does the same thing as the
boy in the video. It is concluded that he has learned the behaviour. This is because he is seen doing
the same thing.
We are going to look at three main behavioural theories of how we learn:
a. Classical conditioning
b. Operant conditioning
c. Social learning theory
1. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Behaviorism is a school of thought in psychology based on the assumption that learning occurs
through interactions with the environment. Two other assumptions of this theory are that the
environment shapes behavior and that taking internal mental states such as thoughts, feelings and
emotions into consideration is useless in explaining behavior.
One of the best-known aspects of behavioral learning theory is classical conditioning. Discovered by
Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, classical conditioning is a learning process that occurs through
associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring response.
It's important to note that classical conditioning involves placing a neutral signal before a naturally
occurring response. In Pavlov's classic experiment with dogs, the neutral signal was the sound of a
tone and the naturally occurring reflex was salivating in response to food. By associating the neutral
stimulus with the environmental stimulus (the presentation of food), the sound of the tone alone could
produce the salivation response.
In order to understand how more about how classical conditioning works, it is important to be familiar
with the basic principles of the process.
 b. The Unconditioned Stimulus- The unconditioned stimulus is one that unconditionally,
naturally, and automatically triggers a response. For example, when you smell one of your
favorite foods, you may immediately feel very hungry. In this example, the smell of the food is
the unconditioned stimulus.
c. The Unconditioned Response- The unconditioned response is the unlearned response that
occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned stimulus. In our example, the feeling of hunger
in response to the smell of food is the unconditioned response.
d. The Conditioned Stimulus- The conditioned stimulus is previously neutral stimulus that, after
becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned
response. In our earlier example, suppose that when you smelled your favorite food, you also
heard the sound of a whistle. While the whistle is unrelated to the smell of the food, if the sound
of the whistle was paired multiple times with the smell, the sound would eventually trigger the
conditioned response. In this case, the sound of the whistle is the conditioned stimulus.
e. The Conditioned Response- The conditioned response is the learned response to the previously
neutral stimulus. In our example, the conditioned response would be feeling hungry when you
heard the sound of the whistle.
John Watson and Rosalind Raynor (1920) demonstrated the process of classical conditioning in an 11
month old boy called Little Albert. While ‘Little Albert’ was playing happily with a white rat, a metal
bar was struck close to him which frightened him. After repeating this several times (this repetition is
called trials), Little Albert became frightened of the rat and indeed of other white furry things.

The classical conditioning process

Stimulus Response
The situation before conditioning starts rat no response
Loud noises (UCS) fear (UCR)
During trials rat + loud noise fear
When conditioning has occurred rat (CS) fear
The innate response (fear) is called the Unconditional response (UCR) because it is not learned. The
stimulus which causes the fear (loud noise) is called the unconditional stimulus (UCS).
Initially, the white rat does not trigger fear but after several trials an association between the rat and
the fear develops, so Little Albert had learned the fear response to the rat. The rat is the conditional
stimulus (CS), and the fear response is now called the conditional response (CR). Further research on
classical conditioning has shown that:
 Generalization occurs when a similar stimulus also triggers a response, for example, Watson
and Raynor found out that Little Albert was also fearful of a white rabbit and of cotton wool.
 Extinction occurs when the conditional stimulus is presented without the unconditional
stimulus. If Little Albert was able to play with the rat and there was no loud noise, eventually
his fear response would be extinguished. This principle operates with some automatic
responses, such as salivation in dogs but not necessarily in humans.

Classical conditioning and human behaviour

If we have learned to associate a person, a thing or a situation with fear or anxiety, this may
influence our behaviour. For example:
 Phobias-a phobia is an irrational fear of something. Little Albert developed a phobia
about cotton wool. Someone who has been involved in a car accident may develop phobia
of cars, of being in small places or of the particular street where it happened.
  Avoidance-we avoid experiences which we have learnt to associate with fear and anxiety
e.g. avoid driving at night if had experienced an accident at night etc. however, by
avoiding the cause of fear, there is no opportunity for fearful responses to become
extinguished.
 Discipline-if a girl sees a parent being angry because she did something wrong, this
creates anxiety. The child’s anxiety may become conditioned to the parent’s facial
expression, so that just a look of anger may be sufficient to warn the child that she is
doing something wrong.
Application of Classical Conditioning
There are various applications for classical conditioning. For example,
 These techniques are also useful in the treatment of phobias or anxiety problems. Teachers
are able to apply classical conditioning in the class by creating a positive classroom
environment to help students overcome anxiety or fear. Pairing an anxiety-provoking
situation, such as performing in front of a group, with pleasant surroundings helps the student
learn new associations. Instead of feeling anxious and tense in these situations, the child will
learn to stay relaxed and calm.
 Classical conditioning can be used to increase the amount of a behavior, but it can also be
used to decrease behavior.

2. OPERANT CONDITIONING
Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning
that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an
association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior.
Operant conditioning was coined by behaviorist B.F. Skinner, which is why you may occasionally
hear it referred to as Skinnerian conditioning. As a behaviorist, Skinner believed that internal thoughts
and motivations could not be used to explain behavior. Instead, he suggested, we should look only at
the external, observable causes of human behavior.
Skinner used the term operant to refer to any "active behavior that operates upon the environment to
generate consequences" (1953). In other words, Skinner's theory explained how we acquire the range
of learned behaviors we exhibit each and every day.
Examples of Operant Conditioning
We can find examples of operant conditioning at work all around us. Consider the case of children
completing homework to earn a reward from a parent or teacher, or employees finishing projects to
receive praise or promotions.
In these examples, the promise or possibility of rewards causes an increase in behavior, but operant
conditioning can also be used to decrease a behavior. The removal of an undesirable outcome or the
use of punishment can be used to decrease or prevent undesirable behaviors. For example, a child may
be told they will lose recess privileges if they talk out of turn in class. This potential for punishment
may lead to a decrease in disruptive behaviors.
Components of Operant Conditioning
Some key concepts in operant conditioning:
Reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows. There are two kinds
of reinforcers:
 Positive reinforcers are favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior. In
situations that reflect positive reinforcement, a response or behavior is strengthened by the
addition of something, such as praise or a direct reward.
  Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes after the
display of a behavior. In these situations, a response is strengthened by the removal of
something considered unpleasant.
In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases.
Punishment, on the other hand, is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a
decrease in the behavior it follows. There are two kinds of punishment:
 Positive punishment, sometimes referred to as punishment by application, involves the
presentation of an unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken the response it follows
e.g. canning a child for abusing another.
 Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal, occurs when an favorable
event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs e.g. removal of canning to a child that
abuses oth.
In both of these cases of punishment, the behavior decreases.

3. SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

The social learning theory was proposed by Albert Bandura (a Canadian) in the 1950s. It has become
perhaps the most influential theory of learning and development. Bandura argued that people can
learn new information and behaviours by watching other people. This is known as observational
learning (or modelling). This type of learning can be used to explain a wide variety of behaviours.

Bandura came up with the argument that people learn through observation. He carried out an
experiment which he called the bobo doll experiment. He used some children in the experiment who
observed an adult (model) being violent to the doll and when the children were given the doll to play
with it, they began to imitate the aggressive actions they had previously observed. Some other
children were exposed to an adult who was not violent to the doll and when given it, they also never
became aggressive and violent towards it. He concluded therefore that children learn and imitate
behaviours they have observed in other people.

People especially those who are exposed to violent movies, TV programmes, and video games are
more violent and aggressive that those who are not and hence parents are encouraged not to allow
their children be exposed to such materials for them to be less aggressive. Children who were abused
in childhood tend to become abusive adults while those boys that have experienced their fathers being
violent to them and their mothers tend to become violent husbands and fathers.
The observation learning/Modelling Process
According to Bandura, the modelling or observational learning process goes through the following
stages:
 Attention:
In order to learn, you need to be paying attention. Anything that detracts your attention is
going to have a negative effect on observational learning.
 Retention:
The ability to store information is also an important part of the learning process.
 Reproduction:
Once you have paid attention to the model and retained the information, it is time to actually
perform the behaviour you observed. Further practice of the learned behaviour leads to
improvement and skill advancement.
 Motivation:
Finally, in order for observational learning to be successful, you have to be motivated to
 imitate the behaviour that has been modelled. Reinforcement (rewarding) and punishment
play an important role in motivation.
Bandura concluded that:
1. Children who observed an adult acting aggressively would be likely to act aggressively even
when the adult model was not present.
2. The children who observed the non-aggressive adult model would be less aggressive than the
children who observed the aggressive model
3. Children would be more likely to imitate models of the same-sex rather than opposite-sex
models.
4. Boys would behave more aggressively than girls.
This theory is best used by social development workers in many instances:
 To solve aggression among people especially children as the workers may be able to
understand the cause of the aggression and help to deal with it.
 It can also be used by school social workers to improve learning and adoption of good
behaviours by children through emphasis on reinforcements (providing rewards to those who
do well and those with good behaviours) and punishments to those who do well.
 This theory can also help workers to help rehabilitate people who have learnt unacceptable
behaviours from models as it assumes that all that is learnt can be unlearnt and hence help
such people to unlearn the vices learnt especially using motivators such as rewards e.g.
rehabilitate those people who take drugs such as alcohol through the unlearning process
where the drugs/alcohol are put away from the person.