Social Learning Theory

Notes on social learning through literature

Bandura and Vygotsky describe human learning as a social event of observing, modeling and interacting with others. Mirror neurons provide a powerful basis for humans to imitate and learn behaviors from others even with out reward or punishment.

Learning is also affected by how a child relates to others. Relating best to others who are similar to their personal view of them self. This being related to each person's cultural identity, racial identity, sexual identity, and the various roles each child choses. We look at people in these relationships as role models and the more prestigious the model is, the greater the impact may be. The desire to be like this other person may motivate a person to act, however the ability to understand and apply the behaviors will affect success and continued motivation.

It should be obvious that characters in literature are models of a variety of behaviors many of them social. Books are a window into life where students may view many interactions, identify them as positive and negative, and make choices as to which may be worthy for them to try in their life.

It would also seem likely that student's choice of literature and which characters they choose to imagine as models for them will be related to their experience with peers, heroes, and events they have experienced in their lives.

As they knowingly or unknowingly search for different behaviors to try out in their world, literature will provide a valuable source for their social and behavioral development.

Most books have characters who interact with other characters and provide a rich source of social behaviors, most of which are appropriate for children. Authors have characters that usually change the way they interact socially. Sometimes the change is slow and moves along with the plot progression. Other times the character may stubbornly stay with the same interactions repeatedly making the same mistakes increasing the problem for the characters as the plot progresses until reaching a climax where change occurs. Other times characters don't change, but there can be characters who oppose each other with opposite sets of interactions for the reader or viewer to contrast from one to the other. Change can be low key or used to propel the plot along or used as an important style element that sets the tone.

In Amelia Badelia the author's use of literal interpretations by the main character never changes and helps create a humorous tone as the main character interacts socially based on her literal interpretations.

In books like, There is a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom, the theme and plot rely heavily on the main character's social interactions. The author explores different behaviors and their social consequences through out the story with the main character. The reader learns through the character's struggles and may relate to the character's desire to change as motivation to model and use similar behaviors in his or her life. The style and tone is not didactic. It is based on logical consequence and encouraging understanding characters that are helpful in a low key manner. Slow progress or realization by the main character is often the case with no success until the climax. This struggle becomes an important element of the theme, character development, style, and tone, however it does not have to be the driving force that moves the plot along. Nor is success usually expected or guaranteed as the story develops. The character may be successful at the end of the story, but the continuation of success may be questionable as to its likelihood after the story ends.

Some stories with strong characterization are:

  • Lon Po Po,
  • Horton Hatches an Egg,
  • Horton Hears a Who,
  • Charlotte’s Web,
  • Witch of Blackboard Pond,
  • Lizzie Bright and The Buckminster Boy,
  • The Fourth Stall,
  • What Happened to Lani Garver,
  • The Mailbox,
  • Ida B,
  • The Danger Box

Dr. Robert Sweetland's Notes ©