Explain social learning factors related to the development of aggression, making reference to two relevant studies.

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Social Learning Factors Related to Aggression
Albert Bandura considered the correlation between social learning factors and aggression in the social learning theory (SLT). In this case, the theory advanced that learners were most likely to learn of they were put in an environment that allowed them to observe role models. To test the theory, Bandura conducted the Bobo Doll Experiment whereby 72 children (36 girls and 36 boys) of between three and six years of age were recruited. The children were placed into three treatment groups whereby the first group was exposed to an aggressive adult; the second adult was exposed to a calm adult while the third group was exposed to no adult. The results indicated that children were more likely to imitate aggression observed in adult role models who were rewarded for such behavior. Further analysis showed that the female children were inclined to imitate verbal aggression while the male children were inclined to imitate physical aggression. The implication of the study was that children applied observational learning, thereby approving SLT (Bandura 589-595). Charlton, Gunter, and Hannan (108-109) made a similar observation in the St. Helena TV violence study that tested SLT. The study was designed to evaluate how children in St. Helena (a remote community) were affected by being introduced to aggression through a television program. The study was conducted for five years after which it was observed that aggression did not increase in any way among the children under observation with their good behavior that was evident before the study continuing all through the five-year study to its end.

The results of the study made it clear that SLT would only hold true in specific circumstances, requiring attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation (Charlton, Gunter and Hannan 108-115). The implication of the two studies is that social learning factors have an influence on aggression development by exposing learners to an environment in which they are taught that aggression can be rewarded thereby making it acceptable.
Works Cited
Bandura Albert. “Influence of Models’ Reinforcement Contingencies on the Acquisition of Imitative Responses.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1.6(1965), 589-595.
Charlton, Tony, Barrie Gunter, and Andrew Hannan. Broadcast Television Effects in A Remote Community. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002. Print.