Social Learning Theory and Patient Management

Abstract

The core notion of social learning theory is that behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences. Two broad principles have dominated the thinking in this area. These are the law of effect and the principle of contiguity. The law of effect (Thorndike, 1932), also known as instrumental or operant conditioning (Skinner, 1953), states that responses that are rewarded (reinforced) (Hull, 1951) will persist and increase in frequency, whereas actions that are punished or have aversive consequences, will decrease in frequency and ultimately be extinguished (disappear) from the response repertoire of the individual. The principle of contiguity (Guthrie, 1952), also referred to as classic conditioning (Pavlov, 1927), states that two responses will become associated with each other, regardless of content or effect, simply if they are temporally contiguous, that is, if they are presented to the individual in close succession. This kind of learning is known as Pavlovian conditioning, so called after the Russian physiologist who introduced the idea into the literature. Pavlov was studying the secretion of saliva in dogs. His method was to place different morsels of food into the dogs’ mouths and measure the resulting flow of saliva. He noticed that after a while the dogs began to salivate at the sight of the food, the container, and even the white coat of the laboratory attendant. In other words, the dogs had learned to associate these items with the administration of the food into their mouths.