Social learning and health

Key idea: Social learning theory says we learn by watching others, especially people we like, and copying what seems to pay off. Eating, drinking and smoking are learned this way too.

Social learning: children copy what parents and friends eat. A child whose family snacks in front of the television learns that this is what evenings look like.

Birch (1980) seated preschool children who preferred one vegetable at lunch with peers who preferred another. Over several days, many of the children shifted their choice towards the vegetable their peers chose.

Key idea: Social learning explains how habits spread through families and friends; it explains less about who is most at risk.

So social learning is a strong account of how health behaviours are passed on, but it is one cause among several: appetite, stress and the food on offer also matter.

Watch out: Name the four processes. Attention, retention, reproduction and motivation make a social learning answer precise.