Mateo, a father of two pre-teen sons, is struggling to manage his frustration and frequently shouts when household routines slip. He notices his oldest son has recently started shouting at his younger brother when frustrated. Mateo believes this pattern stems from his own childhood, as his father was also highly volatile and prone to shouting when stressed. Mateo recently transitioned to working from home to manage the household full-time while his partner travels frequently for business, leaving the day-to-day parenting decisions entirely to him.
Mateo consults a behaviour therapist who proposes a plan: Mateo should actively reward himself with guilt-free leisure time whenever he successfully resolves a stressful parenting moment calmly. The therapist also aims to help Mateo stop focusing on self-blame regarding his past outbursts.
Evaluate the application of social learning theory as proposed by the therapist in helping Mateo. You must make reference to the context in your answer.
205 exam-style questions on Edexcel A Level Psychology Content, covering Main features of classical conditioning, Pavlov (1927) salivation in dogs, Main features of operant conditioning, Properties of reinforcement, Behaviour modification and shaping, Main features of social learning theory, Social learning stages, Bandura (1961, 1963) Bobo doll experiments, Bandura (1965) vicarious reinforcement, Learning theories and phobias, Treatments for phobias, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.