Social Learning Theory vs Constructivism: Difference and Comparison

There are many things we do in a day, hour or minute. We learn all these things in our life at any point in time, and we use them afterwards.

There are ways to learn the activities and things, too, like Social learning theory and Constructivism. 

Key Takeaways

1. Social Learning Theory emphasizes learning through observation, imitation, and modelling of others, while Constructivism focuses on learners constructing their knowledge and understanding through experiences and reflection.
2. Social Learning Theory stresses the importance of external influences, while Constructivism highlights the learner’s active role in knowledge acquisition.
3. Social Learning Theory is mainly associated with psychologist Albert Bandura, whereas Constructivism has roots in the theories of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky.

Social Learning Theory vs Constructivism 

The difference between social learning theory and constructivism is based on the way of learning social learning theory states that the behaviour of a person can be learned by the process of observation, whereas constructivism believes that the knowledge a person acquires is either constructed by spending time with itself or by spending time with others. 

Social Learning theory is a way to learn by observing the environment and others.

A person learns through observing the surroundings and the people around it observing, and the person is known as a model for the learner.

It is affected by many factors, like the cognitive power of an individual who is learning or the environment. 

Constructivism is also a way of learning which believes that a person constructs or builds their own knowledge.

It is believed that the transmission of knowledge is not as effective as working in a social group do. Social interactions can help in building more knowledge. 

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Social Learning Theory	Constructivism
Definition	Social learning theory states that the behavior of a person can be learned by the process of observation.	Constructivism believes that knowledge a person acquires is either by spending time with itself or with others.
Beliefs	The ideas that social learning theory follows do not include social interaction for a learner.	Constructivism believes in gathering and interactions for acquiring new knowledge.
Key skills	Social learning theory believes in observation learning which includes meditational cognitive processes and self-efficiency.	Constructivism believes gatherings is important for the construction of knowledge
Theroists	Notable theorist for social learning theory is Albert bandura, Neil Miller	Notable theorists for constructivism is Jean Piaget and lev Vygotsky.
Concerns	The area which is concerned by social learning theory is the observation skills and the behaviors which are measured to know how the knowledge is acquired.	Constructivism is concerned about the fact of knowledge and how is it getting gained by a learner or constructed.

What is Social Learning Theory ?

Social learning is a way of learning where it is believed that learning can be done by the power of observations.

The learner learns by observing the environment and an individual who is known to him or her and observes the knowledge acquired by them and also the activities they do.

After that, they gain it as their own knowledge. The person they are following is known as the model.

Many factors which are responsible for effective personal learning are they should be paying attention to the model and also should have the motivation to learn new things or retrieve the information given to them.

They should also know how to use it in a situation. The ideas that social learning theory follows do not include social interaction for a learner. 

Social learning theory believes in observation learning which includes meditational cognitive processes and self-efficiency.

 Notable theorist of social learning theory is Albert Bandura and Neil Miller. 

The area concerned with social learning theory is the observation skills and the behaviours measured to know how knowledge is acquired. 

What is Constructivism? 

Constructivism is a theory that tells us how a person learns. They believe that individual Learns by themselves by creating knowledge on their own.

It is believed that the knowledge transmitted is not as better as that built by social interactions or gathering where a person communicates with another person and construct or build their own knowledge.

It can also be given by the teacher and learner role where they interact and learn new things there are two types of contract constructivism. 

The first type of constructivism is psychological constructivism, and the other one is social constructivism.

Psychological constructivism is totally based on inner psychological processes and the mental processes of a person concerned, whereas social constructivism gets the idea of the construction of knowledge based on social interactions.

 Constructivism believes in gathering and interacting to acquire new knowledge. Constructivism believes gatherings are important for the construction of knowledge.

Notable theorists of constructivism are Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Constructivism is concerned with knowledge and how it is gained by a learner or constructed. 

Main Differences Between Social Learning Theory and Constructivism 

1. The difference between social learning theory and constructivism is based on the way of learning social learning theory states that the behaviour of a person can be learnt by the process of observation where, whereas constructivism believes in that the knowledge a person acquires is either constructed by spending time with itself or by spending time with others. 
2. The ideas that social learning theory follows do not include social interaction for a learner, whereas constructivism believes in gathering and interactions for acquiring new knowledge. 
3. Social learning theory believes in observation learning which includes meditational cognitive processes and self-efficiency whereas constructivism believes gatherings are important for the construction of knowledge.  
4. Notable theorist of social learning theory is Albert Bandura, and Neil Miller, whereas notable theorists of constructivism are Jean Piaget and lev vygotsky. 
5. The area which is concerned with social learning theory is the observation skills and the behaviours which are measured to know how the knowledge is acquired, whereas constructivism is concerned about the fact of knowledge and how it is getting gained by a learner or constructed. 

References

1. https://www.scholars.northwestern.edu/en/publications/constructivism
2. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=rz8he5AM7KcC&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=constructivism&ots=argQ8PHGNO&sig=m6pzao3XkRfA9w7t8mveMCLBgFc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=constructivism&f=false

Last Updated : 13 July, 2023