observational learning
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What is observational learning?
Observational learning is a method of learning by watching and modeling another person's actions, attitudes, or emotional expressions. Though it's thought observers will copy the model, Albert Bandura's social learning theory says people learn from behavior without imitating it.
Bandura said four things are needed for observational learning:
* Paying attention
* Remembering it
* Being able to reproduce the behavior
* Motivation to do soMotivation is key. A person needs a reason to imitate behavior, like knowing the model was rewarded, being offered an incentive, or seeing the model get reinforced.
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Who is a well-known psychologist who studied observational learning?
Albert Bandura is a well-known psychologist who studied observational learning, a major component of his social learning theory. Bandura showed that children learn behaviors by watching others, including sharing, aggression, and social interaction.
Bandura's famous 1961 Bobo doll experiment showed that children who watched adults physically and verbally abuse an inflatable doll tended to mimic the behavior. He also stressed that attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation are necessary for observational learning.
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How does observational learning differ from learning by doing?
Observational learning involves learning by watching and modeling another individualās behavior, attitudes, or emotional expressions. It requires attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.
Learning by doing, on the other hand, occurs through trial and error, where learning depends on performing a particular response in the presence of a particular stimulus. In this case, knowledge of results and continuous sensory feedback about performance during training are essential.
7 Britannica Sources- observational learning
- perceptual learning: Changes in neural processing
- animal learning: Imitation and observational learning
- learning: Physiological basis of learning
- organizational culture: Culture as organizational personality
- pedagogy: Cognitive theories
- psychomotor learning: Psychological feedback
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What are the main steps involved in observational learning?
Observational learning involves learning by watching and modeling another individualās actions, attitudes, or emotional expressions. Psychologist Albert Bandura outlined four conditions necessary for observational learning:
1. Attention The observer must focus on the model and the exhibited behavior. Factors like attractiveness, similarity to the observer, and prestige influence attention.-
Retention The observer must remember the observed behavior.
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Reproduction The observer must be able to replicate the behavior.
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Motivation The observer must have a reason to imitate the behavior, such as seeing the model reinforced or being offered an incentive.
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Can you give an example of observational learning in everyday life?
Observational learning involves learning by watching and modeling another person's actions, attitudes, or emotions. You don't have to copy the behavior; you can simply learn from it.
A simple example is a young child learning to wave "bye-bye" by observing a parent or older sibling perform the action. The child watches, remembers, and then tries to reproduce the wave when it's time to say goodbye. This demonstrates how we learn new behaviors by watching others.
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How does observational learning influence behavior in children and adults?
Observational learning, a key part of social learning theory, involves learning by watching and copying how others act, think, and feel. It's not just about copying; people can learn from what they see without directly imitating it.
How it Works
For observational learning to happen, four things are needed:
* Paying attention
* Remembering what was seen
* Being able to reproduce the behavior
* Having the motivation to do soImpact
Kids often copy what they see, like in the Bobo doll experiment where they imitated aggressive actions they watched. This shows how important it is for parents to keep an eye on what their kids watch and who they hang out with because kids are more likely to do what their parents do, not just what they say. Observational learning isn't just for humans; animals, like blue tits learning to steal cream from milk bottles, do it too.
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observational learning, method of learning that consists of observing and modeling another individualās behavior, attitudes, or emotional expressions. Although it is commonly believed that the observer will copy the model, American psychologist Albert Bandura stressed that individuals may simply learn from the behavior rather than imitate it. Observational learning is a major component of Banduraās social learning theory. He also emphasized that four conditions were necessary in any form of observing and modeling behavior: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.
Conditions for observational learning
Attention
If an organism is going to learn anything from a model, he or she must be paying attention to it and the behavior it exhibits. Many conditions can affect the observerās attention. For instance, if the observer is sleepy, ill, or distracted, he or she will be less likely to learn the modeled behavior and imitate it at a later date. In addition, the characteristics of the model have an influence on the observerās attention. Bandura and others have shown that humans pay more attention to models that are attractive, similar to them, or prestigious and are rewarded for their behaviors. This explains the appeal that athletes have on the behavior of young children and that successful adults have on college students. Unfortunately, this aspect of modeling can also be used in detrimental ways. For example, if young children witness gang members gaining status or money, they may imitate those behaviors in an effort to gain similar rewards.
Retention
The second requirement of observational learning is being able to remember the behavior that was witnessed. If the human or animal does not remember the behavior, there is a less than probable chance that they will imitate it.
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Reproduction
This requisite of behavior concerns the physical and mental ability of the individual to copy the behavior he or she observed. For instance, a young child may observe a college basketball player dunk a ball. Later, when the child has a basketball, he or she may attempt to dunk a ball just like the college player. However, the young child is not nearly as physically developed as the older college player and, no matter how many times he or she tries, will not be able to reach the basket to dunk the ball. An older child or an adult might be able to dunk the ball but likely only after quite a bit of practice. Similarly, a young colt observes another horse in the herd jump over the creek while running in the pasture. After observing the modelās jumping behavior, the colt attempts to do the same only to land in the middle of the creek. He simply was not big enough or did not have long enough legs to clear the water. He could, however, after physical growth and some practice, eventually be able to replicate the other horseās jump.
Motivation
Perhaps the most important aspect of observational learning involves motivation. If the human or animal does not have a reason for imitating the behavior, then no amount of attention, retention, or reproduction will overcome the lack of motivation. Bandura identified several motivating factors for imitation. These include knowing that the model was previously reinforced for the behavior, being offered an incentive to perform, or observing the model receiving reinforcement for the behavior. These factors can also be negative motivations. For instance, if the observer knew that the model was punished for the behavior, was threatened for exhibiting the behavior, or observed the model being punished for the behavior, then the probability of mimicking the behavior is less.
Applications of observational learning
Modeling has been used successfully in many therapeutic conditions. Many therapists have used forms of modeling to assist their patients to overcome phobias. For example, adults with claustrophobia may observe a model in a video as they move closer and closer to an enclosed area before entering it. Once the model reaches the enclosed area, for instance a closet, he or she will open the door, enter it, and then close the door. The observer will be taught relaxation techniques and be told to practice them anytime he or she becomes anxious while watching the film. The end result is to continue observing the model until the person can enter the closet himself or herself.
Banduraās findings in the Bobo doll experiments have greatly influenced childrenās television programming. Bandura filmed his students physically attacking the Bobo doll, an inflatable doll with a rounded bottom that pops back up when knocked down. A student was placed in the room with the Bobo doll. The student punched the doll, yelled āsockerooā at it, kicked it, hit it with hammers, and sat on it. Bandura then showed this film to young children. Their behavior was taped when in the room with the doll. The children imitated the behaviors of the student and at times even became more aggressive toward the doll than what they had observed. Another group of young children observed a student being nice to the doll. Ironically, this group of children did not imitate the positive interaction of the model. Bandura conducted a large number of varied scenarios of this study and found similar events even when the doll was a live clown. These findings have prompted many parents to monitor the television shows their children watch and the friends or peers with which they associate. Unfortunately, the parental saying āDo as I say, not as I doā does not hold true for children. Children are more likely to imitate the behaviors versus the instructions of their parents.
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One of the most famous instances of observational learning in animals involves the blue tit, a small European bird. During the 1920s and through the 1940s, many people reported that the cream from the top of the milk being delivered to their homes was being stolen. The cream-stealing incidents spread all over Great Britain. After much speculation about the missing cream, it was discovered that the blue tit was the culprit. Specifically, one bird had learned to peck through the foil top of the milk container and suck the cream out of the bottle. It did not take long before other blue tit birds imitated the behavior and spread it through the country.