Observational learning

Observational learning

1. When someone catches another person's/models' behaviour and consequences of their behaviour to guide their future actions

2. Vicarious conditioning

   • The individual watches a model's behaviour being either enforced or punished, and then subsequently behaves in the same way or in a modified way, or refrains from the behaviour.
   • vicarious punishment
     • when the likelihood of an observer performing a particular behaviour decreases after having seen a model's behaviour being punished
   • Vicarious reinforcement
     • Increases the likelihood of the observer behaviour in a similar way to a model whose behaviour is reinforced

3. researcher

   • Albert Bandura
     • believed that through observation we learn many behaviours not by actually carrying out the behaviour and experiencing consequences but simply by watching the behaviour and its consequences being experienced by someone else.
     • emphasised that OL requires cognitive processes
       • A mental representation of what is being learnt must be stored in memory for reproduction

4. Processes

   • 1. Attention
     • Must focus or closely watch a models behaviour
   • 2. Retention
     • Storing learnt information in memory (mental representation)
   • 3. Reproduction
     • need to have the ability to carry out or imitate the info that has been learned
   • 4. Motivation
   • 5. Reinforcement
     • external reinforcement
     • internal reinforcement

5. Model

   • positive, is liked and has a high status
   • has similar traits to the observer
   • familiar to observer
   • their behaviour is visible and stands out
   • Behaviour that can be imitable

6. Bandura's Study (1965)

   • Aim
     • To investigate the influence of rewards and punishments on observational learning
   • Method
     • 3 conditions
       • aggressor rewarded
       • aggressor punished
       • agressor and no consequence
     • pre school children watched models in one condition each
       • Then played with the bobo doll
         • Behaviour was observed and recorded at 5 second intervals
   • Findings
     • Children who watched aggressor be rewarded initiated more caressive behaviour and vice versa
     • Little difference between boys and girls behaviour when they watched model be punished
       • Boys were more aggressive than girls in other conditions
       • girls were nearly as aggressive if offered an incentive
     • agression occurred if children saw model neither awarded or punished for aggression