Observational Learning
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Define observational learning
- Discuss the steps in the modelling process
- Explain the prosocial and antisocial effects of observational learning
Previous sections of this chapter focused on classical and operant conditioning, which are forms of associative learning. In observational learning, we learn by watching others and then imitating, or modelling, what they do or say. For instance, have you ever gone to YouTube to find a video showing you how to do something? The individuals performing the imitated behaviour are called models. Research suggests that this imitative learning involves a specific type of neurone, called a mirror neurone (Hickock, 2010; Rizzolatti et al., 2002, 2006).
Humans and other animals are capable of observational learning. As you will see, the phrase “monkey see, monkey do” really is accurate (Figure 7.16). The same could be said about other animals. For example, in a study of social learning in chimpanzees, researchers gave juice boxes with straws to two groups of captive chimpanzees. The first group dipped the straw into the juice box, and then sucked on the small amount of juice at the end of the straw. The second group sucked through the straw directly, getting much more juice. When the first group, the “dippers,” observed the second group, “the suckers,” what do you think happened? All of the “dippers” in the first group switched to sucking through the straws directly. By simply observing the other chimps and modelling their behaviour, they learned that this was a more efficient method of getting juice (Yamamoto et al., 2013).
- You learn a new response. After watching your coworker get chewed out by your boss for coming in late, you start leaving home 10 minutes earlier so that you won’t be late.
- You choose whether or not to imitate the model depending on what you saw happen to the model. Remember Naomi and their parent, Yao? When learning to surf, Naomi might watch how Yao pops up successfully on their surfboard and then attempt to do the same thing. On the other hand, Naomi might learn not to touch a hot stove after watching Yao get burned on a stove.
- You learn a general rule that you can apply to other situations.
Bandura identified three kinds of models: live, verbal, and symbolic. A live model demonstrates a behaviour in person, as when Yao stood up on their surfboard so that Naomi could see how they did it. A verbal instructional model does not perform the behaviour, but instead explains or describes the behaviour, as when a soccer coach tells their young players to kick the ball with the side of the foot, not with the toe. A symbolic model can be fictional characters or real people who demonstrate behaviours in books, movies, television shows, video games, or Internet sources (Figure 7.17).
Of course, we don’t learn a behaviour simply by observing a model. Bandura described specific steps in the process of mo