Psychology of Learning

Module 11: Observational Learning 1

Key Terms

Agentic Perspective: Bandura’s view that people actively contribute to their own development through intentional action, forethought, self-regulation, & self-reflection.

Attention: In observational learning, the first of Bandura’s four processes; the observer must notice relevant features of the model’s actions.

Carbon Disulfide: A component of rat breath that serves as a semiochemical, making food-related odors transmitted from demonstrator to observer rats behaviorally significant.

Contagion: Another term for social facilitation; situation in which the observation of another organism’s behavior increases the likelihood that the same behavior, already in the repertoire, will be exhibited.

Deferred Imitation: Reproducing observed behavior after a time delay; requires memory & representation, suggesting cognitive processes beyond simple reflexes.

Demonstrator-Observer Paradigm: Galef’s experimental procedure in which a demonstrator rat eats a novel food & then interacts with an observer rat, who subsequently shows preference for that food.

Emulation: Learning about environmental affordances (what can be done with objects) without necessarily copying the demonstrator’s specific movements.

Environmental Enrichment: Raising animals in stimulating environments with opportunities for social interaction & exploration, which increases brain development & learning ability.

Generalized Imitation: Miller & Dollard’s concept that imitation functions as a learned operant response through reinforcement history.

Imitation: A change in behavior following observation of another organism; copying behavior that may or may not have been previously in the animal’s repertoire.

Local Enhancement: When a demonstrator’s presence near an object increases its salience to an observer, leading to increased interaction without understanding of behavior or goals.

Mate Choice Copying: A form of social learning in which individuals use the observed mate choices of others to inform their own mate preferences.

Modeling: Term introduced by Bandura used interchangeably with observational learning; the process by which observers pattern their behavior after a model.

Morgan’s Canon: Precept that animal activity should always be explained using the simplest mechanisms possible; also known as the principle of parsimony.

Motivation: In observational learning, the fourth of Bandura’s four processes; determines whether learned behaviors are performed based on expected consequences.

Neophobia: Fear of new things; rats are highly neophobic about novel foods because they cannot vomit to expel toxins.

Observational Conditioning: Learning stimulus-stimulus associations by observing others’ responses; for example, developing fear by watching another’s fearful reaction.

Observational Learning: A change in behavior that occurs as a result of observing a behavior & its consequences; learning from others rather than direct experience.

Peering: Close-range observation of a conspecific, particularly studied in chimpanzees as a mechanism for acquiring tool-use & other complex skills.

Reciprocal Determinism: Bandura’s concept that behavior, personal factors, & environmental factors all influence one another in continuous triadic interaction.

Reproduction: In observational learning, the third of Bandura’s four processes; translating cognitive representations into motor performance.

Retention: In observational learning, the second of Bandura’s four processes; forming mental representations through imaginal & verbal encoding.

Self-Efficacy: An individual’s belief in their capability to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific outcomes; influences effort & persistence.

Social Facilitation: Situation in which the observation of another organism’s behavior increases the likelihood that the same behavior, already in the repertoire, will be exhibited.

Social Learning: A change in behavior following observation of the act & its consequences performed by another organism; the observer expects similar contingencies.

Social Transmission: The spread of behaviors, information, or fear responses through a social group via observational learning.

Social-Cognitive Theory: Bandura’s theory that knowledge about behavioral consequences can be acquired vicariously through observing others.

Stimulus Enhancement: A type of observational learning in which there is increased likelihood of behavior focused on a particular object following observation of another organism interacting with that object.

Theory of Mind: The ability to attribute thoughts & feelings to oneself & others & to understand that others’ thoughts & desires may differ from one’s own.

True Imitation: Behavior change following observation whereby the observer recognizes the intentional structure of the model’s actions & invokes theory of mind.

Two-Action Test: Experimental design presenting observers with demonstrators performing one of two different actions to achieve the same outcome to distinguish imitation from emulation.

Vicarious Learning: Another term for observational learning; learning that occurs by observing others’ behaviors & their consequences.

Vicarious Punishment: Observing a model punished decreases the observer’s likelihood of performing that behavior without personal punishment.

Vicarious Reinforcement: Observing a model receive reinforcement creates expectancy that similar reinforcement will follow similar behavior in the observer.