12-3: Cultural Transmission & Applications
Psychology of Learning
Module 12: Observational Learning 2
Part 3: Cultural Transmission & Applications
Looking Back
Part 1 examined biological foundations of observational learning—evolutionary advantages & mirror neurons. Part 2 explored the Bobo doll experiments demonstrating that children learn aggressive behaviors from observation, with vicarious reinforcement affecting performance but not learning. Part 3 explores broader applications showing observational learning’s positive impacts on achievement motivation, self-regulation, & cultural transmission.
Academic Skills: Learning Through Observation
Students learn many academic skills through observational learning & modeling, especially if we include learning through listening (the staple of the college classroom is the lecture). A student watching a teacher solve a mathematics problem learns problem-solving strategies. A child listening to a parent read aloud learns pronunciation, intonation, & narrative structure. Science teachers often use demonstrations, & math teachers present calculations on a board. Academic observational learning extends beyond specific content to learning how to learn—students observe classmates’ study strategies, note-taking techniques, & question-asking behaviors.
Cognitive modeling is a form of modeling in which the model not only demonstrates the correct behavior, but also describes the thought process involved in problem solving (Zimmerman, 2004). Rather than simply showing how to solve a problem, the teacher thinks aloud: “First I need to identify what I’m solving for… Now I’ll set up an equation… Let me check if this makes sense…” This makes implicit cognitive processes explicit, enabling observers to acquire both the behavioral sequence & the reasoning behind it. Students also learn general attitudes towards education & academic achievement from their peers (Harris, 1998).
Achievement Motivation & Self-Reinforcement
Educators, sports coaches, & business managers have always been interested in what motivates people to apply self-discipline & work hard. Part of the answer lies in observational learning of self-reinforcement patterns. In a classic study, Bandura & Kupers (1964) had children observe an adult model playing a bowling game. The critical manipulation involved the performance criterion for self-reward. In one condition, the model rewarded themselves for relatively low achievement—taking candy rewards whenever scoring above 10 points. In the other condition, the model set high achievement standards, rewarding themselves only for scores above 20 points.
Remarkably, children adopted the same self-reinforcement patterns they had observed. Children who watched the low-achievement model rewarded themselves for scores above 10; children who watched the high-achievement model set higher standards. The children didn’t just imitate technique—they internalized the model’s achievement standards, learning when self-reward was appropriate. This finding reveals how children develop achievement motivation. A parent who celebrates minor accomplishments models low standards; a parent who praises only exceptional performance models high standards.
Emulation refers to the imitation of the goals observed, but not necessarily the same behaviors used to achieve them. Children may learn a high level of achievement motivation by watching their parents working hard at their jobs, but then apply that achievement motivation in a different setting such as school or sports.
Self-Regulation & Delay of Gratification
Self-regulation is the use of internal monitoring to determine appropriate times to demonstrate learned behaviors—controlling impulses, planning actions, & adjusting behavior based on long-term goals rather than immediate desires (Bandura, 1991). Delay of gratification is bypassing immediately available smaller rewards in favor of larger rewards not immediately available. This capacity to resist immediate temptation for superior delayed outcomes forms a core component of self-control.
Observational learning powerfully shapes self-regulation capacity. Children observing adults who consistently demonstrate self-control—resisting immediate gratification, persevering through difficulty—learn these regulatory strategies. Mischel’s delay of gratification studies revealed that successful delayers used specific strategies many learned observationally: distraction (looking away from treats), cognitive transformation (imagining marshmallows as clouds), & self-instructions (reminding themselves of the delayed reward’s superiority). Children who have self-controlled models will be more able to demonstrate self-control themselves. Behavior becomes self-regulated by internalizing reinforcement—we don’t need external rewards when we’ve learned to reward ourselves.
The Transmission of Culture: Pine Cone Stripping in Black Rats
Observational learning’s most profound impact may lie in enabling cultural transmission—the passage of knowledge, skills, & traditions across generations without genetic inheritance. A remarkable series of experiments by Terkel (1996) demonstrated cultural transmission in Israeli black rats (Rattus rattus).
Israel’s pine forests contain black rats facing a challenging foraging problem. Pine cones offer potential nutrition, but accessing seeds requires overcoming the cone’s protective structure. The rats developed a highly stereotyped, efficient technique for “stripping” pine cones—first removing the cone from the branch using stereotyped behaviors, then lifting the top row of scales first, moving down the cone in a spiral pattern, lifting each scale with their paw, & gnawing at the base of the scale (the narrowest part, requiring least effort to remove). When a scale is removed, the rat can then get at the seeds underneath.
Experiment 1: Trial & Error Learning
Rats were housed either singly or in pairs & kept at 85% of free-feeding weight. When presented with pine cones, rats initially ignored them. Even when food deprived for 48 hours & then given pine cones, no rat learned to strip the cones efficiently—they simply gnawed at them randomly without discovering the systematic stripping technique. Individual trial-and-error learning proved inadequate for acquiring this complex foraging behavior.
Experiment 2: Observation of Adult Rats by Other Adult Rats
Naive adult rats were housed with experienced “stripper” rats for three months, providing extensive opportunity for observation. Despite this prolonged exposure, none of the naive adults acquired the efficient stripping method—all continued to randomly gnaw at cones. This demonstrates that mere exposure to a competent model is not sufficient for learning complex behaviors in adult rats—you can’t teach an old rat new tricks!
Experiment 3: Effects of Feeding Mothers Pine Seeds
Naive mothers (who did not know the stripping technique) were fed pine seeds so their breast milk would taste like pine seeds, potentially creating a preference for pine-flavored food in their pups. Despite this flavor exposure, pups never figured out how to extract seeds from cones at all. Flavor familiarity alone was insufficient to enable learning of the extraction technique.
Experiment 4: Living with Mothers That Strip Cones
When experienced stripper mothers raised their own young, the majority of pups learned to strip as well. This suggested that social learning from mothers during early development enables acquisition of the complex behavior. But was this genetic inheritance or social learning?
Experiment 5: Cross-Fostering to Test Genetic Transmission
To distinguish genetic from social transmission, researchers conducted a cross-fostering experiment. A naive mother raised both her own pups & pups from a stripper mother. None of these pups learned how to strip, despite half having stripper mothers genetically. A stripper mother raised both her own pups & pups of a naive mother. Every single pup learned to strip, regardless of whether their biological mother was a stripper or naive. This elegant experiment demonstrated that the stripping behavior is culturally transmitted through social learning from the rearing mother, not genetically inherited.
Cumulative Cultural Evolution
The pine cone stripping example illustrates cumulative cultural evolution—the process by which knowledge accumulates across generations, with each generation building on previous generations’ discoveries. Observational learning greatly increases the possible ways organisms can modify behavior to fit their environment. We can essentially double or more the number of “experiences” we can benefit from. As the presence of the incredibly complex mirror neuron system suggests, the adaptive benefits we receive from learning from others must be immense. These benefits outweigh the problems that social learning creates, such as the learning of phobias or superstitions that have no basis in truth.
Cultural Transmission in Cetaceans
Whales & dolphins provide striking examples of culturally transmitted behaviors. Killer whales in different populations exhibit distinct hunting techniques passed down through generations—some groups beach themselves to catch seals, while neighboring populations never show this behavior. Humpback whale song spreads through populations like cultural fads, with new song elements appearing & being copied across vast distances. Dolphins have been observed teaching their young to use sponges as tools to protect their snouts while foraging on the seafloor—a behavior that spreads matrilineally through social learning.
Observational Learning & Human Culture
Human culture represents the most elaborate expression of cumulative cultural evolution. Agriculture, writing, mathematics, science, technology—all depend on transmitting knowledge across generations through observational learning, augmented by language & symbolic communication. Observational learning, in all its forms, allows for the transmission of shared knowledge in a group. This capacity made possible the Egyptian pyramids, the industrial revolution, & modern civilization. We benefit from the successes & failures of people we have never met & who died thousands of years ago.
Learning in the Real World: Modeling by Youth Sports Coaches
Whenever a new youth sports season begins, coaches must demonstrate correct technique for the sport. This might begin with direct demonstration—holding the ball & over-exaggerating correct movements for shooting free throws, such as knee bending & arm positions, to make them visually obvious. While demonstrating, the coach uses verbal prompts to ensure players watch appropriate body parts.
Since we are more likely to learn from models similar to ourselves, once at least one player has gotten the required movement down fairly accurately, the coach will use this child as a demonstrator. Some coaches record players in action, using video of the players themselves to demonstrate correct & incorrect technique. Finally, coaches may instruct children to watch professionals playing the sport on television, paying attention to the movements they use. An effective coach must be well aware of the power of demonstrating & modeling in teaching new sports skills.
Social Transmission of Biases
Recent research demonstrates that observational learning also transmits social biases—observers who watch prejudiced actors interact with different groups acquire those biases without awareness, misattributing their learned preferences to group members’ behavior (Schultner, Lindström, & Cikara, 2024). This highlights both the power & potential dangers of learning through observation. The same mechanisms that enable efficient cultural transmission can perpetuate harmful stereotypes & prejudices across generations.
Observational Learning in Parent-Child Interactions
Observational learning seems to be part of who we are as human beings—we seem designed to do it (Meltzoff & Moore, 1977). This is why parents often say to their children “do as I say, not as I do.” Parents, the largest demonstrators for social learning in their children, form a crucial foundation for their children’s behaviors & personality, regardless of whether parents demonstrate “good” or “bad” behaviors. Children of parents who smoke, drink, or swear are more likely to themselves smoke, drink, or swear. However, in a more positive way, if parents are polite & kind, their children are more likely to be polite & kind as well. Teachers also play an important role by both demonstrating curriculum & modeling virtuous living (Ormrod, 2003).
Looking Forward
Module 13 examines how learning principles from classical conditioning, operant conditioning, & observational learning are applied in therapeutic contexts. We explore how these principles inform treatment of anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, depression, & developmental disabilities—seeing how the learning mechanisms we’ve studied throughout this course translate into effective interventions for human suffering.