Introduction to observational learning

In observational learning, we learn by watching others and then imitating, or modeling, what they do or say. The individuals performing the imitated behaviour are called models.

Research suggests that this imitative learning involves a specific type of neuron, called a mirror neuron. Humans and other animals are capable of observational learning. The phrase 'Monkey see, monkey do' really is accurate. 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 modeling their behaviour, they learned that this was a more efficient method of getting juice.

Imitation is much more obvious in humans, but is imitation really the sincerest form of flattery?

Claire's story

Consider Claire's experience with observational learning. Claire's nine-year-old son, Jay, was getting into trouble at school and was defiant at home. Claire feared that Jay would end up like her brothers, two of whom were in prison.

One day, after yet another bad day at school and another negative note from the teacher, Claire, at her wit's end, beat her son with a belt to get him to behave.

Later that night, as she put her children to bed, Claire witnessed her four-year-old daughter, Anna, take a belt to her teddy bear and whip it. Claire was horrified, realising that Anna was imitating her mother. It was then that Claire knew she wanted to discipline her children in a different manner.Social learning theory

Like Tolman, whose experiments with rats suggested a cognitive component to learning, psychologist Albert Bandura's ideas about learning were different from those of strict behaviourists. Bandura and other researchers proposed a brand of behaviourism called social learning theory, which took cognitive processes into account.

According to Bandura, pure behaviourism could not explain why learning can take place in the absence of external reinforcement. He felt that internal mental states must also have a role in learning and that observational learning involves much more than imitation.

In imitation, a person simply copies what the model does. Observational learning is much more complex than imitation.

There are several ways that observational learning can occur:

You learn a new response. After watching your coworker being reprimanded by your boss for coming in late to work, 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. If you were learning to surf, you might watch how experienced surfers are able to successfully stand up on their surfboard before attempting to do the same thing. Alternatively, you might learn not to touch a hot stove after watching someone else get their hand burned.

You learn a general rule that you can apply to other situations.

The following diagram describes Bandura's three models: live, verbal, and symbolic.

In Bandura's three models, a live model demonstrates a behaviour in person. For example, a more experienced surfer shows a learner how to stand up so that they can see how to do it.

A verbal instructional model does not perform the behaviour, but instead explains or describes the behaviour. For example, 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 other forms of media where the models are not present.