Monkey see monkey do!
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Observational learning occurs when someone uses
observation of another person's actions and their
consequences to guide their future actions
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Because the person being observed is referred to as a
model, observational learning is often called
modelling (or social learning).
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This is not to say that every time we watch someone
do something we learn how to do it – some people are
perceived as more significant or important than
others and thus their behaviour is more likely to be
imitated.
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Observational learning is a more active process
than either classical or operant conditioning

It is not entirely different from conditioning.

It can be a lot more efficient than trial and error
learning or waiting until reinforcement or
punishment is given.
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E.g. Language phrases/sayings – we tend to pick
up specific phrases from people we admire or
respect.
“awesome”, “sick”, “cool” – have their own
unique, non-literal meanings to subcultures of
adolescents over the years.
Status and image of movie stars, cartoon
characters (e.g. Homer/Bart) provide the
motivation for adolescent to observe and retain
the behaviour to reproduce it when the
opportunity arises.
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Sometimes, the model is not as important in
motivating the learner – and the motivation
simply arises from a need to know.
e.g. Watching someone burn a DVD and then
doing it yourself will provide its own
reinforcement of satisfaction and added
convenience.
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Normal Operant Conditioning the learner is
directly reinforced or punished

Vicarious reinforcement – viewing a model
being reinforced can strengthen behaviour in
an observer

Vicarious punishment – viewing a model
being punished can weaken a behaviour in an
observer

Will children model violent behaviour?

Does TV violence effect children?
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Does it matter who they observe?
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Are boys more violent than girls?
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All experiments involved children witnessing
adult models be in the room with a bobo doll
Some models were aggressive some calm
and some ignored the doll altogether
Children were then given the opportunity to
play in a room with the doll
Aggressive acts by the child towards the doll
were recorded
3 conditions
Experimental
 Aggressive model in room
with child
 Non aggressive model in room
with child
Control
 No model in room

Aggressive model condition - sub groups
6 boys with male
model
6 boys with female
model
6 boys with female
model
6 girls with male
model
Non aggressive model condition – sub groups
6 boys with male
model
6 boys with female
model
6 boys with female
model
6 girls with male
model
Control condition – 24 children each with no model in the room

Children who saw aggressive model performed more aggressive acts

Boys were more aggressive over all

Boys imitated aggression more from male models

Girls imitated physical aggression more from male models rather than
female

Girls imitated verbal aggression from female models rather than male

Children already had sex role expectation about male and female
aggression – ‘that’s not the way for a lady to behave’, ‘that man is a
strong fighter’. These expectations influenced how much they
imitated male Vs female aggression.

Behaviour learned through observation may not be demonstrated
unless opportunity presented

4 conditions
Experimental
• Live Human aggressive model
• Human aggressive models on
film
• Aggressive cartoon character
Control
• No model shown

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Exposure to aggressive models increases the
probability that children will behave
aggressively
This is true both for real life models and filmportrayed models
Sex differences were again found

4 conditions
Experimental
• Aggressive model Rewarded with praise and a food
treat
• Aggressive model Punished with verbal telling off
and a spanking
Control
• Non aggressive model Received no consequence
• No model shown

Model reinforced – More copied aggressive behaviour

No significant difference between other conditions

Boys were more aggressive than boys generally

Children in experimental conditions were later asked
which of the two models they would like to be

The models success in gaining reward was a key factor in
choosing who they wanted to be like
According to Bandura, four elements account
for observational learning and are essential
for it to occur.
 ATTENTION
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RETENTION

REPRODUCTION

MOTIVATION-REINFORCEMENT

The learner plays an active role in the learning
process. They must:
Pay attention in order to observe the modeled
behaviour
 Attention may be influenced by numerous factors
e.g. observer’s perceptual capabilities
observer’s motivation and interest level
situation in which the behaviour is observed
the kinds of distracters present
model’s characteristics (such as attractiveness)

Attention is influenced by factors such as:
 Perceived importance of the behaviour
(e.g. Keyboarding skills to obtain a job)
 Distinctiveness of the behaviour
(e.g. Uniqueness, different, unusual)
 Behaviour’s effect on us
(e.g. Satisfaction, convenience, security)

Bandura (1977) considered we are more likely to
imitate models with the following
characteristics:
 +ve perception of model (liked, high status)
 Perceived similar traits between model and observer
(age, sex)
 Model is familiar to observer and is known through
previous observation
 Model’s behaviour is visible and stands out clearly
against other “competing” models
 Model demonstrates behaviour that observer
perceives they are able to imitate

Generally, the greater similarity between
model and learner, the more attractive or
successful the model, the more likely we are
to follow their example.
(e.g. Use of celebrities in advertising)
Mentally retain what has been observed
 Responses learned by modeling are often not
needed until some time after they have been
acquired
 Therefore, memory plays an active role in
observational learning.
 The more meaningful we can make the
mental representation, the more accurately
we are able to replicate the behaviour when
necessary.

Linking a visual image with a verbal
description of the model’s actions is an
effective strategy to assist the memory
processes.
Be capable of Reproducing the behaviour
 We must have the ability to put into practice
what was observed.

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Our ability to reproduce the modelled response
may be restricted by physical ' limitations
Paraplegics cannot learn to walk by observing
others

We must also have the potential to be
competent enough to develop the necessary
skills to imitate the behaviour.
e.g. Imitating a professional footballer’s
kicking style may be reproduced but not with
the same level of skill due to the footballer’s
attributes that cannot be learned such as
reflexes, agility, balance and pose,superior
motor co-ordination.
Be motivated or have some reinforcement
available to perform the behaviour
 Unless the behavioural response provides a
reward for you or is useful, it is unlikely that
you will want to learn it.
Bandura identified additional types of
reinforcement that influence motivation in
addition to the standard types described by
Skinner.

1. External Reinforcement – comparable to learning
by consequences.
When offered money or praise as a reinforcer then
motivation will be influenced in a positive way.

2. Vicarious Reinforcement – Observing the modelled
behaviour being reinforced for other people.
Young child observing older sibling who works hard at
school rewarded with getting into tertiary course of
their choice may model the same studious behaviour
after vicariously experiencing the reinforcement.

3. Self-reinforcement – when we are
reinforced by meeting certain standards of
performance we set for ourselves.
+ve – sense of pride and achievement at
getting good VCE results that you believe you
are capable of achieving.
-ve – avoiding a bored future in a mindless job
may act as a self-reinforcement for achieving
academic success.

Behaviour acquired by observational
learning may need to be maintained by
operant conditioning principles of
reinforcement.
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The ‘Ah Ha!’ Experience
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Insight learning is a type of learning involving a period of
mental manipulation of information associated with a
problem, prior to the realisation of a solution to the
problem.

(Finally see the solution to a problem after mental
manipulation)
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The learning is said to have occurred when the
relationships relevant to the solution are grasped.
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Learning appears to occur in a “flash”
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The solution is usually performed without error
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Initial studies on insight learning conducted by
German psychologist, Wolfgang Kohler.

Kohler used chimpanzees in his experiments on
learning and problem-solving as they were
available where he was working at the University
of Berlin’s primate colony in the Canary Islands
off the coast of Africa.

Kohler (1925) believed that learning,
especially in primates and people, involved
cognitive processes and not just stimulusresponse relationships.

Kohler’s experiments presented several
problems to chimpanzees, each with
different solutions.
THE STICK PROBLEM
 Food placed out of reach
outside cage of chimp
 Two sticks within reach on
floor of cage (hollow
bamboo rods)
 Each too short to reach
banana or other fruit
 Placed together to form a
“double stick” long enough
the sticks can be used to get
the food
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First tried to reach between cage bars in futile
attempt to get banana
Flew into temper tantrum
Calmed down, tried other solutions including each
stick independently and one of the boxes.
1 hour later – Sultan squatted indifferently on the box
as if he had given up
Plays carelessly with sticks and while doing this holds
one rod in either hand so they lie in a straight line and
pushes thinner one a little way into opening of thicker
one
Jumps up, runs towards bars and draws banana
towards him with the double stick.
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
Kohler concluded this was an example of
insight learning.
It seemed to Kohler (although he could not be
certain about what was going on inside
Sultan’s head) that Sultan had mentally
organised the sticks into a suitable
relationship which he instantly recognised as
the solution to the problem.

Kohler believed there appeared to be different
stages in the process of insight learning:
1.
Initial helplessness or inability to deal with the
problem
2.
A pause in activity
3.
A sudden and smooth performance of the
solution.

Preparation
A “getting ready” period
Person or animal gathers as much information
as possible about what needs to be done.
May “look for leads” by using information
available in attempting possible solutions.
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Incubation
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A mental “time out” period when the
information gained in preparation stage
appears to be put aside.

But - Information continues to be processed
or reflected upon and “weighed up” in the
background (or at an unconscious level).
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Insightful Experience

The “ah-ha” experience – occurs so suddenly.

Occurs due to some mental event that
unexpectedly bridges the gap between the
problem and its solution in a “flash”.

Like a sudden period of illumination after feeling
for some time as though you’re in the dark.
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Verification

When the visual image that flashed into the
mind during the insightful (solution)
experience is acted upon with overt
behaviour and is tested.
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Preparation - Sultan tries to reach with his
arms, tries to reach with one stick, all
attempts fail
Incubation - sits at the back of the cage and
seems to have given up
Insightful experience - realises he is holding
both sticks and can join them together
Verification - uses the double stick to reach
the food.

Kohler observed the same kind of insightful
learning and problem-solving process
occurred with other problems he presented
to chimpanzees.
e.g. “THE BOX PROBLEM” – banana
suspended from cage ceiling and some boxes
scattered around cage floor. Eventually
chimps would stack the boxes on top of each
other, scamper up and grab the banana.

Kohler (1927) believed that insight was not
the result of random trial and error
responses, although some of this type of
behaviour may be displayed in the
preparation stage.

Learning appears to be sudden and complete

First time solution is performed, it is usually
done with no errors

Solution is less likely to be forgotten than if it
is learned by rote (repetitive drill)

Principle underlying solution is easily applied
to other relevant problem-solving situations

Insight depends on 3 key factors:
 1. Whether the problem has elements that can be
manipulated in such a way as to enable discovery of their
relationship
 2. Whether the organism trying to solve the problem has
the cognitive ability to manipulate the elements of the
problem in such a way as to identify their relationship
 3. Whether all the tools, processes and other information
necessary for the solution are available to the problemsolver (within vision or “mentally” through prior
experience)

Insight learning, like observational learning is
described as a form of cognitive learning.

Principles of classical or operant conditioning do not
account for insight learning.
e.g. Animals in Kohler’s problem solving situations do
not show any successive approximations of the
solution that can be reinforced.

Cognitive processes also involved – this is different to
traditional CC and OC which ignore cognition

In insight learning, the organism seems to know
a correct solution to a problem, apparently
without having every been reinforced for it or
any response that approximates it.

Trial and error or observation may have played a
role in an organism learning a rule or method for
solving a problem at some time prior.
e.g. Chimps may have learned in the wild prior to
the experiments the use of various kinds of
sticks and climbing skills on different structures.

Accumulation of past experiences probably
played some role in the appearance of an
insightful solution to the problem.

To have insight, you need previous
experience with material covered in the new
learning experience.

1930s – US psychologist Edward Tolman
conducted maze learning studies with rats that
highlighted two aspects of learning that
challenged the traditional conditioning theories.

The studies indicated that:
 1. Learning can occur without reinforcement of
observable actions
 2. Learning can occur without revealing itself in
observable behaviour
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Tolman and Charles Honzik (1930) – experiment with
rats who ran individually through a maze once a day
over several weeks.
See maze in Fig. 10.63 on page 528
Hungry rat must find its way from start box to goal
box where a food reward is given
Many possible blind alleys on the way
Rat first entering the maze it will enter blind alleys
(make errors) in attempts to get to goal box.
With more trials, learning is observed as the amount
of time taken (or number of errors made) to get to the
goal box decreases.
Rats run a maze with a food reward at the
finish point
 All rats run the maze once a day
 Performance timed
 3 groups of rats
1. Always reinforced at the end of the maze
2. Never reinforced at the end of the maze
3. Not reinforced until the 11th day
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All groups showed some improvement in
time taken to reach the goal box.
Some marked differences in performance of
each group.
GROUP 1 – (always reinforced) – quickly learned
to run maze with few errors and gradually
reduced errors to near zero.
 GROUP 2 – (never reinforced) – showed little
improvement in amount of time taken to reach
the goal box and rats continued to make many
more errors throughout experiment than Group
1 rats.
 GROUP 3 – (no reinforcement until Day 11) – On
Day 12 this group ran the maze almost as
efficiently as Group 1. By Day 2, the rats were
achieving almost the same times for running the
maze as the Group 1 rats.
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
This was evidence that learning had actually
taken place before the reinforcer was
available and therefore the reinforcement
was not really necessary for learning to occur.

Tolman concluded that the rats in Group 3
had learned the route during the first 10 days,
but only revealed this learning when a reward
provided the incentive for doing so.

The rats learned the layout of the maze, but
they did not perform in the maze until food
motivated them to use the information.

Latent learning is the term used to describe
this type of learning.
Group 1 - got faster and faster
Group 2 - remained slow
Group 3 - showed no improvement until
reinforcement was introduced on day 11 then
were even faster than group 1
Conclusions
 Learning can happen without reinforcement
 Behaviour not displayed unless incentive to
do so
 Learning and performance are different
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Latent – hidden
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Latent learning is learning that occurs without any direct
reinforcement but remains unexpressed, or hidden, until is
needed.
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The learning can take place without any direct
reinforcement - this challenged Skinner’s operant
conditioning theory where reinforcement has such an
important role in explaining learning of all types of
behaviour.

Observing behaviour is the only way to measure learning

I know many songs but I’m not singing them now!

Bandura’s experiments on observational
learning also showed that latent learning occurs.
e.g. You may know the route to the local “fish
and chip” shop but don’t translate this
knowledge into performance by going there
until the need arises.
Similarly, there are many things that organisms
know but don’t demonstrate.
e.g. Know how to light a cigarette even if never
smoked one in your life.
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Now, as a result, most psychologists
distinguish between learning and
performance.

Just because something is not demonstrated
it cannot be assumed that it hasn’t been
learned.

It may have been learned, but simply not yet
performed.
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Learning may not be directly observed in
behaviour.
We must not also assume that performance is
a complete representation of what a person
knows.
E.g. Parenting skills learned as a child may
not be performed until adulthood when
becoming a parent.

Conditioning theorists assumed maze
learning resulted from a series of stimulusresponse associations for a sequence of turns.

Tolman concluded rats learned the location of
places in the maze.

On the 11th. Day for the Group 3 rats, they
demonstrated their latent cognitive learning by
running through the maze efficiently.

The rats that were never reinforced probably
developed a comparable mental picture but
never had a reason to use it.

Tolman used the word “cognitive map” to
describe the mental picture used by the rats to
navigate the maze.

A cognitive map is a term used to describe
the mental picture used by the rats to
navigate in the maze.

A cognitive map is a mental representation of
the relationship between locations.
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Rats had developed a mental picture of the
maze as they learned the general layout
Once the cognitive map was formed rats
could chose alternate routes when doors
blocked
Rats always took the shortest possible route
around the block known as the ‘principle of
least effort’
We all have cognitive maps of our physical
environments through latent learning
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The learning is not undertaken with the
intention of ever having to retrieve the
information for a reward, but the learning still
occurs.
Not always perfectly accurate or perfect
replicas of reality
They are often distorted by our own
perception and even the age at which they
were established.