2013 UNIT 4 AREA OF STUDY 1 LEARNING 4.1 LEARNING NOTES Chapter 9 Key Knowledge: Behaviours not dependent on learning including reflex action, fixed action patterns and behaviours due to physical growth and development (maturation). Neural mechanisms of learning including developmental plasticity and adaptive plasticity of the brain: changes to the brain in response to learning and experience; timing of experiences. PLEASE NOTE: 2013 students have to make their own notes for the above key knowledge dot points Chapter 10 Key Knowledge: Applications of, and comparisons of, learning theories: Classical conditioning as informed by Ivan Pavlov: roles of neutral, unconditioned, conditioned stimuli; unconditioned and conditioned responses Applications of classical conditioning: graduated exposure, aversion therapy, flooding Trial-and-error learning Three-phase model of operant conditioning as informed by B.F. Skinner: positive and negative reinforcement, response cost, punishment and schedules of reinforcement Applications of operant conditioning: shaping, token economies Comparisons of classical and operant conditioning in terms of the processes of acquisition, extinction, stimulus generalisation, stimulus discrimination, spontaneous recovery, role of learner, timing of stimulus and response, and nature of response (reflexive/voluntary) Observational learning (modelling) processes in terms of the role of attention, retention, reproduction, motivation, reinforcement as informed by Albert Bandura’s social learning theory The extent to which ethical principles were applied to classic research investigations into learning including John Watson’s ‘Little Albert’ experiment 1 CHAPTER 10 – THEORIES OF LEARNING Conditioning: Relationship between environmental stimuli and behavioural responses is important Stimuli are events that ‘trigger’ the responses Interchangeable with ‘learning’ but conditioning is more how we learn - Unconditioned behaviours = unlearned and usually reflexive. E.g. Puff of air into the eye = Blinking - Advertisers are conditioning you to buy their product! - E.G. Once you pop, ………………………………. Have a break, ……………………………… 1) CLASSICAL (RESPONDENT) CONDITIONING – PAVLOV Definition: learning where an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that naturally evokes a specific, automatic unconditioned response (UCR) is paired over a series of trials with a neutral stimulus (NS) KEY ELEMENTS OF CC a) Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): b) Unconditioned Response (UCR): c) Conditioned Stimulus (CS): d) Conditioned Response(CR): e) Neutral Stimulus (NS): 2 KEY PROCESSES IN CC a) ACQUISITION: b) EXTINCTION: c) SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY: d) STIMULUS GENERALISATION: e) STIMULUS DISCRIMINATION: Use Figure 10.9 page 461 to complete the following table which indicates the results supported by PAVLOV - Trial 1 – 15: amount of saliva produced in response to the CS and UCS is high - Trial 16 >: amount of saliva produced decreases when CS is presented (UCS removed) 3 PAVLOV’S EXPERIMENT (NS) Read the scenario below, which depicts a learning situation. In the table that follows, fill in the spaces to show the different responses and stimuli for each stage of the conditioning process based on the scenario. Flora has a cat named Tiger. Tiger loves eating FishDelish, a brand of cat food, which Flora feeds Tiger every night. Flora is curious about Tiger’s behaviour, and she wants to understand how Tiger has come to behave and respond in a particular way. Flora’s routine when she comes home from work is as follows: she puts her keys on the kitchen (which makes a clanging noise each time), then she prepares Tiger’s dinner. After several days of this routine, Flora noticed that Tiger would run up to her and salivate whenever she put her keys on the sink. Before conditioning Neural stimulus(NS) ______________________ Unconditioned stimulus(UCS) ____________________ During conditioning (aquistion) Conditioned stimulus (CS/NS) ____________________ + Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) ____________________ Conditioned response(CR) ____________________ After conditioning Conditioned stimulus(CS) ___________________ Conditioned response(CR) ____________________ Unconditioned response(UCR) ____________________ 4 Re-read the scenario about Flora and her cat and complete the paragraphs about Flora’s experience with classical conditioning by writing terms the table below into the correct spaces.(Hint: may use terms more than once). Weakened Acquisition Unconditioned stimulus Spontaneous recovery decrease Similar Conditioned stimulus Stimulus generalisation Reinforcement Discriminate Stimulus discrimination Conditioned response Extinguished During the learning stage of classical conditioning, known as ____________________, Tiger associated the sound of the keys with eating FishDelish. He salivated (___________________ ____________________) because he anticipated that the sound of the keys (____________________ ____________________) meant he would soon be fed the FishDelish (____________________ ____________________). Flora decided to change her routine, and placed the keys in the cupboard as soon as she came home instead of on the sink. As a result, the response to the sound of the keys __________________. Why? Because there is a gradual ___________________ in the frequency of a ____________________ ____________________ when the ____________________ ____________________ is no longer available. In other words, classical conditioning is ____________________ by removing ___________________ . Tiger however, did occasionally salivate when he heard the keys even though the routine had changed. The appearance of the ____________________ ____________________ following extinction is called ____________________ ____________________. When Flora was in the habit of placing her keys on the sink, her flatmate, Jim would sometimes begin cooking at the same time Flora came home. He clanged the saucepan lids as he took them out of the cupboard. Tiger also began to salivate at this sound. This is called ___________________ ____________________ because the stimulus of the clanging saucepan lids was ____________________ to the ____________________ ____________________ (the sound of the keys). When Jim opened the oven and fridge doors, both of which made a creaking sound, Tiger did not salivate because he had learned to __________ between the different stimuli. This is called ___________________ ___________________. EVERYDAY EXPERIENCES OF CC - When CC has been successful, the CR can occur automatically and appears to be an involuntary reflex also known as a conditioned reflex Even though it appears to be a reflex, it isn’t a naturally occurring one as it has been learned Examples: a) NS/CS = lead, UCS = walking, UCR = excitement, CR = excitement Dog learns that the lead means being taken for a walk b) NS/CS = coke, UCS = happiness, UCR = feeling good, CR = feeling good Humans learn that Coke leads to feeling good and therefore will buy more of the product. c) Classical Conditioning hard wires your brain – fMRI research Subjects drank un-branded cola their taste sensing parts of their brain became active. When subjects could see the Coke label their hippocampus (memory) also became active. Therefore, recognition and positive reaction to Coke has been hard wired into the brain. 5 1) Simple Conditioned Reflexes - Automatic response that occurs as a result of prior experience/learning - Involves little conscious thought/awareness - Helps gain information about the environment - E.g. Pressing the brake when you see brake lights on the car immediately in front of you 2) Complex Behaviours - Sympathetic NS is triggered by an emotionally provocative stimulus that didn’t previously trigger that response - Lead to avoidance of the fear causing stimulus - E.g. Sight of a syringe may produce fear in some children. In this case, the syringe has become a CS as it has been associated with a jab from a needle (UCS), inducing fear. WATSON’S ‘LITLE ALBERT’ CONDITIONING EXPERIMENT - - John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner used classical conditioning to produce an emotional response (fear) They used an 11 month old baby boy , “Little Albert” as a participant for the experiment “Little Albert” was chosen, because naturally as an infant, his mother observed that he was not frightened or aroused easily and that he rarely cried like other babies. First, Watson pre-tested Albert to make sure that he was actually capable of producing a fear response (UCR) Then, Albert was placed on a mattress in a room where a white lab rat was within his reaching distance; however, Albert showed no fear of the furry animal and played with it As the infant was playing with the white rat, he was distracted, and then from behind him a hammer was struck onto a steel bar; this hammer produced a loud noise (UCS) that caused Albert to progressively be aroused each time the hammer was struck. Eventually, the once formidable Albert began to pucker his lips and tremble; and the third time the hammer was struck, he burst into a sudden crying fit – an indication that this emotional situation had caused Albert considerable fear Every time Albert tried to play with the white rat, thereafter, the hammer was struck. After 7 pairings (try to near him (CS-since rats usually should not produce fear-neutral). This fear was so intense that it caused Albert to not only cry, but to crawl rapidly away from the rat Before conditioning NS: white rat = no fear UCS: loud noise = UCR: fear During conditioning CS: white rat + UCS: loud noise = UCR: fear After conditioning CS: white rat = CR: fear of white rats (crying and avoidance) ETHICAL BREACHES - Deliberately exposing Albert to procedures involving high risk of psychological harm - Using a psychologically vulnerable participant in research planned to cause distress through use of a fearinducing stimulus - Not ending the experiment when it was evident that Albert had become distressed 6 Reading and using the information on pages 467 – 469, answer the following questions. 1. What was the aim of this case study? 2. Identify the possible IV and DV. 3. Write an operational hypothesis for the case study. 4. How did this case study go beyond Pavlov’s original classical conditioning of dogs? 5. What was the result of the Little Albert case study? 6. What conclusions did Watson and Raynor draw? 7. Identify and explain what the ethical breaches were in this case study? 7 Graduated Exposure Flooding - Interchangeale with systematic desensitisation - presenting successive approximations of the CS until the CS itself does not produce the CR - may start with low-level fear (e.g. standing on table) then build up to highlevel fear (e.g. sky-diving) - Usually pair fearful stimulus (e.g. heights) with relaxation response (e.g. deep breathing, staying calm) - aims to gradually extinguish the Conditioned response (CR) or to at least change the Conditioned Stimulus (CS) so that it is associated with a relaxed response (and not a response of fear) Complex Behaviours - Phobias - Extreme example of a conditioned emotional response - Intense,irrational fear that persists and leads to avoidance behaviour and may interfere with normal funtioning Classic example of one-trial learning: - Conditioned response resulting from person/animal making an association between a particular food and being/feeling ill after eating it. - Eat something – feel sick – never eat it again. - Resistant to extinction & rarely generalised. - Learning (conditioning) occurs after only one experience (i.e. only one pairing of UCS & CS). Debate over whether it counts as classical conditioning: - Doesn’t take time and a number of pairings, whereas classical conditioning does; - Resistant to extinction, whereas classical conditioning can enter extinction fairly quickly; - There can be a delay between the CS and the CR, but in classical conditioning there can’t be; - Generalisation doesn’t usually occur, but in classical Aversion Therapy conditioning it does. Taste Aversion /One Trial Learning 8 Use classical conditioning principles of aversion therapy (seen in above diagram) to help explain how a person who habitually bites their fingernails can use a foul nail polish that makes them feel nauseous when tasted, to stop their habit. Before Conditioning NS: UCS: = no response = UCR: During Conditioning: CS(NS): + UCS: After Conditioning: CS: = CR: = UCR: Complete Activity 10.9, 10.27, 10.28 2) TRIAL & ERROR LEARNING - THORNDIKE Definition: learning by trying alternative possibilities until the desired outcome is achieved. It involves a number of ‘trials’ or attempts and a number of ‘errors’ or incorrect choices KEY ELEMENTS OF TRIAL & ERROR a) Motivation – desire to reach a goal b) Exploration – increase in activity to reach the final goal c) Incorrect/Correct responses – making either of these responses as part of the numerous attempt to reach the final goal d) Reward – once correct goal is reached; strengthens the association between the behaviour and outcome 9 3) OPERANT CONDITIONING (THREE PHASE MODEL)– B.F. SKINNER - B.F. Skinner used the term ‘operant conditioning’ Thorndike used the term ‘instrumental learning’ Definition: based on Thorndike’s law of effect that an organism will tend to repeat behaviour (operant) that have a desirable consequence or that will enable it to avoid an undesirable consequence. Furthermore, an organism will tend not to repeat a behaviour that has undesirable consequences - Increase behaviour because of a desirable consequence: cats receiving fish Increase a behaviour to avoid an undesirable consequence: do your homework to prevent detention Decrease behaviour because of an undesirable consequence: get a speeding fine and then stop speeding THREE PHASE MODEL OF OC– S.R.C a) STIMULUS that comes before the operant response b) Organism produces an operant RESPONSE c) A CONSEQUENCE is a direct effect of the operant response (behaviour) STIMULUS (S) > RESPONSE (R) > CONSEQUENCE (C) 1) What is the stimulus in Thorndike’s research with cats and the puzzle box? 2) What is the response in the above research? 3) What is the consequence in the above research? B.F. SKINNER – RATS RESEARCH - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQtDTdDr8vs Hungry rat was placed in a Skinner Box Scurried around randomly touching floor, walls etc Eventually the rat accidentally pressed the lever, which dispensed a food pellet: rat ate. Rat continued random movements and eventually pressed the lever again: rat ate. With additional repetitions of lever pressing followed by food, the rat’s random movements began to disappear and were replaced by more consistent lever pressing. Eventually the rat was pressing the lever as fast as it could eat each pellet. Pellet was a reward (reinforcer) for the correct response. 10 KEY ELEMENTS OF OC - Skinner’s and Thorndike’s research provided substantial evidence for the concepts of reinforcement and punishment REINFORCEMENT Stengthens/increases behaviour CONSEQUENCE Result produced by an action PUNISHMENT Weakens/decreases the behaviour a) REINFORCEMENT (Positive/Negative): b) PUNISHMENT: Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement Punishment If they lay eggs, they don’t get cooked!) What is the difference between reinforcer and reward? Are they the same thing? - Reinforcer and reward play a similar role: both increase the likelihood of a response recurring - HOWEVER, the only striking difference is that “reward” generally suggests that an outcome is more positive, such as satisfaction or pleasure. Therefore, not all rewards necessarily strengthen a response; sometimes rewards just give you satisfaction and that’s it. - E.g. eating chocolate might make you happy and give you satisfaction; but it may not always strengthen or increase the likelihood of a response from recurring Distinguish between positive and negative reinforcement. - Positive reinforcement involves presenting a stimulus (positive reinforcer) that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a desired response by providing a satisfying consequence (reward) for exhibition of that desired response. E.g. Being well behaved in class to get a ‘golden star’ on your name; or cleaning your room in order to get your weekly pocket money - Negative reinforcement involves removing an unpleasant stimulus that increases or strengthens the likelihood of a desired response. E.g. Leaving home early on a certain day and finding there to be no traffic may encourage you to leave home early again (response) in the future to avoid heavy traffic (removal of unpleasant stimulus) 11 SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT - Programs that are set out to determine how often reinforcement should be given in relation to the correct response. Can be continuous or partial 1) CONTINUOUS: 2) PARTIAL: when reinforcement is provided for some correct/desirable response but not all a) Fixed Ratio: b) Variable Ratio: c) Fixed Interval: d) Variable Interval: Complete Activity 10.14 12 PUNISHMENT - Delivery of an unpleasant consequence following a response (e.g. being yelled at), or the removal of a pleasant consequence following a response(e.g. losing pocket money) 1) POSITIVE: 2) NEGATIVE: 3) RESPONSE COST: What are the differences and similarities between negative reinforcement and punishment? - Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an unpleasant stimulus that increases the likelihood of a response from recurring. - Punishment, on the other hand, imposes an unpleasant consequence (or removes a pleasant one) and decreases or ‘weakens’ the likelihood of a response from recurring. Also, punishment is ‘given’ or ‘applied’ – while neg. reinforcement is avoided or prevented (such as avoiding traffic through getting out of the house early). Furthermore, there are two main types of punishment; positive punishment and negative punishment - Both involve something unpleasant and therefore are similar. 13 FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OC (reinforcement and punishment) Hint: REMEMBER THE ACRONYM “OAT” - Order of Presentation: reinforcement/punishment must be presented after behaviour so that it is learned as a consequence of that behaviour - Timing: reinforcement/punishment are most effective when presented immediately after behaviour (also increases strength of response). - Appropriateness: reinforcement/punishment must be specific to the likes/dislikes of the individual (otherwise my ‘reward’ could be your ‘punishment’). Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement Punishment Order of presentation Timing Probability of response occurring Stimulus consequences Timing of stimulus consequence Effect on behaviour 14 KEY PROCESSES IN OC a) ACQUISITION: - Establishment of a response through reinforcement - Speed of establishment depends on: 1. Schedule of reinforcement; continuous or partial 2. Complexity of the behaviour; more complex = slower establishment b) EXTINCTION: - Gradual decrease in the strength of the conditioned(learned) response following non-reinforcement of the response - E.g. when rats weren’t reinforced with food pellets, their conditioned response (pressing the lever) was eventually extinguished - E.g. Seals at Sea World stop performing when they are no longer reinforced with sardines - Less likely to occur when partial reinforcement is used because there are four different ways this can occur (unpredictable nature – organism is used to not getting reinforced every time) - E.g. Gambling mentality – unpredictability in reward and have a “sooner or later” attitude c) SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY - Organism exhibits the response in the absence of reinforcement, after the conditioned response was thought to be extinct d) STIMULUS GENERALISATION - Correct response is made to another stimulus that is similar to the stimulus that was present when the response was reinforced - E.g. sound of a car backfiring near a sports carnival can cause athletes to generalise this sound to the ‘starters pistol’ and therefore begin running e) STIMULUS DISCRIMINATION - Organism makes the correct response to a stimulus and is therefore reinforced; but won’t respond in the same way to a similar stimuli - E.g. sniffer dogs use stimulus discrimination to bark when they smell certain things only, such as illegal drugs but not perfumes APPLICATIONS OF OC 1. - SHAPING (Method of successive approximation) Reinforcement is given to any response that successively approximates or moves toward the desired response E.g. Teaching children how to swim; reward floating, reward breathing for 5 seconds under water and so on…. E.g Training a pigeon to turn around in a circle: a. Random movements b. Slight turn to the right c. Repeat above; slight turn to the right d. Turn even further to the right than previously e. Repeat above; further turn to the right f. Turn in a full circle - Used when behaviour has a low probability of occurring naturally e.g. circus animals 15 2. - TOKEN ECONOMY Tokens (reinforcers) are given out when a desired response is exhibited Tokens are collected and exchanged for other reinforcers in the form of actual rewards E.g. A prisoner’s good behaviour could earn him a token which can then be exchanged for special rewards, such as cigarettes Tokens can fail; especially if people feel they are being manipulated COMPARISON OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING & OPERANT CONDITIONING SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES Both involve an acquisition process – whereby a response is ‘conditioned’ or learned In OC, the consequence of response is what determines the strength of that response – whether it will occur again. In CC, the association between two stimuli and how often they are paired close together (in trials) is what determines the strength of the response In both types of learning, extinction can occur to the learned or conditioned response CC does not have a considerable effect on the environment; however, OC involves the organism “operating” on the environment to bring out some kind of effect (such as a rat pressing on a lever to get food pellet) In both types of learning, stimulus generalisation and stimulus discrimination can be observed The response in CC is quite an involuntary, reflexive and automatic response to something happening in the environment (salivating upon seeing food). OC involves voluntary responses that are initiated by the organism (such as a child voluntarily throwing a tantrum so they can get a lollipop from the store) 16 In both CC and OC, spontaneous recovery can interfere with or disrupt the extinction process Role of the learner: In CC, the learner plays a passive role; as the response is automatic and involuntary and the learner essentially has no control over the learning process. However, in OC, the learner plays a more active role, in that they need to “operate” on the environment to bring out some effect. The learner must thus, make the choice whether or not to act (“operate”) on the environment (if they do not, they are neither punished nor reinforced). As such, the learner has more control over the learning process in OC. Both types of conditioning or learning are achieved because of the repeated association of two events that follow each other closely in time In CC, the UCS (meat powder) should be presented first for the response (salivation) to occur. However, in OC, the response must occur first and then only can that response be reinforced or punished accordingly. The ultimate response in CC usually involves the autonomic nervous system and the association between two different stimuli is usually automatic, reflexive and involuntary response caused by UCS (e.g. salivation). However, in OC, the response is voluntary and deliberate (e.g. pressing a lever) 4) OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING (COGNITIVE) Observational learning is when an individual uses observation of another person’s actions (and their consequences) to guide their own future actions. - E.g. seeing an older brother get rewarded for doing well at school; younger sibling is more likely to try hard at school. Also known as modelling because the person being observed is referred to as a ‘model’. Four Crucial Elements: 1. Attention - Leaner pays attention to model’s behaviour to recognise the key features - Pay closer attention to (and are more likely to imitate) models who have: high status, perceived positively perceived similar features and traits 2. Retention - Learner retains what was observed in memory 3. Reproduction - Learner is able to replicate/repeat what was observed 4. - Motivation/Reinforcement Learner must be motivated to perform what was observed If modelled behaviour is reinforced = increase motivation and vice versa. External reinforcement: learning by consequences. Vicarious reinforcement: observing the modelled behaviour being reinforced for other people. Self-reinforcement: reinforced by meeting certain standards of performance we set for ourselves (can be positive or negative). 17 Describe 5 different behaviours that you probably learnt by observational learning. Identify the model for each. 1) ________________________________________________________________________________________ 2) ________________________________________________________________________________________ 3) ________________________________________________________________________________________ 4) ________________________________________________________________________________________ 5) ________________________________________________________________________________________ ALBERT BANDURA (1960s) - - We learn many behaviours just by observing our surrounding environment: Don’t actually need to carry out behaviour and experience consequences; it’s enough to simply watch the behaviour and its consequences being experienced by someone else. Modelling is not a totally separate form of learning from conditioning, but rather a variation of conditioning. - Bandura’s experiments demonstrated that both classical and operant conditioning can occur vicariously. - Vicarious conditioning: individual watches another person displaying behaviour (that is either reinforced or punished), then subsequently behaves exactly the same way, a modified way or refrains from the behaviour, as a result of what they observed. Vicarious reinforcement: increases the likelihood of the observer behaving in a similar way to a model whose behaviour is reinforced. Vicarious punishment: decreases the likelihood of the observer behaving in a similar way to a model whose behaviour is punished. BoBo Doll Experiment #1 (1961) - Demonstrated influence of observational learning on aggression in four-year-old children. Experimental Group 1: Watched adult play aggressively. Experimental Group 2: Watched adult play non-aggressively. Control Group: No adult model. - After watching the adults, each child was subjected to ‘mild aggression arousal’ (told they couldn’t play with toys), then placed into another room with toys and a BoBo doll. - Each child’s behaviour was observed. - To control individual participant differences, children were pre-tested for aggressiveness and rated on 5-point rating scales. - Matched-participants design was used to create ‘triplets’ of similarly aggressive children. 18 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 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 Control condition – no sub groups 24 children, each with no model in the room RESULTS - Children who saw aggressive model performed more aggressive acts: Boys were more aggressive overall; 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 expectations about male and female aggression – “That’s not the way for a lady to behave…she was acting like a man”, “‘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. BoBo Doll Experiment #2 (1963a) - Explored influence of live-action films & cartoons on aggression in four-year-old children. Experimental Group 1: ‘Real-life’ aggressive models. Experimental Group 2: Live-action aggressive models. Experimental Group 3: Cartoon aggressive models (actor dressed as cartoon cat). Control Group: No model. - Matched-participants design used again. - Following the screening, each child was placed in a room with toys and a BoBo doll. - Each child’s behaviour was observed. RESULTS - Exposure to aggressive models increases the probability that children will behave aggressively. - This is true both for real-life models & models in live-action films or cartoons: Children who watched films/cartoons showed almost twice as much aggression as the control group children. - Sex differences were again found. - Highlights significant influence of the media. BoBo Doll Experiment #3 (1963b) - Demonstrated influence of reward & punishment on observational learning of aggression. Experimental Group 1: Aggressive model rewarded. Experimental Group 2: Aggressive model punished. Control Group 1: Non-aggressive model, no consequences. Control Group 2: No model. - Following the screening, each child was placed individually in a room with toys and a BoBo doll. - Each child’s behaviour was observed. 19 RESULTS - The consequences influenced the behaviour of the children who saw them: Children who watched the model being reinforced (rewarded) imitated aggressive behaviour more than children in the other three conditions. No significant difference between other three conditions. Boys more aggressive than girls except when model was rewarded, in which case there was little difference. - When asked, children in experimental group 1 said that they would prefer to be like the most aggressive model: The individual model they identified as being most successful in achieving the rewarded behaviour. Supports Bandura’s proposal that observational learning is not totally separate from conditioning (involves some processes). - Learning can take place without actually performing/demonstrating it. We learn by observation not only how to acquire or modify behaviour but also about what behaviours can be expected to lead to particular consequences. i.e. Observation allows to learn behaviour AND when to use it (or not). 20