observational learning

Meaning: Observational learning (also called modeling or social learning) is learning a behavior by watching another person, the model, instead of by direct conditioning. Bandura's social learning theory describes four steps: attention (noticing the model), retention (remembering what was seen), reproduction (having the ability to carry out the action), and motivation (expecting a reward or punishment). Vicarious reinforcement is seeing a model rewarded, which makes imitation more likely. Vicarious punishment is seeing a model punished, which tends to make imitation less likely. Models who are similar to the learner, admired, or high in status are often imitated more. Mirror neurons are proposed as a possible neural basis for imitation.

On the MCAT: A passage describes children watching an adult hit an inflatable Bobo doll, then being left alone with it. You predict that children who saw the aggression rewarded or ignored will imitate more than children who saw it punished. Questions may ask which of the four steps failed (for example, a child lacks the motor skill to reproduce the action), or ask you to tell observational learning apart from classical and operant conditioning. Media violence and prosocial role models are common applications.

Common confusion: Students assume that if a child does not imitate, nothing was learned. In Bandura's work, children who saw a punished model often showed they had learned the behavior once they were offered a reward for it. Learning and performance are different, and the learner does not need to be directly reinforced.