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Observational Learning
Accelerated Psychology
Council Rock South
Observational Learning
• Definition: Learning by watching what others do and what happen
to them for doing it.
• Scientists have always acknowledged the importance of
observational learning, which they call vicarious conditioning.
• Albert Bandura and his colleagues showed how important
observational learning is by testing children in a nursery-school.
Bandura
• Bandura came up with the “Bobo Doll” experiment.
• He made children watch a video of someone kicking a bobo doll to see
what they would do when they were with it by themselves after watching
the video.
• Learned children were more aggressive!
Bandura YouTube
Modeling:
The process of observing and imitating a
specific behavior.
 Shapes children’s development
 Ideas, fashions, and habits pass by imitation
 Transmit cultural elements
Pro-Social Vs. Antisocial Learning
• Pro-Social Learning:
– Positive, helpful behavior
– People who exemplify nonviolent behavior can prompt similar
behavior in others
– Examples: Martin Luther King & Gandhi
• Antisocial Learning:
– Negative, hurtful behavior
– People who display negative behavior may prompt others to cause
damage to society
– Examples: Hitler & Stalin
• Milgram Obedience Study
• Dr. Phil’s Stanford Prison Experiment
• Asch Conformity Experiment
Latent Learning
Latent learning is learning
that is not immediately
expressed in performance.
Example: A young boy
watches his dad work
with screws/tools, but
doesn’t use tools for
many years. Without any
instruction, he is able to
perform the task.
Latent learning is
already attained
knowledge being
put to use in an
unfamiliar task or
circumstance .