Chapter 8- Vicarious Learning

Question 1

Any procedure in which an organism learns by observing the behaviour of another organism. Also called observational learning

Answer 1

Vicarious learning

A dog who watches another dog who is exposed to the pairing of a bell and food may respond to this procedure by learning to salivate at the sound of the bell

Question 2

What is vicarious Pavlovian conditioning? What does the author conclude about its existence?

Answer 2

Example: a buzzer became a CS for fear in observers, even though they had never been shocked

Studies seem to show that observers can be vicariously conditioned by watching others

The important point about experiments on Pavlovian vicarious conditioning, is that the model did not undergo conditioning as the observer looked on. The observers cannot be said to have undergone vicarious conditioning, instead, we must view the change in the observers behaviour as a direct result of the pairing of the stimulus and the reaction of the model. The studies demonstrate classical conditioning, not vicarious conditioning

Question 3

Describe Menika and cooks work in fear conditioning, identifying the NS, CS, US, IR, and CR

Answer 3

Had six young monkeys that had earlier shown no fear of snakes look on as their wild-reared parents reacted with intense fear to snakes. After this experience, five of the six observer monkeys reacted with intense fear of snake themselves

Question 4

Describe the work of warden and his colleagues in the vicarious operant learning of animals

Answer 4

First to demonstrate experimentally that some animals can benefit from the consequences of a model’s behavior. Constructed a special experimental environment with two compartments so that identical problems could be solved in each compartment. Put an observer monkey in one compartment and restrained it so that it could not get to the problem apparatus then put another monkey, the model, in the other compartment who had already learned to perform whatever act was necessary to obtain reinforcement. After watching the model perform an act, the observer got a chance to tackle the same problem and it’s own chamber and if you did not solve the problem within 60 seconds, they pulled it from the apparatus and restrained it for about a half minute before letting it have a second trial. The results showed that the observers had benefitted substantially from watching the model, often responding correctly on the very first trial. When an animal succeeded, it often did so and far less time then would have been expected had it not watched a model

Question 5

When an observer looks on as another animal or person interact with the environment and can learn operant behaviour from these models

Answer 5

Vicarious operant learning

Question 6

And observer sees a model’s behaviour be rewarded, and this increases the likelihood that the observer will engage in the model behaviour

Answer 6

Vicarious reinforcement

Question 7

And observer sees a model’s behaviour be punished, and this decreases the likelihood that the observer will engage in the modeled behaviour

Answer 7

Vicarious punishment

Question 8

The ability to imitate many different novel behaviours without reinforcement for each instance of imitation

Answer 8

Generalized imitation

Question 9

Imitation of a model who is a peer, someone similar to the observer.

Answer 9

Peer modelling

Question 10

Imagining the act of imitation

Answer 10

Covert modelling

Question 11

A form of modelling used with responses that are difficult to imitate in a single trial, such as directly encountering a highly feared object. Breaks down the modelling process into a series of progressive steps from easy-to-imitate too difficult-to-imitate. Each step is modelled and the learner is required to imitate the model. If successful, the letter goes onto the next step. This continues until the most difficult step is modelled and imitated

Answer 11

Participant modelling

Question 12

A procedure in which an instance of a persons desirable behaviour is taped and later replayed by that person, allowing the individual to imitate his or her own behaviour

Answer 12

Self-modeling

Question 13

Imitation of superstitious behaviour

Answer 13

Vicarious accidental reinforcement

Question 14

Provide and recognize original examples illustrating instances in which failure of imitation to occur does not mean that vicariously learning has not occurred

Answer 14

Just because an observer performs an act after a model performs it does not necessarily mean either that the observer is imitating the model or that she has learned from the model. An observer may learn from a model, yet not imitate the model. In fact, imitation may even serve as evidence that vicarious learning did not occur

Question 15

The tendency to imitate model behaviour even though the imitative behaviour is not reinforced

Answer 15

Generalized imitation

Question 16

Describe Baer and Sherman’s study of generalized imitation

Answer 16

Used a puppet to provide social reinforcers for imitated behaviour in young children. The puppet modelled for behaviors: mouthing, head nodding, speaking nonsense, and pressing a lever. Whenever children imitated any of the first three of these behaviors, the puppet provided reinforcement in the form of approving comments. As a tendency to imitate these behaviours increased, so did the tendency to imitate The fourth behavior, lever pressing, even though it did not produce reinforcement. When they stopped reinforcing the first three behaviors, their frequency declined and so did the frequency of imitative lever pressing

Question 17

How do consequences of the models behaviour influence vicarious learning?

Answer 17

Consistent reinforcement or punishment of a model’s behaviour gets better results than in consistent consequences

Question 18

How does the consequences of the observers behaviour influenced vicarious learning?

Answer 18

If observing others pays off, we tend to spend more time observing others. If a given behaviour produces one kind of consequence for a model and a very different kind of consequence for an observer, the latter consequences will eventually win out

Question 19

How do the characteristics of the model influence vicarious learning?

Answer 19

Observers tend to learn more from models who are competent, attractive, likable, and prestigious then from models who lack these characteristics. The more attentive and observer is to remodel, the more likely he or she is to learn from their behaviour

Models who are attractive, powerful, or very popular are much more likely to be imitated and models who are not. Celebrities are specially likely to be imitated

Question 20

How does the observers age influence vicariously learning?

Answer 20

Younger subjects may be more likely to imitate then older subjects, but this does not necessarily mean that the youngsters learn more from models. On the contrary, adults generally learn better than children from observation, and older children learn better than younger ones. Those advanced in years, however, often are slower to benefit from the experiences of others than are the young

Question 21

How does the observers learning history influence vicarious learning?

Answer 21

Adults may learn more than children from observing others because the adults have had more practice at it.

Example: a child who was aggressive behaviour has been reinforced on numerous occasions is probably more likely to imitate an aggressive model that is a child with a different learning history

Question 22

How does the emotional state of the observer influence vicarious learning?

Answer 22

Emotional arousal can severely interfere with learning.

Example: the Venus effect, where monkeys were more interested sexually in the model and ignored the problem. The emotional state of the observers put them at a severe disadvantage

Question 23

How does modelled task complexity influence vicariously learning?

Answer 23

Complex tasks are not as readily picked up through observation as are simple tasks

Question 24

Describe fisher and Harrises study on the influence of the models physical characteristics and mood on vicarious learning

Answer 24

Approached people in a shopping centre or on a college campus and asked them to guess the prices of certain items. And experimenter would appear to approach to subject simultaneously, but one of the people approached was actually a confederate of the researcher. In one experiment, the model sometimes were an eyepatch. The model would guess at the price of an item and the observer would make a guess. Later, when The observers tried to remember the answers the model had given, the ones who were generally more accurate were those who had seen the model with an eyepatch

The researchers manipulated the mood of the model where in one condition they smiled and nodded and in another condition they found and shook her head. In a third condition the model behaved in a neutral manner. The results showed that observers who had witnessed one of the more expressive models recalled her behaviour better then did observers who saw a neutral model.

These model characteristics affected the observers learning because they attracted the observers attention

Question 25

Describe Bandura’s social learning theory of vicarious learning

Answer 25

Argued that vicarious learning is accounted for by four processes that occur during or shortly after observation of a model. These processes are attentional, retention all, motor reproductive, and motivational

Attentional processes: have to do with the organisms observing the relevant aspects of the models behaviour and its consequences

Retention all processes: ask the observer performs to aid recall of the models behavior. One process may consist of representing the models behaviour in someway, often in words or repeatedly performing the models behavior, or a verbal representation of that behaviour

Motor reproductive processes: the observer must have the motor reproductive process is required to perform the modeled behaviour

Motivational processes: important in determining whether a modeled behaviour will be imitated. The observer must have an expectation that and imitated behaviour will produce reinforcement otherwise they will not perform at

Question 26

Describe Miller and Dollard’s reinforcement theory of vicarious learning

Answer 26

Vicarious learning is merely a variation of operant training. The changes in an observer’s behaviour are due to the consequences of the observers behavior, not those of the model

Question 27

Describe the evidence indicating that animal foraging is influenced by vicarious learning, including Sherry and Galef’s work with black-capped chickadees

Answer 27

Captured these birds and presented each with a four oil covered plastic clean tub of the sort restaurants serve with coffee. Four of the birds spontaneously pick through the voile top and fed on the cream. These four birds then serve as models for four birds that had not opened the tabs. Each model demonstrated the technique for an observer on five trials. Another for birds received five trials with a sealed the tub, but without observing a model. After this, the researchers presented each of the birds with a sealed tub to see what it had learned. They found that birds in the vicarious learning group opened the times while the untrained group did not. The researchers concluded that some birds probably do learn to open milk bottles by observing others do so

Question 28

Describe the evidence indicating that crime and violence is influenced by vicariously learning, including Bandura’s Rocky and Johnny study

Answer 28

Nursery school children watched a five minute video tape of two men, Rocky and Johnny, interacting in a playroom. In the video, Johnny plays with toy cars, plastic farm animals, and various other appealing toys. Rocky ask Johnny to share the toys, but Johnny refuses. Rocky then hits Johnny several times with a rubber ball, overpowers him when he tries to defend his property, hit him with a baton, and generally gives poor Johnny a rough time. Rockies aggressive behaviour is reinforced, since he ends up having all the fun. After watching the video tape, each child went to a playroom that contained a number of toys, including those shown in the film and several others. Judges watched and noted how often the child hit a Bobo doll or performed aggressive acts. The data indicated that children were far more likely to commit aggressive acts if they had seen a model reinforced for the same behavior.

Question 29

Describe the use of vicarious learning principles in treating phobias

Answer 29

One technique is to have people observe models who interact with the feared object without ill effects, Mary cover Jones called this the method of social imitation

AC for procedure is to have the fearful person view a films or videotaped model

Question 30

A procedure in which a trainer first models a behaviour and then assist the observer to perform it

Answer 30

Participant modelling

Question 31

Describe Thorndike’s work with observational learning in animals

Answer 31

In a typical experiment, Thorndike put one cat in a puzzle box and another cat in a nearby cage. The second cat had only to observe it’s neighbour to learn the trick of how to escape the box but when he put this cat into the puzzle box, he found that it did not imitate it’s more learned fellow. Instead, it went through the same sort of operant learning any other cat went through in learning to solve the problem

He got similar results with other animals and concluded that we should give up imitation as an explanation of any novel intelligent performance