Mazur Chapter 11: Learning by Observation Flashcards
Imitation as Instinct
McDougall – four-month-old imitate facial expressions
Meltzoff and Moore – 12-21-day-old infant’s copy four gestures
*Parents claimed no prior reinforcement
Limitation of Imitation
Two-year-olds were taught baseline set of “matching relations”
There were unable to randomly imitate “target matching relations”
Social Facilitation
Behavior of one organism triggers similar behavior in other [other already knows behavior]
Stimulus Enhancement
Behavior of model draws attention toward a stimulus behavior
e.g. a Raven sees other ravens playing with Frisbee – later picks for his beta play with
True Imitation
The copying of behavior that was never learned before
E.g. monkeys learn to throw sand into water to sift out wheat
Imitation As Operant Response
Dollard and Miller argue that imitation is a special type of operant conditioning
The human that one wants to imitate serves as a discriminative stimulus
The appropriate response is to copy the behavior
Children are reinforced for copying or not copying a “leader” and then continue to either copy or not copy
Imitation As a Generalized Operant Response
Bandura argues that Dollard and Miller’s research was limited
Their model only showed that the learner observes, immediately copies, and is reinforced
However, children copy parents for lots of things without prior practice of the response and without prior reinforcement
If the child had been previously reinforced for imitating the behaviors of her parents, imitation in this instance is simply generalization
Bandura’s Theory of Imitation
Consequences toward the model made a difference whether kids imitated behavior
However, when kids were offered candy to hurt the doll, children all three groups produced large and equal amounts of aggressive behavior
*Reinforcement is not necessary for the learning of new behaviors through observation
However, the expectation of reinforcement is essential for the performance of these new behaviors
The 4 Processes of Bandura’s Cognitive Theory
[ His alternative to the theory of generalized imitation]
Attentional Process
Retentional Process
Motor Reproductive Process
Incentive And Motivational Processes
*The first three processes are all that are needed for an individual to acquire the capability to perform a new behavior
However, this capability will not be reflected in the learner’s behavior without the appropriate incentive
Attentional processes
The learner must pay attention to the appropriate features of the models behavior if imitation is to occur
Retentional Processes
Information gained through observation must be retained if imitation is to occur at a later time
Importance of rehearsal
Motor Reproductive Processes
Learner must be able to translate general knowledge into a coordinated pattern of muscle movements
Incentive and Motivational Processes
The individual must have an expectation that the performance of a new behavior will produce some type of reinforcement in order to produce the behavior
Bandura’s criticism of the Theory of Generalized Imitation
It doesn’t indicate why kids imitated the reinforced model
All kids imitated when they were offered a reward
Mirror Neurons and Imitation
Mirror neurons fire when a person acts, or when a person sees another person acting
Achievement Motivation
Direct reinforcement and observational learning shape self-discipline and a high achievement motivation
Willingness to work and make sacrifices to obtain long-term goals
Set high standards for oneself and attempt to achieve goals
Study in which children observed bowlers rewarding themselves for different scores
- children can learn to apply either strict or lenient standards of self-discipline by observing a model
- numerous learning experiences of a similar type must occur as children observe their parents’ behaviors over a period of many years
- Besides serving as models, parents may directly reinforce either strictly lenient standards of achievement and self-discipline and their children
Aggression
Paradox: parents who use the most severe punishment for aggressive behaviors tend to reduce more aggressive children
This seems to suggest that punishment is ineffective
However, the paradox is resolved when it is realized that parents who use physical punishment with their children are providing their children with models of aggressive behavior
What Can Be Learned through Observation?
Phobias
Drug Use/Addiction
Cognitive Development–Problem-Solving Tasks
Moral Standards
Modeling in Behavior Therapy
Bandura and Walters – model’s behavior can:
- Facilitate responses observer already knows
- Produce totally new behaviors
- Reduce harmful behaviors
Facilitation of Low Probability Behaviors
Assertiveness Training – role-playing and modeling
Graduated modeling – simple to complex behaviors
Acquisition of New Behaviors: Behavioral skills training
Modeling + verbal instructions, prompts, guide practice, feedback
e.g. PCIT
Acquisition of New Behaviors: Elimination of Fears and Unwanted Behaviors
Graduated Modeling:
E.g. dog phobia at a party – graduated modeling in which children observed a child of their own age engage in more and more demanding interactions with a friendly dog – no difference between the party context in the neutral context
Participant Modeling
The model first performs a behavior related to the phobia, and then the patient imitates the behavior of the model
In each step of the treatment, the patient’s involvement with the object of the phobia becomes more demanding
Acquisition of New Behaviors: Video Self-Modeling
An increasingly popular technique used by behavior therapists– selected mutism, stuttering, autism etc.
The goal of this technique is to increase performance of desired behaviors by having clients watch themselves correctly perform these behaviors in a video
Videos are edited to remove all examples of errors and inappropriate behaviors, as well as all segments in which the therapist gives assistance
All that remains is a video in which the child was in performing the behavior correctly with no help from anyone else – the goal is to teach only correct, unassisted behaviors
Summary
Differing theories of imitation:
instinctive
contigency-based
generalized operant response
Bandura’s theory states that four factors determine whether imitative behavior will occur: attentional, retentional, motor abilities, and incentive/motivational processes
Mirror neurons fire when an individual makes response and when the individual see someone else makes a response, supporting the idea that observational learning is a unique type of learning
Observational learning and operant conditioning can either work together or work in opposite directions
e.g. Paradoxical effect of physical punishment for aggressive behavior
Observational learning can also affect the development of phobias, alcohol and drug use, thinking skills, and moral standards
Many different variations on modeling techniques have been used behavior therapy: graduated modeling, participant modeling, and video self-modeling
Through modeling, shy children can learn better social skills, adults can learn to be more assertive, children with autism can be taught to speak, and phobias can be eliminated
