Psychology Atlas

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Theories and Concepts

Observational Learning

Behavioral Psychology

Observational learning is learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others, a form of social learning that takes various forms based on various processes. In humans this form of learning appears not to need reinforcement to occur, instead requiring a social model such as a parent, sibling, friend or teacher, with a model in childhood typically someone of authority or higher status in an environment. In animals, observational learning is often based on classical conditioning, in which an instinctive behavior is elicited by observing another's behavior, though other processes may also be involved. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Core Claim
People, especially children, acquire new behaviors by watching a model such as a parent, sibling or teacher, without needing to perform the behavior themselves or receive direct reinforcement. 1
Origin Year
1961 1
Connections

Associated With

Observational learning is the specific mechanism at the core of Bandura's broader social learning theory. This atlas records them as related but distinct entities (DistinctFrom, ChangeLogId 3683), so this edge is stanced associated, never variant.

Source Wikipedia: Social learning theory

Developed By

Source Wikipedia: Observational Learning
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Observational Learning
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Introduction
    Observational learning is learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others.
  • Introduction, no reinforcement needed
    In humans, this form of learning seems to not need reinforcement to occur, but instead, requires a social model such as a parent, sibling, friend, or teacher with surroundings.
  • Human section, Bandura 1961 Bobo doll
    Albert Bandura, who is known for the classic Bobo doll experiment, identified this basic form of learning in 1961.
  • Developed By: Albert Bandura, Article body
    Albert Bandura, who is known for the classic Bobo doll experiment, identified this basic form of learning in 1961.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Social learning theory
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Social Learning Theory, Article body
Quote, Associated With: Social Learning Theory, Article body
Learning involves observation, extraction of information from those observations, and making decisions about the performance of the behavior (observational learning or modeling).
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