Answer in 500 words. Explain with suitable examples of four processes of observational learning. How does imitation help in observational learning.
Answers
Observational learning is a form of social learning which takes place by observing the behaviour of others. It does not need reinforcement instead it requires a social model like a parent, sibling, friend or teacher with surroundings.
The four processes involved in observational learning are attention, retention, initiation and motivation.
Attention: The observer pays attention to what is happening in the surroundings. The characteristics of the model like how much a person likes or identifies with the model, and the characteristics of the observer like the observer's level of emotional arousal or expectations influence this process.
Retention or Memory: This process depends on the observer's ability to code or structure the information and remember it. It depends on his capacity to rehearse the model's actions mentally or physically.
Initiation or Motor: The observer should be able to produce the act physically or intellectually. In order to reproduce the model's action the observer may require some skills which he has not yet acquired. For example, he may observe a circus juggler but may not be able to repeat his actions.
Motivation: A person does not produce learned behaviour until he is motivated to do so. Motivation can come from external reinforcement like a promise of reward or from the observation that the models are rewarded.
Some examples of observational learning are:
An example for learning when there is motivation can be seen from an experiment in which the girls aged 11 to 14 performed better on a motor performance task when it was demonstrated by a high-status cheerleader instead of a low-status model.
Another example is that children learn to participate in the community by observing their elders.
In the Bobo doll experiment conducted by Bandura showed that one group of children placed in an aggressive environment also acted aggressively while the control group and other group place in a passive role model environment did not show any signs of aggression.
Role of imitation in learning
Imitation can help in learning. Infants can imitate simple facial expressions and actions by imitation. Around the age of two they can acquire social and personal skills by imitating a social model. Players can imitate the actions of skilled players and become adept in the game. Many other skills can be acquired by imitating the proficient people in different fields.
There are three kinds of models. They are live, verbal and symbolic models.
A live model may demonstrate a behaviour personally which the observer can imitate. For example, yoga students can imitate the correct stance and movement of the yoga teacher.
The behaviour may be explained or described by a verbal instructional model. For example a coach may tell his young players how to kick the ball with the side of the foot instead of the toe.
Finally, there is a symbolic model. It can be a fictional character or a real person who demonstrates behaviour in movies, books, television shows, internet sources and video games. For example, a child can imitate the behaviour demonstrated by someone on television.
Imitation is a propelled conduct whereby an individual watches and repeats another's conducted. An imitation is additionally a type of social discovering that prompts the "improvement of customs and at last our way of life.
Imitation might be the sincerest type of honeyed words for grown-ups, however, for babies, it's their principal apparatus for learning. As famous human watchers, babies frequently watch others exhibit how to get things done and after that duplicate those body developments.
Attention
Retention
Motor Reproduction
Reinforcement
These four ideas utilized as a part of succession enable living beings to secure the capacity to take part in new, now and again mind-boggling, practices essentially through observation.