Question

explain with suitable examples of four processes of observational learning. How does imitation help in observational learning.

Answer 1

The four processes of observational learning are attention, retention, production and motivation. For example, 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.

Another example is that children learn to participate in the community by observing their elders.

An example of 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.

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.

Answer 2

According to me,Yes Imitating someone helps in observational learning because as you know when we imitate someone then we have learned a lot about that person through our observation because we have observed that person.For example if we are teaching small kids a dance step,they will first observe us then they will perform accordingly.We need to first observe every particular action of a person to imitate him or her perfectly.