observational learning as a social-cognitive approach to learning involving attention, retention, reproduction, motivation and reinforcement, as demonstrated by Bandura's research, and its application to the acquisition of behaviour

What this dot point is asking

VCAA wants you to explain observational learning (also called modelling) as a social-cognitive approach, name and describe its five stages (attention, retention, reproduction, motivation, reinforcement), and link it to Bandura's research. You should be able to apply the stages to a real example and explain vicarious reinforcement.

The answer

Observational learning is learning that occurs by watching the behaviour of a model and the consequences of that behaviour, then imitating it. It is a social-cognitive approach because it combines social influence (watching others) with internal cognitive processes (attention, memory, motivation). Unlike pure behaviourism, it recognises that mental processes mediate between stimulus and response.

The model: a person whose behaviour is observed

A model is the individual being watched. Models who are admired, similar to the observer, or high in status are more likely to be imitated. Learning can occur even when the observer does not immediately perform the behaviour, so learning and performance are separate.

The five stages of observational learning

1. Attention. The observer must actively watch the model's behaviour. Without attention, nothing is learned. Attention is greater when the model is interesting, relevant or high status.
2. Retention. The observer must store a mental representation of the behaviour in memory so it can be retrieved later.
3. Reproduction. The observer must have the physical and mental ability to reproduce the behaviour. A child may attend to and remember a backflip but be unable to perform it.
4. Motivation. The observer must have the desire to perform the behaviour, usually because they expect a worthwhile outcome.
5. Reinforcement. The observer is more likely to perform the behaviour if it is reinforced. This includes vicarious reinforcement, where the observer sees the model being rewarded and so becomes more likely to imitate the behaviour. Vicarious punishment makes imitation less likely.

The first three stages (attention, retention, reproduction) are sometimes grouped as the learning components and the last two (motivation, reinforcement) as the performance components.

Bandura's Bobo doll research

Albert Bandura demonstrated observational learning in his Bobo doll experiments. Children watched an adult model behave aggressively towards an inflatable Bobo doll (hitting, kicking, shouting). Children who watched the aggressive model later imitated the same specific aggressive acts when left alone with the doll, far more than children who watched a non-aggressive model. In a later variation, children who saw the model rewarded for aggression imitated more than those who saw the model punished, demonstrating vicarious reinforcement. Importantly, when later offered an incentive, all groups could reproduce the aggression, showing the behaviour had been learned even when it was not initially performed.

Application

Observational learning explains how children acquire language, manners, gender roles and aggression, and how phobias or healthy habits can be modelled within families. It underlies concerns about media violence and the value of positive role models.