Observational Learning
Observational Learning is learning through the observation of others, without the need of direct experience. Mirror neurons, located in the brain, are thought to activate observational learning by firing both when an animal acts and observes the actions of another. Four elements, or necessary conditions, of observational learning include: attention, memory, imitation, and motivation. Attention entails noticing something, memory requires remembering it, imitation involves being able to do it, and motivation necessitates having the desire to do so. American psychologist, Albert Bandura, stressed the importance of observational learning because he believed individuals should learn from a behavior rather than just imitating it. Bandura’s Bobo doll experiments found evidence of observational learning because the children who participated in the study imitated the behavior they witnessed.
My Experience
I experienced observational learning when I learned the basics of driving a car by watching my dad drive. One particular day, I observed as my dad turned the key to start the car’s engine, then put his right foot on the gas pedal, and his two hands across from each other on the steering wheel. He began to drive to my grandparent’s house. On the way there, he turned on his blinkers and looked in the rearview mirrors to switch lanes on the highway. Halfway through the drive, it began to rain so I watched him turn on the car’s headlights and windshield wipers. He drove along until we finally reached my grandparent’s house (he stopped in the driveway and put the car in park).
A few days later, when I got in the driver’s seat, I instantly knew how to start the car and begin driving. I remembered how to correctly position my hands on the steering wheel and switch lanes from watching my dad do so. I even remembered how to turn on the headlights and windshield wipers when it began raining from watching them get switched on just a few days earlier. My dad watched in the passenger’s seat as I managed the entire drive and even parked the car (although the drive was not exactly smooth). That day I demonstrated how much I had learned from simply watching my dad previously drive to my grandparent’s house.
Connection to Observational Learning
This experience of mine connects to observational learning because I demonstrated all four conditions that this method of learning entails: attention, memory, imitation, and motivation. First, I paid attention to my dad while he was driving then I remembered his movements and the switches he turned on when it was my turn to drive. The day I drove on my own (with my dad’s guidance), I imitated my dad’s prior movements and demonstrated motivation by driving all the way to the desired destination. From that day on, I kept learning more about how to drive through observation before driving more often (with my dad’s guidance) until I received my very own driver’s license.
Image Citation:
“Social Learning.” Tutorials Point, https://www.tutorialspoint.com/social_learning/bobo_doll_experiment.htm.