Psychology: Cognitive Learning

What is the difference between learning and performance?

Edward Tolman believed that learning could occur without reinforcement and that learning and performance differed. Performance is actually doing something that one has learned.

Who is Albert Bandura?

He is a behaviorist theorist known for his social learning theory. He conducted a modeling experiment using a "Bobo" doll and studied observational learning and self-regulation. His work combines behaviorism with cognitive theory.

What is observational learning?

This theory states that people learn simply through observation. Bandura says people can learn complex sequences this way (Guatemalan Weavers).

What are the four components that are necessary for observational learning to occur?

Attention, Retention, Reproduction, and Reinforcement and Motivational Processes

What are models?

The people we learn "from" when we do observational learning.

What is the Bobo doll experiment?

The Bobo Doll experiment was a demonstration by adults where they either (1) hit and attacked Bobo Dolls, (2) ignored them, or (3) weren't shown anything about the doll while a group of children watched them. When the children were later put in the room with the Bobo Dolls they did the same thing: hit and attack. The first group was the most aggressive, the second group was the least aggressive, and the third group was more aggressive than group two, but less than one.

What is self-efficacy?

The belief that one can master a situation and produce favorable outcomes. We reflect on our general abilities. When we think we are good at something - we work hard - even when we face setbacks. When we think we're bad - we don't.