Chapter 10: Observational Learning

The earliest experiments on observational learning were performed by .
a. Ivan Pavlov
b. E. L. Thorndike
c. John B. Watson
d. Carl Warden

B. E L. Thorndike

The first studies of observational learning .
a. proved beyond a doubt that animals learn by observing models
b. proved that only higher animals learn by observing models
c. suggested that some animals can learn by observing models under special circumstances
d. failed to find evidence of observational learning in animals

failed to find evidence of observational learning in animals

Learning is a change in behavior due to experience. In observational learning, the experience consists of _.
a. observing events and their consequences
b. imitating a model
c. vicariously participating in events in one's environment
d. sharing the experiences of another person or animal

observing events and their consequences

If an observer looks on as a model's behavior is reinforced, we speak of _.
a. vicarious reinforcement
b. model reinforcement
c. observer reinforcement
d. imitation

vicarious reinforcement

Social observational learning may be defined as _.
a. imitation of a model's behavior
b. a change in an observer's behavior
c. a change in behavior due to observing a model
d. a variation of operant learning

a change in behavior due to observing a model

According to the author of your text, observational learning involves observing
a. events and their consequences.
b. the behavior of a model.
c. the effects of a model's behavior.
d. and imitating a model's actions.

events and their consequences.

Herbert and Harsh compared the behavior of cats that had observed a model perform an act 30 times with cats that had observed only 15 performances. They found that _.
a. the extra 15 observances made no difference
b. the first 15 observations had a greater impact than the next 15
c. cats that observed 30 performances did substantially better than those that observed 15
d. cats that observed 15 performances actually did better than those that observed 30

cats that observed 30 performances did substantially better than those that observed 15

Ellen Levy and her colleagues found that children would imitate a model's reinforced preferences for _.
a. pets
b. pictures
c. dolls
d. cartoon characters

pictures

Kanfer and Marston found that college students imitated the reinforced word choices of models. In their study, the observers _.
a. watched a video of models talking
b. chatted with models in a bar
c. received text messages written by models
d. listened to models on a tape

listened to models on a tape

In a study by Hopper and colleagues, some observers watched a model slide a door and retrieve a desired item. Other observers saw the door slide in the absence of a model, revealing the desired item. The latter procedure is called the __ condition.
a. asocial
b. model

free
c. ghost
d. whisper

Lyons, Young, and Keil actively encouraged children not to imitate the acts of a model that were irrelevant to solving a problem. The result was that the children _.
a. ignored the irrelevant acts
b. imitated the irrelevant acts
c. performed original irrelevant acts
d. failed to solve the problem

imitated the irrelevant acts

The tendency to imitate modeled behavior even when doing so is not reinforced is called _.
a. superstitious imitation
b. neurotic imitation
c. generalized imitation
d. habitual imitation

generalized imitation

In the Thompson and Russell two

mat study, children who observed a model __.
a. did better than those who did not observe a model
b. did less well than those who did not observe a model
c. did about the same as those who did not observe a model
d. imitated irrelevant acts of the model

ill is an impressionable 17

year

Fisher and Harris found that observers learned more when a model _.
a. frowned and shook her head
b. showed no emotional reaction
c. vacillated between happy and sad
d. avoided looking at the observer

frowned and shook her head

Judith Fisher and Mary Harris found that if a model wore an eye patch, observers learned _.
a. less from the model's behavior
b. more from the model's behavior
c. about the same amount from the model's behavior

more from the model's behavior

You hear on the radio that Smash, the most popular rock music performer in Germany, has killed
himself. He left a note ("Goodbye, cruel world"). You predict that _.
a. Germans will riot in the streets
b. Germans will pass laws against rock music
c. the sale of rock music will decline markedly in Germany
d. there will be a rash of suicides or suicidal gestures among German rock music fans

there will be a rash of suicides or suicidal gestures among German rock music fans

The influence of literary models on behavior was seen in the 18th century with the publication of _.
a. The Sorrows of Young Werther
b. Swan Song
c. Death of the Knight
d. This Is Not the Answer

The Sorrows of Young Werther

The learning history of observers has a powerful influence on what they learn from models. This is illustrated by the fact that chimpanzees that have had __ training get more from observing a model than those that have not.
a. language
b. social skills
c. problem solving
d. insight

language

Primatologist Elizabeth Lornsdorf found that wild young female chimps are more likely than males to learn about __ .
a. sign language
b. termite fishing
c. tooth flossing
d. potato washing

termite fishing

Those who are most likely to learn from observing a model are probably _.
a. young children
b. older children
c. adults
d. very old adults

adults

Whether children imitate an aggressive model depends largely on .
a. the nature of the aggressive behavior
b. whether the model's behavior is reinforced or punished
c. whether the child is encouraged to imitate the model
d. the relationship between the child and the model

whether the model's behavior is reinforced or punished

Keith and Catherine Hayes found that their adoptee, Viki, learned more from observing models than some children of about the same age. This was surprising because Viki was a _.
a. monkey
b. chimpanzee
c. porpoise
c. Golden Retriever

chimpanzee

In Bandura's theory of observational learning, steps taken during observation to improve later recall of a model's behavior are called .
a. mnemonic processes
b. cognitive processes
c. retentional processes
d. memorial processes

retentional processes

Of the following terms, the one most associated with Bandura's theory is .
a. covert modeling
b. symbolic observation
c. retentional processes
d. simulation training

retentional processes

The operant learning model of observational learning takes the _.
a. natural science approach
b. cognitive approach
c. intuitive approach
d. guess approach

natural science approach

A panel of experts reviewed studies on the influence of violence depicted on television and in films on the aggressive behavior of children. They found that the evidence for a causal connection between viewing such violence and aggressive behavior was _.
a. weak
b. suggestive
c. strong but inconclusive
d. overwhelming

overwhelming

True/False:
Carl Warden was one of the first researchers to demonstrate observational learning in animals

True

True/False:
If an observer watches a well

trained model perform a response, the procedure is not really
observational learning

True/False:
Herbert and Harsh demonstrated observational learning in cats.

True

True/False:
The Herbert and Harsh study found that cats that had observed a model perform 30 times did no better than those that had observed a model perform 15 times

False

True/False:
All studies of observational learning involve learning to solve a problem or perform a skill.

False

True/False:
In the study by Thompson and Russell, there was a toy on a mat, but it was out of reach. Children learned to retrieve the toy by observing a model who pulled the mat closer

False

True/False:
Ellen Levy and her colleagues found that children's liking for pictures was influenced by the
consequences of the model's preferences.

True

True/False:
Kanfer and Marston found that college students imitated the reinforced word choices of models, even though the observers did not see the models

True

True/False:
Experiments on asocial observational learning raise the question of the extent to which the social variety is truly social.

True

True/False:
Research suggests that humans tend to imitate behavior that is irrelevant to obtaining reinforcers

True

True/False:
Research suggests that the tendency to imitate the irrelevant acts of a model increases with age.

True

True/False:
Some researchers believe that the tendency of humans to imitate irrelevant modeled acts is beneficial.

True

True/False:
Observing a model is particularly helpful if the task involved is easy.

False

True/False:
The research of Rosekrans and Hartup on aggression suggests that if a model's behavior is sometimes reinforced and sometimes punished, it is more likely to be imitated than if it is consistently reinforced.

False

True/False:
Although the consequences of a model's behavior have a strong influence on an observer's tendency to imitate the model's behavior, ultimately the consequences of the observer's behavior tend to win out.

True

True/False:
The book, The Last Gentleman Adventurer, includes an anecdote that illustrates cross

species observational learning.

True/False:
Little of classroom learning is observational.

False

True/False:
Alan Kazdin found that praising attentiveness in one child actually reduced the attentiveness in another child.

False

True/False:
Research suggests that some students who do not naturally learn from a model can be taught the skills necessary to do so.

True

True/False:
Videotapes of flossing monkeys suggest that mother monkeys attempt to teach their infants how to floss through modeling.

True

The author of your text identifies two kinds of observational learning: and .

Social, asocial

There are two kinds of social observational learning experiences, vicarious and vicarious .

reinforcement, punishment

In _, an observer looks on as a model's behavior is punished.

Vicarious punishment

If the consequences of a model's behavior strengthen the observer's tendency to behave in a similar manner, we say that the behavior has been _

vicariously reinforced

The traditional view of observational learning is what the author of your text calls _ observational learning

Social

When researchers arrange for an event to occur in the absence of a model, this is called the _ condition.

Ghost

The tendency to imitate modeled events that are irrelevant to solving a problem is called _.

Over imitation

Models who are not proficient at the skill they demonstrate are called unskilled or _ models

Learning

Berger found that one important variable affecting observational learning in humans is the _ of
the model.

Status

Bandura says that observational learning involves four processes. One of these is _.

attentional/retentional/motor reproductive/motivational

Efforts to influence people through modeling via mass media are called _.

edutainment