The so-called observational learning, also known as alternative learning, is a process in which learners acquire new behaviors by observing others' behaviors and their reinforcement results. This kind of learning does not require learners' direct response, nor does it require personal experience and reinforcement. Only by observing other people's behavior and the reinforcement of others' acceptance in a certain environment can we complete learning. Therefore, learning completed in this way is also called "no-attempt learning", and Bandura calls the influence of reinforcement accepted by others on learners themselves "vicarious reinforcement".

For example, children learn to do housework by observing and imitating their parents, which is an example of observation and learning.

This part has a series of concepts: observational learning, alternative learning, paradigm, vicarious reinforcement, untried learning and so on. Please distinguish them. (see textbook 89-9 1)

People who observe learning in observation learning don't need to go through reinforcement by themselves, they can learn a new behavior only by observing other people's behavior or observing others being strengthened. The so-called "see in the eye, remember in the heart" is the way it is. Since it is necessary to "see" and "remember", it can be seen that observation learning is a complicated process. So, what processes are involved in observational learning?

1, pay attention to the process.

What you observe in the world is obviously related to your attention, which is the intermediary between the subject and the observed object. What factors affect attention? Generally speaking, the paradigm of attention: the initiator of behavior, that is, the characteristics, environmental background and paradigm of object activity (such as status, authority, gender, age, etc. What the observer pays attention to is also related to the observer's own characteristics (such as experience, awakening level and interest).

Bandura pays special attention to the great influence of personal communication network and group affiliation on attention. Who a person associates with will increase the chances of paying attention to these people, which is also the saying that "those who are near Zhu Zhechi and near Mexico are black". Society is divided into different structural groups, and individuals belonging to the same social structural group are more likely to pay attention to each other. It is not easy for people belonging to different social structure groups to observe each other.

Bandura introduced social factors into behaviorism learning theory here, which is a significant development of behaviorism theory system.

2, keep the process

Observers express their observed demonstration behavior through symbolic representation: a way to preserve knowledge in the human brain. In psychology, there are several modes of representation, and the use of symbols (meaning-concept) for representation is one of them. Bandura believes that "most cognitive processes that regulate behavior are mainly conceptual, not spiritual." Form is transformed into personal experience and stored in your own memory. What is stored at this time is not the demonstration behavior itself, but the abstraction of the demonstration behavior. As we all know, traditional behaviorism is silent about the internal process, and the maintenance process mentioned by Bandura here is a typical internal process. It can be seen that Bandura has made great progress in developing behaviorism theory.

The retention process is closely related to the attention process. Without the support of maintaining the process, it is difficult to pay attention to the process.

3. Motion reproduction process

(also called "output process"). This is the performance process of observer's demonstration behavior. In other words, it is the process that the observer transforms the symbol representation stored in the interior into explicit behavior. In the initial stage of performance observation behavior, it is inevitable that it is not as accurate as demonstration behavior, and it needs a process of gradual proficiency. For children, the reappearance of this kind of movement is often manifested as a game.

4, strengthening and encouraging process

Some of the demonstration behaviors observed by a person are non-repetitive and some are repetitive. Why? This is related to reinforcement and motivation. This is explained in detail in the textbook, please read pages 93-94.

(B) the way of observation and learning

The model of observational learning refers to what activities the observed use to provide demonstration behavior to the observer (learner). This section introduces eight modes, and each mode has a specific description, which is not difficult to understand. Please see for yourself.

(C) the study of social learning

Under the guidance of social learning theory, Bandura combined social problem research with psychological research methods and carried out a series of social behavior research. Among them, the most influential is the research on aggressive behavior and prosocial behavior.

1, research on attack behavior.

About aggressive behavior, some people think that it is out of people's attacking instinct (such as Freud and Lorenz), while others think that it happens because of frustration (such as Dollard). Bandura clearly pointed out that human beings are not born with a behavior library, and all human behaviors are the result of acquired learning. Aggressive behavior is also the result of social learning.

The "inflatable doll" experiment mentioned in the textbook is a famous series of studies designed by Bandura. The results of these experimental studies clearly tell us that children will learn behavior from role models. Bandura's contribution lies in discovering that the performance of children's behavior (behavior operation) is different from the acquisition of behavior. Specifically, children's behaviors obtained through observation may or may not be directly manifested. Just because children don't behave after observing and learning doesn't mean they don't learn. As long as the external conditions are compatible with the internal motivation, the behaviors that have been learned but not expressed will be shown. Bandura's experiments also show that aggressive behavior can be learned not only from real adults, but also from characters in movies and TV, and even from cartoon characters. The study found that cartoon images have no less influence on children than real people.

The occurrence of children's aggressive behavior is closely related to their own emotional state and reinforcement nature. Please read the textbook page 97 carefully.

Bandura believes that in real life, the observation and learning of children's aggressive behavior mainly comes from three sources:

1) Family members.

2) Community culture.

3) mass media. At present, more and more studies have confirmed the influence of mass media on children's aggressive behavior, which deserves attention.

In addition, personal direct experience also plays an important role in the emergence of aggressive behavior. If children's aggressive behavior in trial and error behavior is strengthened, its frequency will be greatly enhanced. A child who has been bullied by his peers for a long time can resist and succeed when he can't bear it, then his aggressive behavior will also be strengthened. Bandura said, "Aggressive behavior is mainly learned through observation and further improved on the basis of strengthening the actual operation results."

2. Prosocial behavior research.

Like aggression, children's prosocial behavior is also the result of social learning. In our social life and educational practice, moral education is often carried out through preaching. According to Bandura's research results, it has little effect. The power of example is infinite.

3. Determinants of behavior.

As we already know, behaviorism thinks that the decisive factor of behavior is environment. Specifically, classical behaviorism holds that the combination of unconditional stimulus and conditional stimulus determines people's response; Operational behaviorism holds that whether the result of behavior is strengthened or not affects the frequency of behavior. Bandura believes that on the one hand, human behavior is influenced by the environment, on the other hand, human behavior is also affecting the environment, and people, behavior and environment interact. What behavior is shown in what environment is influenced by human cognitive factors. This is the key project of Bandura's lifelong research and his greatest contribution.