Vicarious reinforcement and imitative learning.

Abstract

The present experiment was designed to study the influence of responseconsequences to the model on the imitative learning of aggression. Nursery school children were assigned randomly to 1 of the following groups: aggressive model-rewarded; aggressive model-punished; a control group shown highly expressive but nonaggressive models; and a 2nd control group which had no exposure to models. The children were then tested for the incidence of postexposure imitative and nonimitative aggressive responses. Children who witnessed the aggressive model rewarded showed more imitative aggression and preferred to emulate the successful aggressor than children in the aggressive model-punished group who both failed to reproduce his behavior and rejected him as a model for emulation. Control over aggression was vicariously transmitted to boys by the administration of aversive stimuli to the model, and to girls by the presentation of incompatible prosocial examples of behavior.

Understanding Observational Learning: An Interbehavioral Approach

“…Indeed, several of the early experiments in this area are very well known, and considered hallmarks in the field of psychology and behavior science (e.g., Bandura & McDonald, 1963;Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963). These studies were pursued for a variety of reasons; partially to undermine the value of common psychoanalytic (Bandura & Huston, 1961;Bandura, Ross, et al, 1963) and developmental theories (Bandura & McDonald, 1963), and also to evaluate the role of observation as a primary determinant of behavior change. Early studies examined the role of modeling 1 on the acquisition of aggression (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963) and moral judgment (Bandura & McDonald, 1963), for example, and provided a foundation upon which the social cognitive theory was built.…”

“…These studies were pursued for a variety of reasons; partially to undermine the value of common psychoanalytic (Bandura & Huston, 1961;Bandura, Ross, et al, 1963) and developmental theories (Bandura & McDonald, 1963), and also to evaluate the role of observation as a primary determinant of behavior change. Early studies examined the role of modeling 1 on the acquisition of aggression (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963) and moral judgment (Bandura & McDonald, 1963), for example, and provided a foundation upon which the social cognitive theory was built. Importantly, this theory is often considered to extend beyond behavioral theories, questioning the possibility that behaviorism alone could provide a comprehensive understanding of learning.…”

“…Specific emphasis was also placed on the role of consequences in the observational learning literature (e.g., Bandura, 1965;Bandura, Grusec, & Menlove, 1966;Bandura & McDonald, 1963, Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963. Experiments that added to our understanding of the role of consequences generally compared behavior change between children who either observed a model who was rewarded, a model who was punished, or a control condition (e.g., observing nonaggressive play or observing no consequences).…”

“…Experiments that added to our understanding of the role of consequences generally compared behavior change between children who either observed a model who was rewarded, a model who was punished, or a control condition (e.g., observing nonaggressive play or observing no consequences). Generally, less behavior change is observed when a child observes a model being punished (e.g., Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963). 2 Interestingly, there is often no difference between conditions involving rewards and conditions involving no consequences at all.…”

“…The ability to describe what was observed was viewed as a measure of learning, while engaging in the observed behavior at a later time was viewed as performance. For example, Bandura, Ross, & Ross (1963) found that children in both the aggressive-reward (participants observed a model be rewarded for engaging in a sequence of responses) and aggressive-punished (participants observed a model be punished for engaging in a sequence of responses) groups were able to describe the observed sequences of behavior, despite differences in imitative behavior change. Similarly, Bandura (1965) found that differences between group measures on imitation of observed behavior were removed on an ''acquisition index,'' where children were told they would get a reward for telling the experimenter what the model did.…”