Last Updated on February 3, 2023 by Mike Robinson
Vicarious learning is a type of learning derived from indirect sources such as observation rather than direct instruction.
The word “vicar” comes from the Latin “I see,” which means “to transport.” In Spanish, it has a symbolic meaning: with vicarious learning, information or learning is transferred from one person to another through observation.
What is Vicarious Learning?
As we grow up, we attend school and receive direct instruction in many subjects.
However, we also had a life outside of school, where we learned a lot by observing our parents, siblings, friends, neighbors, and relatives. We saw them do daily tasks, carry out their hobbies and interests, and acquire physical skills that we also learned, even without actively looking for them. This is called vicarious learning or observational learning.
Bandura’s Theory of Social Learning
In Bandura’s Theory of Social Learning (1977), he strongly emphasizes the role of vicarious learning.
Albert Bandura is a Canadian psychologist and pedagogue who, for almost six decades, has contributed to the field of education and other areas of psychology, including socio-cognitive theory, which evolved from the theory of social learning.
He has also been very influential in the transition between behaviorism and cognitive psychology and created the theoretical construct of self-efficacy.
In his theory of social learning, Bandura agrees with behavioral theories about learning regarding classical conditioning and operant conditioning. However, he adds two important ideas:
- Between the stimuli (the behaviors observed in other people) and the responses (the imitation of the observed behaviors), mediation processes occur, which we will describe later.
- Behaviors are learned from the environment through the process of learning by observation.
Bandura points out that the ability of individuals to learn by observing others allows them to avoid unnecessary mistakes in the tasks they are carrying out. We watch others make their own mistakes to save ourselves from committing them.
The following statement describes the basic elements of vicarious learning:
“By observing a model that exhibits the behavior you wish to learn, an individual forms an idea of how the response components must be combined and sequenced to produce the new behavior. In other words, people let the notions they’ve previously learned through observation guide their actions instead of relying on the results of their own behaviors. “
Through vicarious learning, we avoid investing time in learning from our own mistakes because we have already observed others’ mistakes.
Fact About Learning Vicariously
Children observe the people around them behaving in different ways. These people are called “models.”
Children encounter many influential models in society, such as their parents, characters on television, friends in their peer group, and teachers.
These models provide examples of behavior to observe and imitate. This is how gender roles are learned, for example. The learning process of imitating these people is known as modeling.
Factors that influence the observer and the model
Children pay attention to some of these models and let them model their behavior by imitating them. Children sometimes do this regardless of whether the behavior is gender-appropriate. Still, many processes make it more likely that a child will reproduce the behavior that society deems appropriate for their sex.
The child is likelier to attend and imitate the people he perceives as similar to himself. Consequently, they increase the likelihood that he imitates behaviors modeled by people of the same sex.
The nature of the observed model influences the likelihood that an observer will imitate the behavior in the future. Bandura pointed out that models with interpersonal attraction are more imitated, while those who do not tend to be rejected or ignored.
The model’s credibility and the success or failure of the observed behavior result also influence whether the observer will imitate the behavior.
Specific characteristics of the observer also have an essential role in the modeling process.
The modeling process can sometimes alter the characteristics of the individual who observes, which, in turn, can influence the effects of modeling. For example, individuals exposed to models that fail to perform a task may be less persistent when they perform that same task later.
The theory of why this occurs is that, through vicarious experiences, people can lower their self-efficacy expectations and, therefore, be less persistent when dealing with adversity.
Modeling and positive and negative reinforcement
In addition, the people around the child respond to the behaviors he imitates with reinforcements or punishments. If a child imitates the behavior of a model and its consequences consist of reinforcements, the child will likely continue to carry out that behavior.
If a father sees his daughter comforting her teddy bear and says, “What a nice girl,” this is a reward for the girl and makes it more likely for her to repeat this behavior. The father reinforced her behavior.
The reinforcement can be external or internal and both positive and negative. If a child wants approval from their parents, this approval is an external reinforcement, but feeling satisfied or happy to have obtained it is an internal reinforcement. A child will behave in a way that he believes will gain approval from others.
Reinforcement, whether positive or negative, will have little impact if the reinforcement offered is not related to the needs of the individual. The reinforcement can be positive or negative, but the most important factor is that it usually changes the person’s behaviors.
Learning by observing the mistakes of others
When learning vicariously, the child analyzes what happens to other people (the consequences of their behavior) when deciding whether or not to copy the actions of others.
A person learns by observing the consequences of other people’s behaviors. For example, when a younger sister observes her older sister receive a reward for a particular behavior, she will likely imitate this behavior later.
This is known as “vicarious reinforcement.”
How we chose our models.
Children have some models with which they identify. They can be people from their immediate environment, like their parents or older siblings, or they can be fantastic characters or people from television. Often the motivation to identify with a particular model is that they have a quality the child would like to possess.
The identification occurs with another person (the model) and involves adopting the observed behaviors, values, beliefs, and attitudes of the person with whom the child identifies.
The term “identification,” as used in social learning theory, is similar to the Freudian term related to the Oedipus complex. For example, both involve internalizing or adopting another person’s behavior.
However, in the Oedipus complex, the child can only identify with the opposite-sex parent, while in social learning theory, the child can potentially identify with any other person.
Identification is different from imitation since it implies that many behaviors are adopted, while imitation usually consists of copying a single behavior.
Vicarious Learning and Mediation Processes
One way of describing the theory of social learning is the “bridge” between traditional theories of learning (e.g., behaviorism) and the cognitive approach to learning. This is because it focuses on the mental (cognitive) factors involved in learning.
Contrary to Skinner, Bandura (1977) believed that humans were active information processors who thought about the relationship between their behaviors and consequences.
Vicarious learning could not occur if the cognitive processes were not in operation. These cognitive or mental factors mediate (intervene) in the learning process to determine if a new response is acquired.
Therefore, individuals do not automatically observe the behavior of a model and then imitate it. There are thoughts before imitation, and these considerations are called mediation processes. They occur between observing behavior (the stimulus) and its imitation or lack thereof (the answer).
Bandura proposed four mediation processes:
1- Attention
It refers to the extent we receive exposure to the model’s behavior. For a behavior to be imitated, it must first catch our attention.
We observe many behaviors daily, many of which are not worthy of our attention. Therefore, attention is significant for a behavior to have some influence on other people who will imitate it.
2- Retention
Retention has to do with the quality with which we remember the behavior. A person may notice other people’s behavior but don’t always remember it. This avoids imitation. Therefore, the observer must form a memory to use the behavior later.
Much of social learning is a process that takes time. This process is especially vital in these cases. Even if the behavior is reproduced shortly after seeing it, there must be a memory to refer to.
3- Reproduction
Reproduction is the ability to carry out the behavior that the model has shown. We often observe behaviors in our daily lives that we would like to imitate. Unfortunately, we are only sometimes capable of doing so.
Our physical and mental abilities limit us. This influences our decisions related to trying to imitate a behavior or not.
4- Motivation
It refers to the desire to carry out the behavior that someone observes. The observer will consider the rewards that follow a behavior. If the perceived rewards exceed the perceived costs (if the behavior requires some cost), the observer will more likely imitate the behavior in the future.
The person will only imitate the behavior if the vicarious reinforcement the person they observed receive is important to them.
Criticism of the Theory of Vicarious Learning
The approach to social learning accounts for thought processes and their role in deciding whether someone will imitate a behavior. This process also provides a complete explanation of human learning by recognizing the role of mediation processes.
However, although it can explain some fairly complex behaviors, it can not represent how we develop a range of behaviors, including thoughts and feelings.
We have a lot of cognitive control over our behavior. For example, just because we have had violent experiences does not mean we have to behave violently.
Bandura modified his theory and, in 1986, changed the name of his theory of social learning to “socio-cognitive theory. ” This change is a better description of how we learn from our social experiences.
Some of the criticisms stem from a commitment to the environment surrounding people as the primary influence on behavior.
It is quite limiting to describe human behavior based solely on nature or only on the social environment. Some experts think attempting to do this underestimates the complexity of human behavior.
Different forms of human behavior are due to an interaction between the nature or biology of people and the environment in which they develop.
The theory of social learning is only a partial explanation for some behaviors. This is particularly the case for people who do not have a model from which to learn and imitate certain behaviors.
Also read: What is inclusive education?
