Psychology – AS Level approaches | e-Consult

Observational learning proposes that individuals can acquire new behaviours by observing a model, without direct reinforcement. Two landmark studies illustrate the strength of this claim.

1. Bandura, Ross, & Ross (1961) – Bobo doll experiment: Children watched an adult model behave aggressively toward a Bobo doll. When later given the opportunity, those who observed the aggressive model were significantly more likely to imitate the aggressive actions than children who saw a non‑aggressive model or no model at all. This demonstrated that learning can occur through observation alone, without direct reinforcement.
2. Watson & Rayner (1920) – Little Albert: Although primarily a classical conditioning study, it showed that fear responses could be transferred from a model (the experimenter) to a child through observation, suggesting that emotional behaviours can also be learned socially.

Both studies support social learning theory by showing that modelling can produce new behaviours and emotional responses. However, critics argue that the Bobo study’s laboratory setting limits ecological validity, and that individual differences (e.g., temperament) moderate the likelihood of imitation. Nonetheless, the converging evidence from multiple paradigms underscores the importance of observational processes in human learning.