Observational Learning

When was the last time you watched someone perform a task with the intention of learning it yourself? Whether you were shadowing a seasoned employee at a new job, watching a YouTube tutorial to learn a new skill, or observing a professional athlete to perfect your physical performance, you’ve experienced the power of learning through observation.

The idea of observational learning stems from social learning theory, a perspective introduced by psychologist Albert Bandura that suggests that observation and modeling are key to learning.¹ This learning process plays an important role in how we adopt new behaviors and beliefs.

Unlike other forms of learning, observational learning does not require reinforcement or punishment. Learning occurs through simply observing another person’s actions. However, sometimes the actions of others have consequences that influence how likely we are to imitate their behavior.

Of course, observational learning isn’t as simple as sitting down and passively watching someone do something — if this was the case, picking up new skills would be far too easy. Bandura proposed that learning through observation requires four active cognitive processes.² These are:

• Attention: The learner must be paying attention to the model and their behavior.
• Retention: The learner must remember the behavior. The better you remember the behavior, the more likely you’ll be able to replicate it.
• Reproduction: The learner must be physically able to replicate the behavior. This stage involves translating your memory of the behavior into the actual performance of the behavior.
• Motivation: The learner must have the motivation to replicate the behavior. This stage ultimately determines whether these learned behaviors emerge as action.

The first two processes describe how we learn new behaviors while the second two processes describe how we perform these learned behaviors. Importantly, all of these processes can be impacted by our self-efficacy.³ Self-efficacy is our belief in our ability to replicate the modeled behavior. If we believe we can perform the observed behavior, we are more likely to pay attention, retain relevant details, and attempt to imitate it.
These processes can also rely on the consequences of the observed behavior. Bandura’s research revealed that people are more likely to imitate behaviors that were rewarded and less likely to imitate behaviors that were punished.¹ This demonstrates one of the greatest values of observational learning — the ability to learn from other people’s mistakes!