Vicarious Learning and Examples

• What is vicarious learning
• Importance
• How vicarious learning happens
• Examples
• Vicarious learning in parenting

What is Vicarious Learning

Vicarious learning is learning through observing the experiences of others without performing the learned behavior directly^​1​.

Humans have the ability to learn new behavior by direct experience or by observing others’ behavior and consequences. 

Direct experience is the more rudimentary learning process, based largely on the consequences of their behavior.

However, we obtain most knowledge without direct instruction or experience.

Babies learn to wave goodbye or blow a kiss by mimicking their parents. Toddlers learn language from hearing conversations. Children adopt more complex behavior and beliefs, such as social etiquette or gender expectations, because “this is what people normally do.”

This learning experience is called vicarious learning, also known as observational learning and imitative learning.

In vicarious learning, the learner attentively watches the actions of others, retains the observed actions, and then mimics them^​2​.

The Importance of Vicarious Learning

Learning without direct interaction allows knowledge transfer to take place without tedious trial and error. Individual learning can ensue without directly experiencing danger.

A teen does not have to experience an accident to know the dangers of drunk driving; a news report is enough to drive home the point.

This type of learning passes on a community’s beliefs, traditions, etiquette, and norms. Children learn what is right or wrong, and what is culturally acceptable.

Formal learning can occur through vicarious experience without the actual social learning situations.

How Vicarious Learning Happens

The acquisition and alteration of a person’s behavior rely heavily on vicarious learning. 

Despite having simple labels such as imitation, copying, and matching, psychologist Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory suggests that it is a complex process involving biological and mental factors^​3​:

Mirror neurons

Biologically, mirror neurons, a special type of brain cells that allow us to mimic others, are vicariously activated through observation of others with vision or sound^​4​.

Attention

Cognitively, the first step in vicarious learning is paying attention.

People don’t necessarily learn all the behaviors that they see. The mere exposure to a particular model does not guarantee that a person will pay close attention to it, choose the most relevant characteristics from its many attributes, and perceive those aspects accurately.

If a person fails to recognize the essential features of the model’s behavior, they can’t learn much from the vicarious observation.

Identification plays an important role in this process^​5​.

People are more likely to pay attention and mimic the behavior of someone to whom they can identify and relate.

We see the power of peer learning in our daily lives. For instance, teenagers are more likely to emulate their peers than historical role models they read about in school.

Retention

After noticing it, a person needs to be able to remember the learning.

A symbolic form of the particular behavior must be present for them to reproduce such behavior.

People who mentally rehearse or actually perform the behavior of a model are more likely to retain the information^​6​.

Motoric Reproduction

After paying attention and retaining the behavior patterns, an individual must coordinate various actions in the correct sequence to perform them physically and make adjustments based on direct feedback.

Reinforcement and Motivation

Finally, to activate the learning, a person must have the drive to repeat the behavior.

Motivation to repeat a behavior pattern is influenced by the similarity of the model, the observer’s perception of their physical abilities, as well as the perceived rewards and punishments associated with it^​7​.

In 1961, Bandura conducted the famous Bobo Doll experiment. 

In this experiment, children watched videos that showed adults acting aggressively toward dolls. In one group, the adult was punished afterward, while in another, they were rewarded.

Bandura’s research found that the group that observed aggressive behavior being rewarded later behaved aggressively toward dolls more than the group that observed aggression being punished. Despite not being directly rewarded or punished, the children’s behavior was reinforced vicariously^​8,9​.

This is vicarious conditioning.

Observational learning can therefore be reinforced through vicarious reinforcement.

Vicarious Learning Examples

Here are some examples of vicarious learning in our everyday lives.

Video Tutorials and Teaching

You can learn all kinds of everyday tasks from baking a cake to restoring your backyard deck from demonstration videos on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Udemy. 

Video recordings provide learners with instructions and demonstrations on how to perform these hands-on tasks in similar situations.

People who have visual learning styles or who have grown up watching video content instead of reading books may benefit most from these types of learning^​10​.

Mentorship

The Big Brothers Big Sisters mentorship program is a great way for vicarious learning to take place. 

The program pairs more experienced older individuals with young children, so the younger can learn from the mentor’s experiences.

This provides a unique learning opportunity for children to learn about topics not taught in traditional classrooms. Moreover, they learn about their thought processes and mistakes without having to make the same mistakes themselves.

Kids Watching Parents

Watching their parents is how children learn from birth. They observe their parents’ actions, reactions, and consequences to learn from them.

Vicarious Learning in Parenting

Parents are without a doubt the first and most influential models for their children.

From the moment a child is born, they are constantly learning and observing their parents.

Vicarious learning serves as a reminder to parents that their child’s learning environment extends beyond school.

Be a role model for your child

Seting a good example is the most effective way for parents to help shape their children’s behavior, attitude, values, and emotional development.

If you want your child to read books, read books together as a family. 

If you want your child to be kind and polite, watch the way you speak to them and to other people.

Build a good parent-child relationship

Since vicarious learning involves multiple cognitive processes, simply providing a model, even a prominent one, will not automatically produce a learned behavior in children.

Your child must pay attention and be motivated to learn what you want to teach.

Building a good child-parent relationship with them is the best way to motivate them since relatedness is a powerful motivator^​11​.

Modeled behavior and new skills will be picked up on more readily by your child when they feel connected to you.

Be aware of peer influence

Adolescents often feel closer to their peers than to their parents^​12​. 

Peer group association is one of the factors that can affect teenagers’ outcomes^​13​.

Involvement in deviant peer groups is a risk factor for teenage delinquency, according to research.

Therefore, keep a watchful eye on your child’s social circle and social media usage without being intrusive.

If you are concerned about their peer’s influence, talk to them. If you have a close relationship with your child, it is easier to get them to listen to you.

References