Chapter 10 Essay Questions

Design an experiment to determine the role of delayed reinforcement of a model's behavior in observational learning. (inferred)

A group design might have children observe an adult model, with the model's target behavior reinforced immediately in one condition and after a delay in another. In a single case design, the same children might observe models in two situations, one involving immediate reinforcement, the other involving delayed reinforcement. In either study, the dependent variable would be the tendency of the observers to imitate the target behavior.

You hold the patent on a special beard-trimming razor, so it is to your advantage if beards are popular. How would you use modeling to increase the popularity of beards? (inferred)

Answers should indicate that students recognize the importance of modeling and model characteristics.

Why has observational learning received less attention than other forms of learning? (280)

Answers should probably point to the early failures of Thorndike and Watson.

Discuss the role of observational learning in criminal behavior. (309)

Students are likely to focus on the role of television, but other studies, including Rosekrans and Hartup, lend support.

How might a person acquire superstitious behavior through observing a model? Give an example. (inferred)

Superstitious behavior is presumably no different from other behavior as far as observational learning is concerned. If a model's superstitious behavior is repeatedly reinforced, it is likely to be imitated by an observer.

What is the "down side" of observational learning? (309)

The down side is that observational learning is an efficient way of learning undesirable things as well as desirable ones. Answers should include examples, such as the reinforcement of criminal and aggressive behavior.