Glossary
Cognitive maps
Mental representations of one's physical environment, allowing for navigation and understanding of spatial relationships.
Example:
Even without a GPS, you can navigate your neighborhood because you have a detailed cognitive map of its streets, landmarks, and shortcuts stored in your mind.
Cognitive restructuring
The mental process of reinterpreting or reorganizing one's understanding of a problem or situation to find a new solution.
Example:
When trying to fix a broken toy, you might initially try brute force, but then through cognitive restructuring, you realize you need to approach it with a delicate touch and specific tools.
Identification
The psychological process where an observer feels a strong connection or similarity to a model, increasing the likelihood of imitating their behavior.
Example:
A high school student starts dressing like their favorite pop star because they feel a strong identification with their style and public persona.
Insight learning
A sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem, occurring without overt trial-and-error behavior.
Example:
After struggling with a complex math problem for hours, you suddenly have an 'aha!' moment and see the solution clearly, which is an example of insight learning.
Latent learning
Learning that occurs without immediate reinforcement or obvious behavioral manifestation, only becoming apparent when there is an incentive to demonstrate it.
Example:
You've driven past a new coffee shop every day for months without stopping, but when a friend asks for a recommendation, you realize you know exactly where it is and how to get there, demonstrating latent learning.
Model characteristics
Attributes of an individual that make them more likely to be imitated by an observer, such as similarity, competence, power, or prestige.
Example:
A young athlete is more likely to emulate the training habits of a competent and prestigious Olympic gold medalist than a novice.
Observational learning
Learning new behaviors or information by watching others, without direct personal experience of consequences.
Example:
A student learns a complex new dance move by carefully watching a tutorial video and then imitating the steps.
Punishment (Vicarious)
The process where observing someone else receive a negative consequence for a behavior decreases the likelihood of the observer performing that same behavior.
Example:
A teenager avoids speeding after witnessing their friend get a hefty ticket for driving too fast, learning through vicarious punishment.
Reinforcement (Vicarious)
The process where observing someone else receive a reward for a behavior increases the likelihood of the observer performing that same behavior.
Example:
After seeing a classmate get extra credit for asking insightful questions, a student starts asking more questions in class, hoping for similar reinforcement.
Vicarious conditioning
Learning to associate a behavior with its consequences by observing someone else experience reinforcement or punishment for that behavior.
Example:
A child decides not to touch a hot stove after seeing their older sibling cry out in pain from burning their finger on it, demonstrating vicarious conditioning.