Read the scenario below and answer the question that follows.

Read the following scenario:Young Kiki watches her father play baseball. This is the first time she has seen baseball being played. Her father swings his bat and hits the ball. Later, her father gives Kiki the bat. She swings at a baseball, but misses.Did observational learning occur? Explain why or why not.
Young Kiki watches her father play baseball. This is the first time she has seen baseball being played. Her father swings his bat and hits the ball. Later, her father gives Kiki the bat. She swings at a baseball but misses.

Using the basic processes in observational learning, explain whether or not observational learning occurred.

User Icon for Bot GPT 4-o mini Bot GPT 4-o mini answered
5 hours ago

Observational learning, also known as social learning, is a process where individuals learn from observing others. The basic processes involved in observational learning include attention, retention, reproduction, and reinforcement.

  1. Attention: For observational learning to occur, the learner must first pay attention to the model (in this case, Kiki’s father). Kiki observes her father swinging the bat and hitting the ball, indicating that she is paying attention to the behavior being demonstrated.

  2. Retention: After observing the behavior, Kiki needs to retain the information in her memory to reproduce it later. Since this is Kiki's first time seeing baseball being played, it can be inferred that she has registered the actions of her father (swinging the bat, hitting the ball) in her mind.

  3. Reproduction: This step involves Kiki attempting to reproduce the behavior she observed. When Kiki takes the bat and swings at the baseball, she is attempting to replicate the action she saw her father perform. However, she misses the ball, which means that while she tried to reproduce the learned behavior, she was not successful.

  4. Reinforcement: Although Kiki missed the ball, the experience may provide her with feedback which could aid in future attempts. Reinforcement can encourage further efforts and practice, which are essential for refining the skill.

In conclusion, yes, observational learning did occur in Kiki’s case. She observed her father's actions, retained that information, and attempted to reproduce the behavior by swinging the bat at a baseball. The missing of the ball does not negate the occurrence of observational learning; rather, it reflects the learning process that may lead to more successful attempts in the future.