What is observational learning and who proposed it?

• A. Observational learning is learning by performing trials and errors; proposed by B.F. Skinner.
• B. Observational learning is learning by observing others and imitating behavior; proposed by Albert Bandura.
• C. Observational learning is innate reflex; proposed by William James.
• D. Observational learning is learning by reinforcement of self; proposed by Ivan Pavlov.

Answer: (B)

Observational learning is learning by watching others and then imitating what they do. It shows that you can acquire new behaviors without directly experiencing rewards or punishments yourself—modeling someone you observe can lead you to reproduce the observed actions. Albert Bandura proposed this idea as part of Social Learning Theory, emphasizing that people learn through attention, memory, and motivation to imitate, often by watching a model rather than through trial-and-error alone. His famous Bobo doll studies demonstrated that children imitate aggressive behavior after seeing an adult model, even without direct reinforcement. Factors like how similar or competent the model appears and whether the modeled behavior is rewarded influence how likely imitation is.