A boy and girl walk on an icy driveway. The boy slips on the ice and tumbles. Ouch … The boy learns about ice the hard way through a trial-and-error learning methodology.

What about the girl? Because she watched the boy’s outcome, she doesn’t have to personally feel the pain to avoid icy danger in the future. This is a simple example of observational learning.

Observational learning is a significant component in both how humans learn to navigate the world and how professionals learn to do their job.

Observational Learning

In a nutshell: A “model” does something and we watch. Models can be anyone a person interacts with (e.g., family, friends, teachers, colleagues, mentors, etc.). Models can also be virtual, demonstrating a behavior in a medium such as video or virtual reality (VR). Observers watch and then imitate or avoid the behavior. Although the observers don’t have first-hand experience, they can remember what they saw and later replicate (or avoid) the model’s experience in a comparable situation.

This has direct implications for scenarios and storytelling in instructional design. It’s also known as “social learning,” which leads to psychologist Albert Bandura’s research, based on his Bobo Doll experiments.

Social Learning Theory

In 1977, Albert Bandura proposed a theory that people learn by watching other people’s behavior and the consequences of those actions.

People will remember and model behavior they’ve seen if:

• • They’re engaged in observation. (We see hundreds of behaviors a day, but unless something draws our attention, we don’t invest the cognitive effort to really observe.)
  • The model resonates with the observers because the model is similar to the observers, attractive to the observers or represents to observers someone with authority or status.
  • The behavior is reinforced in some way through consequences. If the model is rewarded, people are more apt to imitate the behavior. This is called “vicarious reinforcement.”
  • The type of reinforcement matches the observers’ needs or values.
  • The observers are unsure of what to do in a real-world ambiguous situation or are otherwise motivated to learn from the observation.

Bandura’s model laid out steps in the process of learning through observation.

Social Learning Theory

Implications for Training

People must pay attention: They are more likely to do that if the content is interesting and engaging, humorous or dramatic and the model resonates with the audience in some way.

Retention: A memory has to be formed. If people can attach the new content to existing knowledge, context or experiences stored in long-term memory, they are more likely to recall it later. Also, if learners can transform the modeled action into descriptive words or images, then they are more likely to remember it later.

Reproduction: This step refers to whether someone can actually replicate the behavior they saw. People must be both physically capable of performing the behavior and able to visualize themselves doing it.

Motivation: Bandura believed this was the most important factor, one which affected all the other steps in the process. People must be motivated to pay attention to the behavior, remember it and reproduce it. The factors affecting motivation include:

• • Do the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived costs?
  • Do the observers care enough to replicate the behavior?
  • Is the type of reinforcement valued by the observers?

Because observational learning can lead to the acquisition of new skills or behaviors, it leads directly to how we train.

Applying Observational Learning in Training

Employees learn through a variety of face-to-face observational learning. They work with mentors, shadow more experienced colleagues, receive on-the-job training, undertake apprenticeships, etc. One study showed that employees who modeled positive behaviors could improve workplace safety for everyone. When the number of models wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) increased, so did the number of employees who adopted the desired behavior. In turn, leaders can help drive culture change within their organizations by modeling positive behaviors, such as inclusion and integrity, for example.

eLearning can apply the principles of observational learning by modeling desired skills and behaviors in a consistent, repeatable, resource-effective way. Skills modeling in eLearning can change behavior when learners see someone modeling the desired behavior or virtually experiencing the negative consequences of undesired behaviors. If the training is interactive, then learners can play the part of a character, make the decisions for them, and watch how the consequences play out. By actively choosing what the character does next, learners can come closer to a first-hand experience.

Observational learning can be used in training effectively for:

• • Demonstrating cause and effect: Evolution has hardwired the brain to learn through a series of if/then statements, where situation + action = result. It’s the experiential way we learn most of what we know. It decreases cognitive load (so we can learn more) and uses more of the brain (so we can retain better) compared to just learning facts devoid of applied context.
  • Modeling best practices: Observation is key for learning how to effectively apply skills. Some trainees may learn best through outright imitation. An engaged audience will begin to empathize with and mimic the actions of the main characters in a well-crafted scenario.
  • Encouraging changes in behavior through stories: Paul Zak’s research has shown that observing instructional stories can trigger a release of oxytocin in audience members, making them more likely to trust the situation and the storyteller and being more open to changing their behaviors. The main characters in the story and the storyteller all become models for the audience.
  • Showing how to express inner values: When training relates to culture, a topic may be a vessel in which we express belief systems. Observational learning can help learners recognize and act on what they value. Training can remind viewers of their own values and show the results of certain behaviors — resulting in either cognitive dissonance or harmony based on how they may have previously chosen to behave.

Using Negative vs. Positive Examples in Observational Learning

One outstanding question in observational learning is how effective negative examples are (i.e., watching models make mistakes). The theory is that watching a model make mistakes allows learners to more quickly discard what doesn’t work and determine which ones will work best for them. Although intuitively that approach seems valid, the results in studies have been mixed.

For example, one study looked at how medical students learned arthroscopic techniques by watching models using a VR arthroscopy simulator. The researchers wondered if watching some models make mistakes instead of only models demonstrating success would generate better performance. The results bore out that hypothesis, perhaps because observing errors somehow helped learners internalize the specific motor performance skills that were effective.

In other examples, negative examples did not improve learning.

Takeaways for Instructional Managers and Designers

In applying observational learning theories to workforce development, consider the following:

• • Since motivation is key to every step in the process, make sure the content is engaging, relevant and applicable to the learner.
  • Study the target audience to find out what kind of model resonates with them. A resonant model will focus the learner’s attention. What makes the model resonant? Learners are more likely to imitate someone similar to them or a model they see as aspirational or authoritative.
  • Be cautious in using animated characters. Learners may not connect with animated characters used as models unless the characters have believable, realistic facial expressions, hand gestures and body language.
  • Show why mastering the new skill or behavior is important in a believable, relevant way.
  • Show positive outcomes for performing the new skill or behavior to encourage the learner to reproduce it.
  • Consider whether to use negative examples. They may be used to catch the learner’s attention or to demonstrate negative consequences but may not speed up the acquisition of new skills or behaviors.
  • Motivate learners by matching the type of reinforcement shown to the target audience’s needs and values.
  • Tie the content to a learner’s previous knowledge or experience to make it easier to retain.
  • Ask learners to evaluate what they’ve seen or to describe what they saw in words or images to help them to create and store the memory.
  • Create a relevant, welcoming environment to help learners visualize themselves actually performing the new behavior.

Observational learning is relevant and useful to those who manage, acquire or develop training today.