Observational learning — MRCPsych Paper A MCQ

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EasyPsychologyObservational learningMRCPsych Paper A

A 7-year-old boy begins using aggressive language after repeatedly watching an older sibling intimidate other children and receive praise for doing so. The boy himself has not been directly praised or punished for this behaviour. Which learning process best explains his behaviour?

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Correct answer: C — Observational learning

The correct answer is C, observational learning. The boy acquires and imitates behaviour by watching a model—his older sibling. Seeing the sibling praised provides vicarious reinforcement, making imitation more likely even though the boy has not been reinforced directly. Classical extinction is the weakening of a conditioned response when its conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus. Operant punishment aims to reduce behaviour through an adverse consequence or removal of a desired consequence. Fixed-ratio reinforcement requires direct reinforcement after a specified number of responses. State-dependent learning concerns improved retrieval when the internal state at recall matches that present during learning; no such state-dependent retrieval is described.

Reference: Deguchi H. Observational learning from a radical-behavioristic viewpoint. Behavioral Analysis. 1984;7(2):83–95. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22478602/