Learning: Understanding Acquired Behavior 81
Skinner notes that discriminative stimuli control human behavior, too. A fac-
tory whistle communicating to workers that it’s time for lunch, a bell’s ring for a
prizefighter, a school bell’s ring for a child, and a traffic light for a driver are all
discriminative stimuli. Stimuli can be more subtle than these examples. A lover’s
facial expression or tone of voice may communicate a readiness or lack of readi-
ness to respond to amorous advances.
Skinner asserts that in real life both discriminative stimuli and reinforcers auto-
matically control much of our behavior.
A stimulus that allows the organism to tell the difference between a situation that is poten-
tially reinforcing and one that is not is called a.
Answer: discriminative stimulus.
Consciousness and Learning: What It Means to Have
an Insight
Although classical and operant conditioning play a large part in both animal and
human learning, it is generally recognized by behavioral scientists that these two
related processes give an insufficient account of the learning process, particularly
in human beings. Consequently, it is important to identify at least four additional
aspects of learning. These are (1) observational learning, (2) latent learning, (3)
insight learning, and (4) learning to learn.
Observational learningtakes place when an individual acquires behavior
by watching the behavior of a second individual. Albert Bandura, a principal
researcher associated with observational learning, identified important features
of this particular process. The second individual is a model,and either inten-
tionally or unintentionally demonstrates behavior. If the observer identifies with
the model and gains imaginary satisfaction from the model’s behavior, then
this is vicarious reinforcement. Vicarious reinforcementis characterized by
imagined gratification. Psychologically, it acts as a substitute for the real thing.
Let’s say that Jonathan admires a particular tennis star. When the star wins an
important tournament, Jonathan is ecstatic. This emotional state is a vicarious
reinforcer.
It should be noted that the concept of watching a model is very general. Read-
ing a mystery novel and identifying with the detective is a kind of observational
behavior. The thrills associated with the hero’s adventures are vicarious thrills.
(a) What kind of learning takes place when an individual acquires behavior by watching the
behavior of a second individual?
(b) A either intentionally or unintentionally demonstrates behavior.
