Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Observational Learning01:12

Observational Learning

Albert Bandura's observational learning, also known as imitation or modeling, occurs when a person observes and imitates another's behavior. It is a quicker process than operant conditioning. A well-known example is the Bobo doll study, where children who saw an adult acting aggressively towards the doll were more likely to act aggressively when left alone, compared to those who observed a nonaggressive adult. Many psychologists view observational learning as a form of latent learning because...
Purposive Learning01:22

Purposive Learning

E. C. Tolman emphasized the purposiveness of behavior — the idea that much of our behavior is goal-directed. For instance, employees who aim for a promotion work diligently to meet their targets. Tolman argued that when classical conditioning and operant conditioning occur, the organism acquires certain expectations. In classical conditioning, a child might fear a dog because they expect it to bite. In operant conditioning, a person might consistently work overtime because they expect a bonus...
Cognitive Learning01:21

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
Operant Conditioning Intervention01:24

Operant Conditioning Intervention

Operant conditioning serves as a foundational principle in therapeutic interventions aimed at modifying maladaptive behaviors. Central to this approach is the notion that behaviors, both adaptive and maladaptive, are learned through reinforcement. By analyzing the environmental factors that reinforce problematic behaviors, clinicians can design interventions to weaken these reinforcements and replace maladaptive behaviors with healthier alternatives.
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...
Associative Learning01:27

Associative Learning

Associative learning is a fundamental concept in behavioral psychology, wherein a connection is established between two stimuli or events, leading to a learned response. This process is critical in understanding how behaviors are acquired and modified. Conditioning, the mechanism through which associations are formed, can be divided into two main types: classical conditioning and operant conditioning, each elucidating different aspects of associative learning.
Classical conditioning, also known...
Behaviorism01:28

Behaviorism

The field of behaviorism was pioneered by figures such as Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner fundamentally shifted the focus of psychology to the observable and controllable aspects of human and animal behavior. This shift marked a critical evolution in the discipline, emphasizing scientific rigor and experimental methodology.
The core premise of behaviorism is its focus on observable behavior rather than internal thoughts or feelings. This approach argues that true scientific...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A theory-driven structural equation modeling approach to the behavioral inhibition and behavioral activation systems model of chronic pain: Evaluating the mediating role of self-regulatory and volitional abilities.

Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association·2026
Same author

Author Correction: Adaptive mechanisms of social and asocial learning in immersive collective foraging.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

Adaptive mechanisms of social and asocial learning in immersive collective foraging.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

Beyond the information (not) given: Associative mechanisms versus representations of uncertainty in extinction in laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus).

Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983)·2024
Same author

Unifying Principles of Generalization: Past, Present, and Future.

Annual review of psychology·2024
Same author

Reference Values for the German Version of the Quality of Life after Brain Injury in Children and Adolescents (QOLIBRI-KID/ADO) from a General Population Sample.

Journal of personalized medicine·2024
Same journal

Mind wandering during first- and foreign-language reading.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same journal

Lexical word processing is unaffected by rapid invisible frequency tagging in reading: Evidence from eye movements.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same journal

Anxiety modulates voluntary attentional orienting to emotional gaze cues: Eye movements for pro- and anti-saccades.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same journal

Faster key-press responses to front vowels than back vowels when matching heard vowels with represented vowels.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same journal

Testing the interleaving effect without response bias: A forced-choice reevaluation of Kornell and Bjork (2008).

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same journal

The impact of social interaction on abstract concepts.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
08:05

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Published on: June 30, 2020

Inferring interventional predictions from observational learning data.

Bjorn Meder1, York Hagmayer, Michael R Waldmann

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany. bmeder@uni-goettingen.de

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|July 9, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

People can learn complex causal relationships through observation alone. However, temporal order can interfere with learning, especially when alternative causal pathways are involved.

More Related Videos

Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning
11:20

Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning

Published on: June 2, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
08:05

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Published on: June 30, 2020

Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning
11:20

Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning

Published on: June 2, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Causal Inference

Background:

  • Previous studies demonstrated observational learning from tabulated data.
  • Tabulated data may favor reasoning over genuine learning.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate observational learning from trial-by-trial data.
  • To test the robustness of causal inference against temporal order.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments using trial-by-trial observational learning.
  • A complex causal model with four events.
  • Pitting causal order against temporal order of events.

Main Results:

  • People can derive correct predictions from observational learning.
  • Complex causal models are learnable observationally.
  • Conflicting temporal information can impair causal inference.

Conclusions:

  • Observational learning is a robust capacity.
  • Temporal order can hinder causal inference, particularly with alternative pathways.