Observational Learning of a Bar-Press by Rats

In two experiments, the effects of presenting a conspecific on the simultaneous and subsequent acquisition of an operant were investigated. Experiment 1 indicated that albino rats which had a conspecific merely present in a nearby chamber did not learn as quickly as did those which were alone or those which observed a trained model displaying the operant. Experiment 2 indicated that subsequent to observing a model displaying the operant, Long-Evans rats learned more quickly than either the alone or mere-presence control. The findings suggest that the presence of a conspecific may serve both interfering and perceptual/cognitive functions during observational learning.