Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Observational Learning

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Resource Availability Affects Seasonal Trajectories of Population-Level Learning.

The American naturalist·2022

Same author

Spectral sensitivities of the orchid bee Euglossa dilemma.

Journal of insect physiology·2022

Same author

Memory and the value of social information in foraging bumble bees.

Learning & behavior·2022

Same author

Bumble bees exhibit body size clines across an urban gradient despite low genetic differentiation.

Scientific reports·2022

Same author

Equivalent learning, but unequal participation: Male bumble bees learn comparably to females, but participate in cognitive assessments at lower rates.

Behavioural processes·2021

Same author

Teaching animal behavior online: A primer for the pandemic and beyond.

Ethology : formerly Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie·2020

Same journal

Correction: Quantifying nonmnemonic strategies in two-alternative forced-choice delayed matching and nonmatching-to-position tasks in mice (Mus musculus) using automated video tracking technologies.

Learning & behavior·2026

Same journal

Unconditional stimulus deflation is stimulus specific.

Learning & behavior·2026

Same journal

What is possible and what is worth: Higher levers afford more work and enhance the value of leisure.

Learning & behavior·2026

Same journal

Behavioral impact of adolescent social isolation stress: A multidimensional assessment in male NMRI mice.

Learning & behavior·2026

Same journal

Behavioral characteristics of rapid visual categorization learning in domestic chicks.

Learning & behavior·2026

Same journal

Operant conditioning through positive reinforcement in the ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata).

Learning & behavior·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 26, 2025

Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees Apis mellifera L.

Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees Apis mellifera L.

Published on: December 12, 2012

Learning in the honey bee waggle dance.

Aimee S Dunlap¹

¹Department of Biology, University of Missouri, St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA. Aimee.dunlap@umsl.edu.

Learning & Behavior

|June 22, 2023

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Honey bee waggle dances, once thought innate, are now understood to be influenced by social learning. Naïve bees can learn and adjust components of this complex communication through observation.

Keywords:

Cognitive ethology Communication Invertebrate learning Navigation Social learning

More Related Videos

Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

Published on: July 21, 2014

SwarmSight: Real-time Tracking of Insect Antenna Movements and Proboscis Extension Reflex Using a Common Preparation and Conventional Hardware

SwarmSight: Real-time Tracking of Insect Antenna Movements and Proboscis Extension Reflex Using a Common Preparation and Conventional Hardware

Published on: December 25, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 26, 2025

Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees Apis mellifera L.

Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees Apis mellifera L.

Published on: December 12, 2012

Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

Published on: July 21, 2014

SwarmSight: Real-time Tracking of Insect Antenna Movements and Proboscis Extension Reflex Using a Common Preparation and Conventional Hardware

SwarmSight: Real-time Tracking of Insect Antenna Movements and Proboscis Extension Reflex Using a Common Preparation and Conventional Hardware

Published on: December 25, 2017

Area of Science:

Animal behavior
Ethology
Insect communication

Background:

The waggle dance is a complex communication system used by honey bees to convey information about resource locations.
Traditionally, the waggle dance has been viewed as a fixed, innate behavior passed genetically between generations.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of social learning in shaping the waggle dance behavior of honey bees.
To determine if naïve bees can modify their waggle dance based on observing experienced foragers.

Main Methods:

Observational studies of honey bee colonies.
Analysis of waggle dance parameters in relation to social interactions.
Controlled experiments exposing naïve bees to experienced dancers.

Main Results:

Evidence suggests that components of the waggle dance are not entirely innate.
Naïve bees demonstrate plasticity in their waggle dance performance after social interactions.
Social learning plays a role in refining waggle dance communication in young bees.

Conclusions:

Honey bee waggle dance communication is more flexible than previously assumed.
Social learning is a key mechanism for modulating innate behaviors in honey bees.
This finding opens new avenues for understanding the evolution of complex animal communication.