In chapter 7, it discusses different learning styles and different ways that we learn things. One variant of learning is observational learning. This is the form of learning in which one learns something by watching others, in many cases, children watching their parents. This is a very profound way of learning due to the fact that one does not have to learn things without reinforcement, we can just watch someone else do something and in turn learn how to do that same thing. For example, my family and I go up to our cabin quite frequently but it still requires quite a bit of upkeep. As kids we would watch our dad do all sorts of miscellaneous jobs around the cabin. We would watch him chop wood, mow the lawn, make fires, put the docks and boats in as well as many other things. It turns out that watching him paid off, as soon as were old enough we would help him and already have the basic skills mastered. It seems that for some things, observational learning can be mutually beneficial and quite effective for everyone. The fact that children absorb information at a much higher rate than adults could be a factor but it is also quite interesting that one can learn different skills merely by watching their parents do it.
Like Father, Like Son
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This is a very interesting claim and I am intrigued. Has it been proved that children absorb information at a much higher rate than adults though? I believe that we are all able to absorb different information at different times, and even more so in adults. I have many siblings all of whom have displayed such skills and others not so much. Do you think that reinforcement should completely be ignored?
This could be stronlgy related to some of our learning in previous chapters. Does this possibly have to do with some development in the children's brain? Such as the plasticity of a child's brain allows them to learn their parents ways of doing things? Also, could this possibly go back to the famous nature-nurture debate? There must be a strong relationship between the our parents nurturing and observing them as a way of learning. I would think it's a mixture of how we interact with our environment and our observing of our parents that helps us adapt and learn things from them.
I have to agree, this post really is something that is intriguing to me. I totally agree with the fact that children absorb information at much higher rates than adults. This can simply and directly be seen by merely observing children as they grow up. I think this is largely due to the fact that their brains are still in the "developmental" phase, per say, so naturally, they will absorb whatever they see. Adults, on the other hand, finally gain a mind of their own and therefore, are less likely to "budge" and pick up on things. I think the claim that you made in this post can also be connected with the long-standing debate on "nature vs. nurture." Though I strongly agree that children, over the years, reflect what their parents due, there have been some cases where children seem not to do this and are completely different from their parents, which confuses me. For all I know, this could be due to genetics.
As I read this article I too immediately thought of the nature vs. nurture debate. Your blog clearly takes the side of nurture over nature. However if children do in fact quickly learn skills through observational learning alone, why do children of drug addicts not always become dependent on drugs, or children with fathers who love sports, hate sports and instead find enjoyment through art. I do agree that to some extent learning is observational, however I believe we choose what we want to observe, and that genetics does play a major factor in the creation of an individual.
Great title!! It attracted me to read your entry. In my opinion, Observational learning really make sense, it’s a learning style that didn’t require reinforcement. We can merely watch someone else being reinforced for doing something and take our cues from them. And that is why our action, behavior, even personality are like our parents, because we spend most of the time with them when we are young, and learn from them, watch their behavior and then mimic these behaviors.But this is not always true.In addition, Observational learning give us a ability to live our lives. As children acquire a great deal of their behavior by observational learning of adults, especially their parents, I think one possibility is that children have a lot to learn when compared with adult, just like the adaptation.
Great title!! It attracted me to read your entry. In my opinion, Observational learning really make sense, it’s a learning style that didn’t require reinforcement. We can merely watch someone else being reinforced for doing something and take our cues from them. And that is why our action, behavior, even personality are like our parents, because we spend most of the time with them when we are young, and learn from them, watch their behavior and then mimic these behaviors.But this is not always true.In addition, Observational learning give us a ability to live our lives. As children acquire a great deal of their behavior by observational learning of adults, especially their parents, I think one possibility is that children have a lot to learn when compared with adult, just like the adaptation.