3.9 Social, Cognitive, and Neurological Factors in Learning

Explain how social learning applies to behavior and mental processes.

• Social learning theory proposes that learning can occur by observation and does not have to involve personal experience with a consequence (vicarious conditioning). Learning can occur by copying the behavior of models. The more similar a model is, the more likely the behavior is to be learned.

Explain how cognitive factors in learning apply to behavior and mental processes.

• Insight learning occurs when the solution to a problem occurs without any association, consequence, or model being present.
• Latent learning occurs when information is learned without reinforcement but is not immediately evident. Latent learning is often demonstrated by cognitive maps.