Psychology I / Social Learning Theory
Practice question · Multiple choice

Bandura found children who saw a model punished imitated far less - until they were offered a reward, at which point they performed the aggressive acts accurately. Why does that second finding matter more than the first?

Hints
  1. If seeing the model punished had stopped them learning, what should have happened when a reward was offered?
  2. They performed it accurately. When did they acquire the accuracy?
Show the answer

C. Because it shows punishment prevented only the expression.

Why

The first result alone is ambiguous: less aggression is compatible with not having learned and with having learned and declined. The incentive condition separates them, offered a reward, those children reproduced the sequence accurately, which they could only have acquired while watching. What is watched is learned and stays available, waiting on circumstances.

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