When a teacher compliments two students for attractive illustrations in their…
2016
When a teacher compliments two students for attractive illustrations in their arithmetic notebook, other students turn in illustrated arithmetic notebooks. This is an example of:
- A.
Direct reinforcement
- B.
Self reinforcement
- C.
Vicarious reinforcement
- D.
Reciprocal causality
Attempted by 12 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Vicarious reinforcement occurs when individuals observe someone else being rewarded for a behavior and then imitate that behavior to obtain similar rewards.
In this case, other students observe the teacher praising two students for their neat illustrations. As a result, they also start illustrating their notebooks — not because they were directly rewarded, but because they witnessed others being rewarded.
Hence, this situation exemplifies vicarious reinforcement, a concept from Bandura’s Social Learning Theory.