Modeled events and observers’ traits underlying observational learning of altruistic behavior

Abstract

The present experiments investigated the changes of altruistic responses through observational learning (OL) in elementary school children (ages 10 and 11) with relation to the characteristics of the modeled events and the observers’ traits. The former included certain categories of observed materials and the methods of presentation. The latter included subject’s impression, empathy for, and evaluation of these materials. The OL was the symbolic modeling of altruistic behavior by presentation of pictures with narration. The response measures were the rating of pre- and post-questionnaires on the altruistic stories. The main result of Experiment I showed that subjects responded selectively to each pretest questionnaire, and that the observational learning was most effective on the similar kind of behavior type. The generalization of OL to other items of categories was also observed. In Experiment II, the combined effect of a pair of observed materials (positive or negative altruistic content) was examined. The effect of OL was highest when the material presented was a P-N pair, lowest when it was a N-N pair. The observers’ traits in empathy, impression, and evaluation on observed materials were positively correlated to the effect of OL. © 1987, The Japanese Psychological Association. All rights reserved.