At first I was confused between vicarious reinforcement and vicarious punishment, but I got that confusion resolved after a deeper reading of the definitions! I found this module pretty easy to understand!
Anybody can be a model! There are just a few things that make some models better than others. They must have relevance; ie they must be performing a behavior that interests the imitator. They must also have competence. No child dreaming of being the next Einstein will use the not-so-smart student to his left as his model, because he strives to be good at something academic. Models must also have high status. It is so much easier to idolize one of the cooler kids at school than to idolize the king of the nerds. Gender appropriateness also plays into being a good model. Though subconsciously, kids find it odd when people act in any way that is not within the societally-accepted description of the characteristics of one's sex. (For example, a girl who wants to be an awesome cheerleader is not going to imitate the only girl on the wrestling team). Models can be parents, teachers, peers, celebrities, and even characters. Models support learning by simply living their lives; sometimes it is simply the fact that they do their profession well that entices imitators. Imitators learn behavior simply from watching potential models!
I have had quite a few models in my life. There was a girl in my middle school who was in all the same activities as me, and was one of my best friends, and she was the coolest! I wanted to be like her so much! I think the main reason I found her an appealing model was because she was true to herself and did what she loved, so therefore she was good at what she did and was very confident. Another girl in my high school was never afraid to state her opinion and was a really hard worker in school (something I've never been the best at: doing my homework) and so I admired her. I haven't always necessarily copied these models to a tee, but I have always strived to!
I also had some confusion with vicarious reinforcement and punishment. Like you I also just had to read it a little more. What I got out of it is that it's basically the monkey see monkey do principle. If a child or student sees another one getting away with something then they'll do it as well because they don't see the risk in doing it. The same works the opposite way. I agree that models have to be interesting to the imitator. I especially liked your comparison between the cheerleader and the girl on the wrestling team. Models are such an important role in everyone's life. Without them we wouldn't have something to strive for.
ReplyDeleteI couldnt have said it any better, I agree with what you said about the monkey see monkey principle and I feel like it wouldve been better if the book had explained it like that in the book.
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