THE EFFECT OF VICARIOUS REINFORCEMENT ON IMITATION IN TWO SOCIAL-RACIAL GROUPS

Abstract

2 experiments were performed in which young boys observed a male model exhibit aggressive behavior. In the first experiment, Head Start boys who observed a model who received considerable verbal positive reinforcement imitated significantly less than subjects who observed a model who received no reinforcement. The second experiment replicated certain portions of the first experiment but with University Laboratory School boys. The results showed that subjects who observed the reinforced model imitated more, but not significantly so, than subjects who observed the nonreinforced model. The Laboratory School subjects in the positive vicarious reinforcement condition imitated significantly more than their counterparts from Head Start. These results were discussed in terms of past history of reinforcement for imitation which may be linked to racial or socioeconomic variables.

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