Preschool children interacted with an adult model who was either low or highly rewarding to the child. Later the model displayed either a high or low degree of positive affect as he played with a nonpreferred toy. The model's affect influenced both the children's ratings of and imitative play with the toy. (Author/RD)

The purpose of this paper is to review some of the current research in "modeling" or "imitation" learning that supports basic elements of social learning theory, its effects on overt behavior, and its relationship to subjects' self-evaluations. An attempt is made to point out the theoretical discrepancies that exist between social learning, social…