The term "vicarious learning" was introduced in the 1960s by Bandura, who demonstrated how learning can occur through observing the behaviour of others. Such social learning is effective without the need for the observer to experience feedback directly. More than twenty years later a series of studies on vicarious learning was undertaken…

From a review of the literature on modeling processes, observational learning, social learning theory, and vicarious concept learning by young children, the author draws guidelines for the teaching of abstractions to preschoolers. (SJL)