Examines the relationship between suicide-related newspaper reports and a subway-suicide epidemic. More reports were published during the epidemic, without statistically significant differences between epidemic and nonepidemic years. There did not appear to be an excess of reports antecedent to the suicide. (Author/BL)

Can observational learning be effector dependent? In 3 experiments, observers watched a model respond to a 6-item unique sequence in a serial reaction time task. Their sequence knowledge was then compared with that of controls who had performed an unrelated task or observed a model responding to random targets. Observational learning was indicated…

This study was designed to determine whether observed reward serves as a cue for matching. A total of 32 high- and low-dependent children observed a model perform a discrimination task and then played with the displayed materials. The results suggest that observed reward served as a cue for matching, facilitating selective attention in the…

Examined the effect of different symbolic coding stimuli on reproduction and generalization of modeled events in business students (N=80). Results indicated that presentation of learning points plays an important role in observational learning. (LLL)

To study infant imitation of actions modeled by the mother and by an unfamiliar female, 36 infants ages 12, 17, and 22 months were observed. Imitation was found to vary with the type of action modeled and to increase with the age of the child. (BJD)

Many practitioners and theorists appear convinced that the role of mimetic practice in art is both antiquated and unhelpful for student artistic development. The suggestion is that our contemporary world and its demands call for a different kind of receptivity to art making. In reevaluating aspects of mimetic practice in art, this article examines…

In order to facilitate senior primary school students in Hong Kong to engage in learning by observation of the phenomena related to electrical circuits, a design of a specific courseware system, of which the interactive human-machine interface was created with the use of an open-source software called the LabVNC, for conducting online…

This paper reports on a study of 22 preservice teachers enrolled in a first-semester mathematics teaching methods course. Course activities included participation in two separate field experiences in neighboring school districts. The methods class placed considerable emphasis on the use of advanced digital technologies in the teaching and learning…

Although commonly cited as explanations for patterns of sibling similarity and difference, observational learning and sibling deidentification processes have rarely been examined directly. Using a person-oriented approach, we identified patterns in adolescents' perceptions of sibling influences and connected these patterns to sibling similarities…

Imitation of people on educational television is a potential way for very young children to learn new skills. Although toddlers in previous studies exhibited a "video deficit" in learning, 24-month-olds in Study 1 successfully reproduced behaviors modeled by a person who was on video as well as they did those modeled by a person who was present in…

In this study, the authors compared four multimedia learning arrangements differing in instructional approach on effectiveness and efficiency for learning: (a) hypermedia learning, (b) observational learning, (c) self-explanation-based learning, and (d) inquiry learning. The approaches all advocate learners' active attitude toward the learning…

This paper tested the deep-level reasoning questions effect in the domains of computer literacy between eighth and tenth graders and Newtonian physics for ninth and eleventh graders. This effect claims that learning is facilitated when the materials are organized around questions that invite deep-reasoning. The literature indicates that vicarious…

This study investigated whether warm or neutral interactions with female models would enhance or reduce the subsequent attention level of 4- and 8-year-old girls. Data indicate that a warm, nurturant model draws more attention from a child at both age levels than a neutral, uninterested one does. (GO)

This study of the function of reinforcement in imitation training indicates that reinforcement is involved in imitative learning as well as performance. (DP)

Seventy second-grade children who had succeeded on pretests involving liquid conservation observed a nonconserving model and were subsequently retested. Regression to nonconservation was obtained only among some of the children who had been submitted to maximal pressure in the presence of an adult model. (Author/JMB)