steve's primer of practical persuasion version 2.0
Modeling Theory: Monkey See, Monkey Do
Here's an interesting study that was done many years ago to make a point. I'll set it up, then you guess what happened.
A teacher made a special video to show her class of third graders. The video was shot in a school playroom with lots of toys that 5 year olds really like. One of the toys was an inflated Bobo doll that stood about as tall as a first grader. Near Mr. Bobo was a large plastic baseball bat.
What the teacher did is this. She filmed one little boy in the playroom having fun with Mr. Bobo. She specifically instructed the little boy to pick up the large plastic bat and to knock the beejeebers out of Mr. Bobo. And, being a good little boy, the kid whacked Mr. Bobo like it was two out in the bottom of the ninth with the home team trailing by one. Whack, wham, and bash.
Now, here's the interesting part of the study. The teacher took this video and brought it to another first grade class one day. Just before the children went to their playroom for a little recreation, the teacher played the video for them. It showed many kids playing the playroom, but it also featured our home run hitter knocking Mr. Bobo into orbit.
Okay, class, the $64,000 question. What happened when this audience of first grade kids went to the playroom after watching the video?
Of course. They went hunting for Mr. Bobo and the Louisville slugger. And when they found them, well, it wasn't a pretty sight.
This study seems so obvious that one wonders why it was ever done. Of course those kids observed the videotape, then when they got the chance, they applied what they had seen. Every parent knows all about monkey see, monkey do. So what's the big deal with Modeling Theory?
Three points. First, it is surprising that people can be influenced so easily. Just by watching what other people do, we can acquire new ideas and behaviors. Second, modeling seems to be a dominant way that people get new behaviors. Whenever we are in a new situation, we almost always look around to see what others are doing. Third, the whole process requires very little thinking on the part of the observer. Indeed, modeling is faster is you simply copy the model rather than try to figure out everything that is going on.
Process Of The Theory
Modeling Theory operates in three simple steps. Here they are in overview.
1. You observe a model.
2. You imitate the model's actions.
3. You get a consequence.
The marvel of this theory is that people are influenced simply as a result of observing other people (monkey see, monkey do). From the observation of others, we learn what to do, what not to do, when to do it, and what to expect when we do it. Very simple, very direct, and very easy.
After we observe the model, we then imitate. That is, when we get in a similar situation that we had observed earlier, we now produce the same behaviors we saw the model produce. We observe someone put a plastic card in a machine, press some buttons, then get money. So, we walk over to the machine, look for a place to put our card, look for some directions about those buttons, press a few, and viola, money.
Now, our imitation should lead to the desired consequence. We saw the model get the money, right? If our imitation produces money for us, too, we got the desired consequence and now we have truly been influenced. (I watch you do it, and when I do it, I get what I want.) If our imitation fails, then we will drop the model.
An Interesting Historical Footnote
The catch phrase, “Monkey See, Monkey Do” has more than a common sense basis. Just before the start of World War I (the real old one, 1914-1918), a German graduate student named Wolfgang Kohler was on Canary Island conducting learning experiments with a colony of chimps. The island was a British possession, so when the War started, Mr. Kohler became a guest of the British government on the island. (And to hear some graduate students complain nowadays about their research assignments?!?)
Kohler made the best of the internment period and conducted some of the best animal learning research ever done. Kohler was primarily interested in testing cognitive function in apes, particularly “insight learning.” While all of that work made Kohler’s research important, some of his tests tangentially demonstrated the monkey, see; monkey, do effect.
See, Kohler arranged an experimental cage with several different objects. He would hang bananas high in the cage so that they were inaccessible to chimps. The chimps would holler and jump for the bananas without success, but some of the chimps looked around the cage, saw the various objects, and figured out how to build a scaffold they could climb to reach the bananas. Kohler had film on this that clearly showed various chimps having that “AH-HA!” experience of insight learning where they stood there stupidly surveying the scene, then “getting it” and putting together the various objects.
Now, what’s insight learning go to do with modeling? Nothing. The experiment, however, does have a lot to do with modeling. Other chimps would observe the chimp in the cage, see the failure, and then see the solution. When these chimps got in the cage, bang-zoom, they got to the solution a lot faster, arguably due to modeling effects.
Real World Applications
Among the many uses of modeling, I want you to consider three very practical implications.
1. You have to know what is being modeled.
Do you remember Mrs. Reinforcer and her student, Bad Bill? Bad Bill broke a Rule and Mrs. Reinforcer used punishment to influence Bill's behavior. (Except Bad Bill really wanted the punishment to escape the classroom and so he kept doing the bad thing, which confused Mrs. Reinforcer.) Something else was also going on in Mrs. Reinforcer's classroom. Every other kid was watching the event and because of the principles of modeling, every kid was being influenced. Each one of them learned, simply through observation, several important lessons.
Many students learned that bad kids do get punished. That's good. When you enforce a Rule, everybody in the room, not just the target, is influenced because of modeling. But bad things are learned, too. Some of the kids learned that if they act like Bad Bill they can escape Mrs. Reinforcer's room. Others learned (by seeing what happened before Bill got thrown out) all the things they can do and still not get in trouble. Finally, some learned how to pull Mrs. Reinforcer's chain. Think about that the next time you provide a consequence of punishment to one person in front a group of peers. They may be learning something quite different than you think.
The point of this example is direct. When things happen, people may be modeling.
2. Use modeling to change behavior.
Modeling Theory is designed primarily to explain behavioral influence. It is less useful in creating or understanding changes in thinking or feeling. Therefore, whenever you want to influence behaviors, consider modeling. For other types of changes, use other persuasion tools.
3. Show modeling. (Don't tell.)
As noted at point 2, Modeling Theory works well at influencing behavior. The best way to implement modeling is to do it rather than to say it. Here's a really good example.
Organization rules are extremely important and many of the rules deal with behavior (i.e. asking permission, leaving the room as a group, unacceptable actions). Rather than write out these rules and only discuss them verbally, Modeling Theory would suggest we could be more effective. Show the behaviors!
A good idea would be to take the first few days of class and at various times, model each of the rules. You might have your students play-act certain situations so that everybody sees exactly what you mean.
Teachers who work with preschool and elementary grades often use these tactics, but as the kids get older, it seems that their teachers stop using modeling. This is a mistake. Even when you are working with adults, modeling is an effective strategy.
Now, obviously if you're not in this teacher-student situation, you need to modify your application to fit the people you actually work with. But, this trip down memory lane in grade school should make the principles of modeling stand out in sharp relief.
References And Recommended Readings
Bandura, A. (1962). Social learning through imitation. In M. Jones (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation (pp. 211-269). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Kohler, W. (1925). The mentality of apes. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace.
