Effects Of Observational Learning Research Articles

Bellwether and the herd? Unpacking the u-shaped relationship between prior funding and subsequent contributions in reward-based crowdfunding

Building on the insights from observational learning and other social influence research, this study challenges the existing literature that proposes a linear relationship between prior funding and subsequent contributions in the crowdfunding setting. Instead, we propose a U-shaped relationship, illustrating a negative relationship between prior funding and subsequent contributions when funding amounts are small and this relationship becomes positive when prior funding amounts are large. Consistent with the rational herding perspective, we assume that individuals do not mindlessly mimic one others' behaviors, but incorporate quality signals into their decision-making. Signals indicating a high quality project such as video quality, as well as the preparedness and passion of the entrepreneur enhance this U-shaped relationship whereas indicators of situational urgency weaken this relationship. Based on a sample of 11,019 daily observations of 333 Kickstarter projects, we find general support for our hypotheses. Our post hoc experiment further supports the mechanisms underlying the U-shaped relationship. This paper extends our understanding of the relationship between past actions and subsequent behavior, and contributes to the literatures of observational learning, crowdfunding, and visual information. Executive summaryWe challenge the extant literature that has proposed, but inconsistently documented, a positive effect of prior funding on subsequent crowdfunding contributions. We argue that such inconsistency is due to the lack of integration of insights from other social influence research, such as observational learning, threshold models, and bystander effects. This research has been limited when postulating that crowdfunding backers simply imitate others' actions in order to mitigate uncertainty producing a linear effect, yet such an effect depends on the intensity of others' actions and may be curvilinear. This research overlooks the fact that backers do not merely passively imitate others' behaviors, but incorporate quality signals sent by entrepreneurs to make such decisions. Thus, it is important to account for potential moderators that may influence the complex relationship between prior funding and subsequent contributions.Based on observational learning research and related models, accrued prior funding may be perceived differently by potential backers: individuals may view accrued funding as a sign of a decreased funding need on the part of a campaign's creators, because others are already backing the campaign or, alternatively, they may see it as a cue of high product quality. These conflicting effects may lead to a U-shaped relationship between prior funding and subsequent contributions at a collective level. At low funding levels, prior funding may be negatively associated with subsequent contributions because such levels indicate there is already support, but that the campaign may not be of high quality. At medium levels, prior funding may have no effect on contributions, aside from halfhearted interest of other backers. At high levels, prior funding may be positively related to subsequent contributions as this sends a robust cue of project quality and convinces prospective donors to contribute. Further, we derive a U-shaped relationship which may be moderated by visual media-based quality signals and situational urgency.To test these hypotheses, we conducted two studies. One was a field study of 333 Kickstarter projects, with 11,019 daily observations of crowdfunding activities from mid-February 2013 through mid-April 2013. We used the Kicktraq website to track Kickstarter projects and recruited 390 participants via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to evaluate the video pitches on Kickstarter. Our results suggest a negative relationship between prior funding and subsequent contributions when funding amounts are small. This relationship becomes positive when prior funding amounts are large. Thus, we find a U-shaped relationship between prior funding and subsequent contributions, with an inflection point when prior funding amounts reach between 72% and 80% of the funding goal. This is strengthened in the presence of visual media-based quality signals, such as video quality, as well as the preparedness and passion of the entrepreneur. However, indicators of situational urgency may weaken this U-shaped relationship.We followed up with a post hoc experiment to document the two mechanisms by which prior funding influence subsequent contributions. We found that increases in the prior funding amount increased perceived product quality but decreased perceived urgency. These perceptions were found to jointly influence participants' proposed pledged amounts, supporting an explanation of a complex relationship between prior funding and subsequent contributions.This study is among the first to offer a more complete picture of the relationship between past actions and subsequent behavior under market and institutional constraints (i.e., when market actors observe the censored behaviors of other actors on crowdfunding platforms) and contributes to the literatures of observational learning, crowdfunding, and visual information.

The Effect of Observational Learning on Self-Efficacy According to Sport Competition Status and Performance Level: Focusing on Social Cognitive Theory

The Effect of Observational Learning on Self-Efficacy According to Sport Competition Status and Performance Level: Focusing on Social Cognitive Theory

스포츠 경쟁상황과 수행력 수준에 따라 관찰학습이 자기효능감에 미치는 영향: 사회인지이론을 중심으로

스포츠 경쟁상황과 수행력 수준에 따라 관찰학습이 자기효능감에 미치는 영향: 사회인지이론을 중심으로

Action observation for sensorimotor learning in surgery.

Acquiring new motor skills to learn complex movements and master the use of a diverse range of instruments is fundamental for developing expertise in surgery. Although aspects of skill development occur through trial and error, watching the performance of another individual (action observation) is an increasingly important adjunct for the acquisition of these complex skills before performing a procedure. The aim of this review was to examine the evidence in support of the use of action observation in surgery. A narrative review of observational learning for surgical motor skills was undertaken. Searches of PubMed and PsycINFO databases were performed using the terms 'observational learning' OR 'action observation' AND 'motor learning' OR 'skill learning'. Factors such as the structure of physical practice, the skill level of the demonstrator and the use of feedback were all found to be important moderators of the effectiveness of observational learning. In particular, observation of both expert and novice performance, cueing attention to key features of the task, and watching the eye movements of expert surgeons were all found to enhance the effectiveness of observation. It was unclear, however, whether repeated observations were beneficial for skill learning. The evidence suggests that these methods can be employed to enhance surgical training curricula. Observational learning is an effective method for learning surgical skills. An improved understanding of observational learning may further inform the refinement and use of these methods in contemporary surgical training curricula.

시각적 단서를 제공한 관찰학습이 골프 퍼팅 학습에 미치는 영향

[목적] 본 연구의 목적은 관찰학습 시 시각적 단서의 제공 방식에 따른 운동학습의 효율성을 분석함으로써 시각 적 단서를 활용한 관찰학습이 골프 퍼팅 학습의 효율성에 어떠한 영향을 주는지를 평가하고자 하였다. [방법] 40 명의 초보 골퍼가 이 실험에 참여하였으며, 무작위로 각 집단에 배정되었다. 3 m 거리에서 모든 피험자는 사전검 사, 실험중재, 사후검사, 그리고 지연된 사후검사를 수행하였다. 각 측정시점에서 퍼팅수행의 동작 점수, 반경오 차, 가변오차, 그리고 SamPutt 운동학적 매개변수를 측정하였다. [결과] 시각적 단서를 강조한 동작 요소 단서 집 단의 경우 퍼팅의 동작 점수(수행총점)는 사전에 비해 사후와 지연된 사후에서 증가하였다. 반경오차와 가변오차 에 대한 분석에서도 동작 요소 단서 집단은 사전에 비해 사후와 지연된 사후에서 오차 값이 감소하였다. 이와 함 께 퍼팅 매개변수 역시 동작 요소 단서 집단은 다른 집단에 비해 효율적이었다. [결론] 이러한 결과는 시각적 단 서가 제공된 관찰학습이 골프 퍼팅의 학습에 효율적인 전략이 될 수 있음을 시사한다.

Determining the Effectiveness of Behavior Skills Training and Observational Learning on Classroom Behaviors: A Case Study

Determining the Effectiveness of Behavior Skills Training and Observational Learning on Classroom Behaviors: A Case Study

The Application of Observational Practice and Educational Networking in Simulation-Based and Distributed Medical Education Contexts.

Research has revealed that individuals can improve technical skill performance by viewing demonstrations modeled by either expert or novice performers. These findings support the development of video-based observational practice communities that augment simulation-based skill education and connect geographically distributed learners. This study explores the experimental replicability of the observational learning effect when demonstrations are sampled from a community of distributed learners and serves as a context for understanding learner experiences within this type of training protocol. Participants from 3 distributed medical campuses engaged in a simulation-based learning study of the elliptical excision in which they completed a video-recorded performance before being assigned to 1 of 3 groups for a 2-week observational practice intervention. One group observed expert demonstrations, another observed novice demonstrations, and the third observed a combination of both. Participants returned for posttesting immediately and 1 month after the intervention. Participants also engaged in interviews regarding their perceptions of the usability and relevance of video-based observational practice to clinical education. Checklist (P < 0.0001) and global rating (P < 0.0001) measures indicate that participants, regardless of group assignment, improved after the intervention and after a 1-month retention period. Analyses revealed no significant differences between groups. Qualitative analyses indicate that participants perceived the observational practice platform to be usable, relevant, and potentially improved with enhanced feedback delivery. Video-based observational practice involving expert and/or novice demonstrations enhances simulation-based skill learning in a group of geographically distributed trainees. These findings support the use of Internet-mediated observational learning communities in distributed and simulation-based medical education contexts.

Writing intervention in university students with normal hearing and in those with hearing impairment: can observational learning improve argumentative text writing?

Observational learning has shown to be a successful intervention for writing. Until now, however, studies have only been performed with normal-hearing participants, usually high school or university students. Additionally, there have been conflicting results in whether subjective text quality correlates with one or more objectively measured text characteristics. In this study, we measured the effect of observational learning in a group of four university students with hearing impairment, and compared the results with those of a group of 10 students with normal hearing who did the same intervention, and those of a control group consisting of 10 students with normal hearing who did not do the intervention. Subjective text quality ratings and nine objectively measured text characteristics were collected for three argumentative texts written by each of the participants. In between writing these three texts, the participants in the experimental groups watched a video of a model writer who read out loud and corrected a similar kind of text. The statistical analysis showed significant correlations between the subjective ratings and four out of the nine objective measures, but no significant intervention effect. These findings suggest that observation-learning intervention is most effective when the model writer is a peer learner, and when the intervention is stretched out over time. Additionally, the method may be better suited for learners younger than the ones who were included in the present study.

Observational learning of a spatial discrimination task by rats: learning from the mistakes of others?

Learning by observing others has been acknowledged as a powerful learning strategy. Whereas in several species observation of fear conditioning or other operational procedures can improve subsequent performance during actual learning, much less attention has been paid to observational learning of spatial discrimination tasks. To this end, we developed a set of procedures in which the spatial memory of adult rats, Rattus norvegicus, was tested in an eight-arm radial maze. Moreover, in view of controversial information concerning the incidence of mistakes made by demonstrators on the effectiveness of observational learning, our observer rats watched experienced or nontrained demonstrators. Food-deprived observers and demonstrators were initially habituated to the maze with all arms baited. Then observers were placed in a mesh cage positioned above the maze while a demonstrator rat was locating the spatial position of three baited arms. Rats observing conspecifics progressively learning the spatial discrimination improved subsequent performance compared to a control group watching an empty maze, but only if the configuration of baited arms presented during demonstration and testing matched. Therefore, rats integrated relevant spatial information during observation and used it efficiently when their spatial discrimination was tested in the maze. However, when the information was provided by trained demonstrators, making no mistakes and visiting only baited arms, observer rats failed to exhibit improved performance. Nevertheless, when given an initial habituation without food rewards, rats were subsequently able to benefit from observation of trained demonstrators thus showing that watching mistakes was not necessary for successful observational learning. Together, these findings indicate that rats can acquire spatial information via observation enabling more pertinent search strategies during testing and that for observation to be beneficial, what is observed must be sufficiently relevant or novel to complement existing knowledge (here initial habituation with or without rewards).

Learning from Your Friends’ Check-Ins: An Empirical Study of Location-Based Social Networks

Recently, mobile applications have offered users the option to share their location information with friends. Using data from a major location-based social networking application in China, we estimate an empirical model of restaurant discovery and observational learning. The unique feature of repeat customer visits in the data allows us to examine observational learning in trials and repeats and to separate it from non-informational confounding mechanisms, such as homophily, using a novel test based on the empirical model. The empirical evidence supports a strong observational learning effect. We also find that the moderating role of the geographical locations of users and their friends on the magnitude of observational learning is critical. These findings suggest a nuanced view for local merchants to boost observational learning with the advancement of location-based technology. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2017.0769 .

Product Engagement and Identity Signaling: The Role of Likes in Social Commerce for Fashion Products

User engagement with products in the forms of clicks and likes is a key success factor for social commerce websites. Motivated by a lack of understanding on user engagement with identity-relevant products, we examine how it evolves as a function of existing likes at a fashion-focused social commerce website. We distinguish two mechanisms by which existing likes may affect users’ subsequent engagement: observational learning (OL) by observing aggregate likes, and social influence (SI) by learning latest likes by people they follow. Using a unique panel data set of 930 handbags, we find that, contrary to most OL studies, but consistent with the identity signal theory, users avoid liking a handbag when it has already received many likes, but this negative OL effect is mitigated by SI (i.e., when users learn that people they follow like the handbag). The opposite happens for private engagement behaviors that do not signal identity: users click a handbag (to find product details) more when it has already received many likes, and this positive OL effect is attenuated by SI. Our findings contribute to the literature of OL, SI, and identity signaling, and hold important implications for research and practice on product engagement.

Observational Learning During Simulation-Based Training in Arthroscopy: Is It Useful to Novices?

Observing experts constitutes an important and common learning experience for surgical residents before operating under direct guidance. However, studies suggest that exclusively observing experts may induce suboptimal motor learning, and watching errors from non-experts performing simple motor tasks may generate better performance. We investigated whether observational learning is transferrable to arthroscopy learning using virtual reality (VR) simulation. In our surgical simulation laboratory, we compared students learning basic skills on a VR arthroscopy simulator after watching an expert video demonstration of VR arthroscopy tasks or a non-expert video demonstration of the same tasks to a Control group without video demonstration. Ninety students in 3 observing groups (expert, non-expert, and Control) subsequently completed the same procedure on a VR arthroscopy simulator. We hypothesized the non-expert-watching group would outperform the expert-watching group, and both groups to outperform the Control group. We examined performance pretest, posttest, and 1 week later. Participants were recruited from the final year of medical school and the very early first year of surgical residency training programs (orthopaedic surgery, urology, plastic surgery, and general surgery) at Western University (Ontario, Canada). All participants improved their overall performance from pretest to retention (p < 0.001). At initial retention testing, non-expert-watching group outperformed the other groups in camera path length p < 0.05 and time to completion, p < 0.05, and both the expert/non-expert groups surpassed the Control group in camera path length (p < 0.05). We suggest that error-observation may contribute to skills improvement in the non-expert-watching group. Allowing novices to observe techniques/errors of other novices may assist internalization of specific movements/skills required for effective motor performances. This study highlights the potential effect of observational learning on surgical skills acquisition and offers preliminary evidence for peer-based practice (combined non-experts and experts) as a complementary surgical motor skills training strategy.

When one brain needs to learn from another: the case of observational facilitation of list learning in macaques

Given a neural system that equips an agent to attempt to carry out some learning task based on its own interaction with the “non-social” world, what extra neural machinery is required to enable learning to be facilitated by (repeated) observation of successful completion of that task by another agent? We provide one answer by exploiting an understanding of data and models on mirror neurons to extend a prior neurocomputational model of list learning by macaques, SCP1, which addressed results of the simultaneous chaining paradigm (SCP) to yield a new model, SCP2, that addresses social facilitation (observational learning) effects based on the SCP. SCP2 extends SCP1 by adding action-recognition elements and (vicarious) reward-processing elements to facilitate performance following observation of a demonstrator. Our simulations suggest prior experience is important for the observed facilitation and serves to bridge the (separately collected) neurophysiological and behavioral data. Crucially, the inner workings of SCP1, as distinct from its successful performance on the SCP dataset, are irrelevant. What is crucial is the “wrapping” of the “do it alone” model to support social facilitation. This study provides an example of dyadic brain modeling, simulating brain models of interacting agents, in the case in which the behavior of only one member of the dyad is affected by the behavior of the other.

Local Market Characteristics and Online-to-Offline Commerce: An Empirical Analysis of Groupon

We investigate the factors that affect the growth of Groupon, the leading online daily deals platform. We concentrate on the online-to-offline (O2O) aspect of the business that differentiates it from other e-commerce platforms—its strong connection to local markets. We focus on travel cost and store density, the key local characteristics that affect consumer deal demand and merchant deal offering. Using a comprehensive longitudinal data set on deal offerings and sales across local markets, and combining it with local market characteristics, we estimate a simultaneous equation model of the weekly number of deal offerings and deal sales characterizing the two-sided nature of the platform. We find that the word-of-mouth effect on the consumer side and the observational learning effect on the merchant side contribute to and reinforce the expansion of a two-sided platform. However, a larger number of deals intensifies the competition, which then lowers per deal sales and limits the number of deal offerings. We find that local characteristics have significant impact on both the deal demand and the supply side. We further use model simulation to show how differences in growth patterns across markets may be driven by local characteristics, and we decompose their relative impact on the demand and supply sides. The paper provides managerial implications for firms specializing in O2O commerce. This paper was accepted by Matthew Shum, marketing.

Pain-relevant anxiety affects desire for pain relief, but not pain perception

Background: Pain context plays a significant role in the perception of pain. Despite recent interest in vicarious learning and anxiety in pain modulation, there have been no attempts to explore pain modulation by specific environmental cues. Aims: Therefore, the present study evaluated pain responses in the condition that was attributed as either anxiety relevant (AR) or anxiety irrelevant. Materials and Methods: Participants were exposed to both conditions through social observational learning. Pain perception was assessed by means of a visual analog scale ranging from 0 = no pain to 10 = maximum imaginable pain. State anxiety, empathy, expectancy, and desire for pain relief were also measured at both neutral and emotionally inducing conditions. Results: No effect of relevancy of anxiety for the pain context on any of the pain-related constructs was found. However, participants in the AR condition reported an increased desire for pain relief. Maximizing similarities between observed and experienced pain context did not enhance observational learning effects in the emotionally inducing condition regardless of its relevance, but significant changes were found in comparison to the affectively neutral group. Conclusions: These results could have potentially significant clinical implications suggesting that even though observing painful procedures does not increase pain it could affect medication usage.

An Investigation on the Effects of PECS and Observational Learning in Initiating and Maintenance of Communication among Children with Autism

Normal 0 false false false BS-LATN-BA X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:Table Normal; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} The purpose of this research is to identify the efficacy of PECS provided in gaining of independent communicative initiation and maintenance skills to children with autism. Population of this research consisted of six children currently receiving education and diagnosed with autism during preschool period. To implement observational learning procedure, children were grouped as pairs. To that end, during the first and second phases of PECS three autistic children received training on the skills of independent communicative initiation and maintenance. The remaining three autistic children for whom direct teaching was not the objective the objective was to measure to what extent they learned the skills they had observed. Dependent variable of this study is independent communicative initiation and maintenance. Independent variables of the study are implementing the first and second phases of PECS. In the course of interventions generalization data were collected as pre-test and post-test by different implementers and settings. Data of the research were analyzed graphically and efficacy of each single implementation showed no differentiation for the learner nor observer children at the acquisition phase. It did not differ at the phase of permanence and generalization neither. For collecting social validity data, semi-structured interviews were conducted among mothers and fathers and data were analyzed descriptively Mothers-fathers reported that both PECS and observational learning were significant for their children and that peer observation significantly contributed to children with autism.

The Effect of Social Observational Learning, Empathy and Catastrophizing in Chronic Pain Patients During Acute Pain Induction.

In this study, we were interested in determining whether we could alter a pain response in a chronic pain patient population by exposing participants to different videos prior to inducing acute pain. This observational case series study required participants to report their pain level during the cold pressor task after viewing an instruction video. Recruitment and testing took place in a tertiary care multidisciplinary pain center. Forty adults with chronic pain participated in the study and completed the cold pressor test. Prior to testing, questionnaires measuring pain, empathy, and catastrophic thinking were completed and participants were randomized to view an instructional video where an actress either demonstrated pain behavior or a stoic response during the cold pressor test. Participants with higher levels of catastrophizing reported higher pain levels during the cold pressor test. Personal Distress Empathy measures of participants who viewed the pain catastrophizing video were significantly correlated with their final pain reports. Following the cold pressor task, participants' pain reports for their primary chronic pain sites were significantly reduced. These results support previous findings that people with chronic pain show the tendency toward increased acute pain experience if levels of catastrophizing and Personal Distress Empathy measures are higher. Participants reported attenuated chronic pain following induced pain, also in line with previous research suggesting a central endogenous inhibitory effect. Our findings shed light on the role of emotional and social components affecting the experience of pain in individuals with chronic pain.

Local Market Characteristics and Online-to-Offline Commerce: An Empirical Analysis of Groupon

We investigate the factors that affect the growth of Groupon, the leading online daily deals platform. We concentrate on the online-to-offline (O2O) aspect of the business that differentiates it from other e-commerce platforms - its strong connection to local markets. We focus on travel cost and store density, the key local characteristics that affect consumer deal demand and merchant deal offering. Using a comprehensive longitudinal data set on deal offerings and sales across local markets and combining it with local market characteristics, we estimate a simultaneous equation model of the weekly number of deal offerings and deal sales characterizing the two-sided nature of the platform. We find that the word-of-mouth effect on the consumer side and the observational learning effect on the merchant side contribute to and reinforce the expansion of a two-sided platform. However, a larger number of deals intensifies the competition, which then lowers per deal sales and limits the number of deal offerings. We find that local characteristics have significant impact on both the deal demand and supply side. We further use model simulation to show how differences in growth patterns across markets may be driven by local characteristics, and decompose their relative impact on the demand and supply side. The paper provides managerial implications for firms specializing in O2O commerce.

Effect of Patch-Light Demonstration on Observational Learning of Golf Swing

Video display of a model has been widely used as an observational learning tool; yet, the use of patch-light techniques that can highlight key features of motion has been seldom used. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of patch-light display for use in observational learning of the golf swing. Twenty-two novice golf participants were randomly assigned to three groups: video, patchlight, and control. Each participant performed 100 golf pitch shots, and 20 shots 24 hours later (retention). After each 10 shots, participants observed a recorded model perform 10 shots either in traditional video or patch-light format, or waited for a brief time period (control). Participants did not observe the model during retention. The patch-light group was neither more accurate nor more consistent than the video group or control. We believe that the familiarity of the task may have overridden any observational learning effect.

Indirect acquisition of pain-related fear: an experimental study of observational learning using coloured cold metal bars.

BackgroundPrevious research has demonstrated that pain-related fear can be acquired through observation of another’s pain behaviour during an encounter with a painful stimulus. The results of two experimental studies were presented, each with a different pain stimulus, of which the aim was to investigate the effect of observational learning on pain expectancies, avoidance behaviour, and physiological responding. Additionally, the study investigated whether certain individuals are at heightened risk to develop pain-related fear through observation. Finally, changes in pain-related fear and pain intensity after exposure to the feared stimulus were examined.MethodsDuring observational acquisition, healthy female participants watched a video showing coloured cold metal bars being placed against the neck of several models. In a differential fear conditioning paradigm, one colour was paired with painful facial expressions, and another colour was paired with neutral facial expressions of the video models. During exposure, both metal bars with equal temperatures (-25° or +8° Celsius) were placed repeatedly against participants’ own neck.ResultsResults showed that pain-related beliefs can be acquired by observing pain in others, but do not necessarily cause behavioural changes. Additionally, dispositional empathy might play a role in the acquisition of these beliefs. Furthermore, skin conductance responses were higher when exposed to the pain-associated bar, but only in one of two experiments. Differential pain-related beliefs rapidly disappeared after first-hand exposure to the stimuli.ConclusionsThis study enhances our understanding of pain-related fear acquisition and subsequent exposure to the feared stimulus, providing leads for pain prevention and management strategies.