Chapter 3 Social Processes Influencing Learning in Animals: A Review of the Evidence

This chapter discusses the social processes, influencing learning in animals. Social learning can result in the social transmission of information through a population, resulting in homogeneity of behavior that extends beyond the period of interaction. Examples include: the spread of foraging skills or vocalizations through vertebrate populations. A classification of social learning processes is presented. Imitation is among the most contentious of social learning processes. Observational conditioning involves the formation of an S–S association, whereas contextual imitation involves the formation of an S–R association between the contextual stimulus and the observed response. If an observer could learn R–S contingencies through observation, it could potentially learn what not to do in a specific context, as a result of watching other animals make mistakes. Observational R–S learning could be combined with production imitation to ensure that an observer disproportionately acquires novel action sequences that it sees being rewarded. The evidence needed to isolate each of the social learning processes is also discussed in the chapter.