vicarious learning

n. Vicarious learning refers to the acquisition of attitudes, values, emotional proclivities, and styles of behavior by observing other people's behavior and its consequences for them. Vicarious learning through social modeling serves diverse functions. In addition to fostering the acquisition of knowledge, competencies, and new styles of behavior, modeling influences can have strong motivational effects. Seeing others gain desired outcomes by their actions creates outcome expectancies that function as positive incentives, whereas seeing others punished for certain actions creates negative outcome expectancies that function as disincentives. People are easily aroused by the emotional expressions of others. Observers can learn emotional dispositions toward persons, places, or things that have been associated with modeled emotional experiences. During the course of their daily lives, people have direct contact with only a small sector of the physical and social environment. Consequently, their conceptions of social reality are heavily influenced by the symbolic modeling in the mass media. – AB