What we think we learn from watching others the m

Authors: Nicola J Hodges Thomas Coppola

Publish Date: 2014/06/21

Volume: 79, Issue: 4, Pages: 609-620

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Abstract

Despite increased interest in the processes guiding action observation and observational learning we know little about what people think they learn from watching how well perceptions of learning marry with actual ability and how ability perceptions develop across multiple observation trials Based on common coding ideas we would think that ability and perceptions of ability from watching should be well matched We conducted two studies to answer these questions that involved repeated observation of a 2ball juggling task After each video observation observers judged if they could perform the skill and gave a confidence score 0–100  In Experiment 1 an Observeonly group was compared to an Observe + Physical practice and Nopractice group Both observer groups showed a better physical approximation of the juggling action after practice and in retention and their confidence increased in a linear fashion Confidence showed a small yet significant relationship to actual success In Experiment 2 we limited physical practice to 5 attempts across 50 observation trials In general people who had high perceptions of ability following a demonstration were overconfident whereas those with lower perceptions of ability were accurate in their assessments Confidence generally increased across practice particularly for trials following observation rather than physical practice We conclude that while perceptions of ability and actual ability show congruence across trials and individuals observational practice increases people’s confidence in their ability to perform a skill even despite physical experiences to the contraryThe first author would like to acknowledge funding support for this research from an NSERC Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery grant and research time support from CIHR Canadian Institute for Health Research in terms of a New Investigator AwardAll participants gave written informed consent prior to inclusion in the studies and the studies were conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the University and hence with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments

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