Which term describes the type of learning that occurs when an individual observes and imitates others?

The term that describes the type of learning that occurs when an individual observes and imitates others is social learning. This concept is rooted in the work of psychologist Albert Bandura, who emphasized that people can learn new behaviors and acquire new information simply by watching others, particularly in social contexts. In social learning theory, the process involves attention to the model's behavior, retention of the observed behavior, reproduction of that behavior, and motivation to imitate if the perceived consequences are desirable.

This approach highlights the importance of the social environment in shaping behavior, suggesting that learning can happen in the absence of direct reinforcement or punishment. Social learning is distinct from operant and classical learning, which focus more on the association between stimuli and responses or the reinforcement of specific behavior, respectively. Indirect learning, while somewhat related, does not specifically encompass the observational and imitation aspects that are central to social learning. Thus, social learning is the most accurate and comprehensive term for this type of behavior acquisition.