Read the passage and answer the questions:
Abby is very annoying by nature. He does not follow what his parents say and refuses to obey them. He constantly bothers his parents and classmates with his improper behavior and does not regularly complete the homework given by his teachers. After seeing Abby’s behavior, his parents take him to a psychotherapist in order to understand why he behaves the way he does. The psychotherapist planned to administer behavioural therapy for modifying his behaviour.
______ is learning by observing others in which the client gradually learns to acquire the behaviour of the model through a process of rewarding small changes in the behaviour.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Vicarious learning
Option (1) Vicarious learning — Correct. Vicarious learning is learning by observing others. It is used in modelling: the client watches a role model, and through a process of rewarding small changes in the behaviour, gradually learns to acquire the model’s behaviour.
Option (2) Token economy — Incorrect. Here the client earns tokens for wanted behaviour and exchanges them for rewards; nothing is learnt by watching others.
Option (3) Differential learning — Incorrect. There is no such technique; the real term is differential reinforcement, which rewards wanted behaviour and ignores unwanted behaviour.
Option (4) Flooding — Incorrect. Flooding exposes the client to the feared situation all at once until the fear dies down; it has no model to observe.
NCERT (2025-26): “Behavioural Techniques … Modelling is the procedure wherein the client learns to behave in a certain way by observing the behaviour of a role model or the therapist who initially acts as the role model. Vicarious learning, i.e. learning by observing others, is used and through a process of rewarding small changes in the behaviour, the client gradually learns to acquire the behaviour of the model.…” |