Abstract
Ss differing in the degree to which they were led to believe that a stranger’s attitudes were similar to their own observed the stranger (a confederate) in a verbal learning situation in which shock was supposedly administered for incorrect responses. The confederate’s performance was programmed so as to be the same for all Ss. Ss in the high-similarity condition, while manifesting greater attraction toward the model, showed significantly less observational learning than did low-similarity Ss. While tending to rate the shock supposedly experienced by the model as being more painful, high-similarity Ss did not rate themselves as having experienced more distress in seeing the model shocked.
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Smith, R.E. Observational learning of modeled responses under shock-avoidance conditions as a function of attitude similarity and attraction toward the model. Psychon Sci 22, 123–124 (1971). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03332527
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03332527