Applications of Observational Learning in Neurorehabilitation

Observational learning (modeling, vicarious learning) is a type of learning, originated from a famous psychologist Albert Bandura at Stanford university in the 1960s, whereby the learner can acquire a new skill and behavior simply by “modeling,” which simply means observing and imitating behaviors carried out by another individual (the model). This form of learning needs no reinforcement and trial and error, unlike the case of operant learning, but rather a model is required [1]. Although observational learning is still unpopular in rehabilitation medicine, it originated in the field of psychology and has been studied intensively for about half a century. In clinical psychology, observational learning has already been applied in the technique called therapeutic modeling for obsessive–compulsive disorder and specific phobias, and has been proven effective in inhibiting abnormal behaviors caused by such mental diseases. Here, we will introduce and review what psychology has revealed and studied on observational learning in order to utilize these findings for applying to rehabilitation for motor impairment after brain damage effectively.