Modeling is: # a method used in certain cognitive-behavioral techniques of

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

whereby the client learns by imitation alone, copying a human

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

without any specific verbal direction by the therapist, and # a general process in which persons serve as models for others, exhibiting the behavior to be imitated by others.Westen, D.; Burton, L. & Kowalski, R. (2006) Psychology: Australian and New Zealand Edition. Milton, QLD. John Wiley and Sons. This process is most commonly discussed for children.

Study by Albert Bandura

Albert Bandura Albert Bandura (4 December 1925 – 26 July 2021) was a Canadian-American psychologist and professor of social science in psychology at Stanford University, who contributed to the fields of education and to the fields of psychology, e.g. social ...

most memorably introduced the concept of behavioral modeling in his famous 1961

Bobo doll experiment The Bobo doll experiment (or experiments) is the collective name for a series of experiments performed by psychologist Albert Bandura to test his social learning theory. Between 1961 and 1963, he studied children's behaviour after watching an a ...

. In this study, 72 children from ages three to five were divided into groups to watch an adult confederate (the model) interact with an assortment of toys in the experiment room, including an inflated Bobo doll. For children assigned the non-aggressive condition, the

role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success serves as a model to be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compa ...

ignored the doll. For children assigned the aggressive condition, the role model spent the majority of the time physically aggressing the doll and shouting at it. After the role model left the room, the children were allowed to interact with similar toys individually. Children who observed the non-aggressive role model's behavior played quietly with the toys and rarely initiated violence toward the Bobo doll. Children who watched the aggressive role model were more likely to model themselves on that example by hitting, kicking, and shouting at the Bobo doll.

Factors influencing behavioral modeling

Psychological factors

Bandura proposed that four components contribute to behavioral modeling. # Attention: The observer must watch and pay attention to the behavior being modeled. # Retention: The observer must remember the behavior well enough to recreate it. # Reproduction: The observer must physically recreate the actions they observed in step 1. # Reinforcement: The observer's modeled behavior must be rewarded

Neurological factors

The mirror neuron system, located in the brain's frontal lobe, is a network of neurons that become active when an animal performs a behavior or observes that behavior being performed by another. For example, mirror neurons become active when a monkey grasps an object, just as when it watches another monkey do. While the significance of mirror neurons is still up for debate in the scientific community, many believe them to be the primary biological component in imitative learning.

In neuro-linguistic programming

Modeling is an important component of

neuro-linguistic programming Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy that first appeared in Richard Bandler and John Grinder's book ''The Structure of Magic I'' (1975). NLP ...

(NLP), a field in which specialized modeling techniques are developed.

References