Linking Cognition and Behavior: A Script Processing Interpretation of Vicarious Learning

Abstract

Vicarious learning and modeling are important processes in the acquisition, development, and alteration of behavior in organizations. The authors argue that a primary basis for vicarious learning is a cognitively held “script” on the part of the observer of a model. A script is a procedural knowledge structure or schema for understanding and enacting behaviors. The close parallels are drawn between scripts and vicarious learning as vehicles for both understanding and influencing organizational behavior.