Mirror Neurons and Observational Learning

In past, the relationship between traditional learning theories and neurophysiological theories wasn’t a close relationship. Recently, new findings in neurological sciences showed relatively simple neuron mechanisms for somewhat complicated learning events, for example observational learning, one of which is mirror neurons. These neurons show that how the brain registers the activity observed and facilitates doing it at the present time or in the future. The role of these neurons in social interactions is matching the action observed with the action performed by the person, and, in this way, help the person observing others understand their behaviors through coordinating his (her) behaviors with behaviors of other people. About the origin of mirror neurons there are three perspectives: 1) evolutionary perspective assumes that existence of mirror neurons is part of human adaption which has evolved during the species life, 2) association perspective is basis on individual’s innate ability in shaping mirror neurons with emphasis on experience; and 3) ideation-action perspective supposes that image shaped from sensory feedback of an action is the base of it’s true performance. Before discovering the mirror neurons, there were two explanations for imitative and observational learning from cognitive and behavioral psychologists. Behaviorists by the leadership of B.F Skinner, the founder of operant conditioning theory, believed that observing model, performing behavior based on model’s behavior, and obtaining reinforcement are three elements of observational learning. In contrast, cognitionists, with the leadership of Albert Bandura, believed that observational learning is mainly a cognitive and informational processing event and assumed that four steps for it: attention, retention, movement reproduction and motivation. The discovery of mirror neurons supports neither behavioral perspective nor cognitive view points.