Acquiring writing revision and self-regulatory skill through observation and emulation

The influences of modeling and social feedback on the acquisition of writing revision were studied with 72 college students. Students watching a coping female model gradually improving her writing technique on a sentence-combining task were hypothesized to surpass students observing a mastery model perform the technique flawlessly on a writing-skill measure and an array of self-regulatory measures, such as self-satisfaction reactions, self-efficacy perceptions, and intrinsic interest in the task. Students observing a mastery model were expected, in turn, to surpass those learning without the benefit of modeling on these same measures. Support for both hypotheses was found. Social feedback during enactive performance assisted learners from all modeling groups in acquiring writing and self-regulatory skills.