| Sumario: | Two experiments were conducted to assess the effects of symbolic coding and rehearsal, source of codes, and type of codes on reproduction of modeled events and generalization of observational learning to novel contexts. These studies examine retention processes not previously included in behavior-modeling training. This was done in a behavior-modeling training procedure designed to teach college students assertiveness skills. The first study used 20 students and the second study used 70 students drawn from an introductory psychology course. The first study compared descriptive and rule codes and showed that descriptive coding, produced more accurate reproduction than rule coding. Code type had no differential effect on generalization. The second study was a 2 (rehearsal/no rehearsal) × 3 (trainee-generated rule codes/experimenter-provided rule codes/no codes) design with a modeling-only control. This investigation revealed that modeling alone and rehearsal facilitated reproduction and generalization, that trainee-generated rule codes enhanced generalization, and that reproduction decay was least in the trainee-generated code conditions. The implication of formalizing retention aids in behavior-modeling training is to significantly increase the efficacy of the training method; future research needs are also discussed.
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