Learning by observation and learning by doing in Prader-Willi syndrome.
BACKGROUND
New competencies may be learned through active experience (learning by doing) or observation of others' experience (learning by observation). Observing another person performing a complex action accelerates the observer's acquisition of the same action, limiting the time-consuming process of learning by doing. Here, we compared learning by observation and learning by doing in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). It is hypothesized that PWS individuals could show more difficulties with learning by observation than learning by doing because of their specific difficulty in interpreting and using social information.


METHODS
The performance of 24 PWS individuals was compared with that of 28 mental age (MA)- and gender-matched typically developing (TD) children in tasks of learning a visuo-motor sequence by observation or by doing. To determine whether the performance pattern exhibited by PWS participants was specific to this population or whether it was a nonspecific intellectual disability effect, we compared the PWS performances with those of a third MA- and gender-matched group of individuals with Williams syndrome (WS).


RESULTS
PWS individuals were severely impaired in detecting a sequence by observation, were able to detect a sequence by doing, and became as efficient as TD children in reproducing an observed sequence after a task of learning by doing. The learning pattern of PWS children was reversed compared with that of WS individuals.


CONCLUSIONS
The observational learning deficit in PWS individuals may be rooted, at least partially, in their incapacity to understand and/or use social information.
Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy ; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy.
Francesca
F
Foti
Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00100 Rome, Italy.
Deny
D
Menghini
Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Enzo
E
Orlandi
Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00100 Rome, Italy.
Cristina
C
Rufini
Pediatric and Autoimmune Endocrine Disease Unit, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Palidoro, Via Torre di Palidoro, 00050 Fiumicino, Rome, Italy.
Antonino
A
Crinò
Pediatric and Autoimmune Endocrine Disease Unit, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Palidoro, Via Torre di Palidoro, 00050 Fiumicino, Rome, Italy.
Sabrina
S
Spera
Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00100 Rome, Italy.
Stefano
S
Vicari
Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy ; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy.
Laura
L
Petrosini
IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy ; Department of Motor Science and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope", Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy.
Laura
L
Mandolesi
Genetic disorders; Imitation; Learning by trial and error; Observational learning; Sequential learning; Social learning