What influences whether an observer will remember a behavior?

The choice of retention as the correct answer is significant in understanding the process of memory in the context of observing behavior. Retention refers to the ability to store and recall the observed behavior after it has been witnessed. For an observer to remember a behavior effectively, they must not only witness it but also have the capacity to retain that information over time for later recall. This can involve various cognitive processes, including encoding the behavior into memory and maintaining it until it is needed for retrieval.

Retention plays a crucial role in learning theories, especially in social learning theory, where the ability to observe and remember behaviors of others can influence one’s own behavior. If an individual does not retain information about the observed behaviors, they cannot apply or mimic those behaviors later, diminishing the impact of the observational learning experience.

The other options, while relevant to the learning and memory process, do not directly address the specific influence on recall in the same way that retention does. Motor reproduction involves translating observed behaviors into actual performance, mediation refers to the cognitive processes that occur between observation and behavior, and attention is necessary for noticing the behavior in the first place. However, without retention, even with high attention and good motor ability, the behavior cannot be remembered later.