People often fall into learning traps where a false belief about the structure of the environment leads to under-exploration of rewarding options. Two studies (N = 324) examined whether observation of the approach decisions of another learner facilitated escape from a trap. After an initial learning phase in a task where approach of different category members could lead to gains or losses, we identified whether participants had learned an optimal two-dimensional categorization rule or fallen into the trap of using a one-dimensional rule. Participants then observed the approach decisions of another learner using the same or a different category rule. Participants’ categorization rules in a final round of category learning were then assessed. A substantial proportion of those who had initially fallen into the trap shifted to the optimal rule after observing use of an alternate rule. This effect was found following observation of both optimal (Experiment 1) and sub-optimal rules (Experiment 2). In contrast, those who learned the optimal rule in the initial learning phase were unaffected by social observation. The results show that social learning is a viable approach for facilitating escape from learning traps.