LEARNING
INTRODUCTION:
• Learning is a key process in human behavior.
• The principles of learning are always operating
and influencing human activity.
• It plays a central role in the language, customs
attitudes and beliefs, goals and personality.
LEARNING
DEFINITION:
Any relatively permanent change
in behaviour that occurs as a result
of “experience’’ or “practice’’.
Features of Learning:
• First, does not apply to temporary changes in behaviour such
as those stemming from fatigue, drugs, or illness.
• Second, does not refer to changes resulting from maturation.
• Finally, the changes produced by learning are not always
positive in nature.
• People may acquire either Good or bad habits through
Learning
Paradigms Of Learning:
• Classical Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning
• Observational Learning
• Cognitive Learning
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• Classical conditioning is a learning process in
which a previously Neutral stimulus, through
repeated pairings with an Unconditioned
stimulus, acquires the capacity to elicit a new
response.
• Stimulus – A physical event, capable of evoking
a response.
Pavlov’s Experiments on Classical conditioning
• In Pavlov’s basic experiment, a tube is attached to the dog’s salivary gland,
so that the flow of salivation can be measured.
Pavlov’s Experiments on Classical conditioning:
• Normally, when food is placed in mouth, salivation occurs. This is a normal
reflex—an unlearned, involuntary response, that occur in both animals and
humans.
• The food is termed as unconditioned stimulus (UCS): a stimulus that
automatically elicits an involuntary response without prior conditioning.
• This salivation, is an unconditioned response (UR): Automatic, involuntary,
unlearned response to a naturally occurring stimuli or UCS.
• The Sound of a Bell, which is presented before the food, is called a neutral
stimulus (NS) because it does not cause salivation , prior to conditioning.
• After repeated pairings of bell with food, the dog started salivating on the
sound of bell. The bell now became a conditioned stimulus (CS) and
salivation on sounding of bell is the Conditioned Response (CR).
Theories of Classical Conditioning:
Stimulus Substitution :
• This theory relies on the idea that CS on pairing with UCS acquires
the ability to excite UCS area of the brain, leading to a reflex
response.
Information and Expectation theory:
• According to this theory, CS becomes a signal for UCS.
• Thus, when the CS is presented the UCS is expected and the learner
response in accordance with this expectation.
Principles of Classical Conditioning:
• Acquisition:
Process by which a conditioned stimulus acquires the ability to
elicit a conditioned response through repeated pairings of an UCS with
the CS.
1. Proceeds quite rapidly at first
2. Increases as the number of pairings between CS and UCS increases.
3. Finally, acquisition slows down and levels off.
Extinction:
• If the CS is not paired with UCS, the CR will gradually diminish.
• As after about ten trials or so there is no salivation in response to bell, if
it is not followed by food.
• As CS no longer signals the UCS, the CS again becomes a neutral
stimulus.
Spontaneous recovery:
• The CR can briefly reappear when the original
CS returns after sometime, although the response
is usually weak and short lived.
• Stimulus Generalization :
The tendency to generalize the Conditioned Response to other stimuli
that were similar to original CS, but never have been paired with UCS.
• Stimulus Discrimination:
The process by which organisms learn to respond to certain stimuli, but
not to others.
Example:
- Years ago a woman was badly bitten by a dog, until that incident
she had no fear of dogs. Because of stimulus discrimination, she becomes
fearful, only when she encounters the breed of dog that bit her.
Study of Watson and Rayner
Significance of Classical Conditioning:
1) Conditioned Emotional Responses
2) Conditioned Taste Aversions
3) Vicarious Conditioning
OPERANT CONDITIONING
• A form of learning in which Behaviour is learned or modified or
maintained through its Consequences.
• When a response operates on the environment, it may have
consequences that can affect the likelihood that the response will
occur again.
Thorndike’s Puzzle box and Law of Effect :
Law of Effect:
• If an action is followed by a
pleasurable consequence, it will
tend to be repeated.
• If an action is followed by
an unpleasant consequence,
it will tend not to be repeated.
Skinner’s Experiments:
• The term Operant Conditioning was
coined by B. F. Skinner.
• He placed a hunger rat in an Operant
chamber, the animal should press the
lever, for a food pallet to be delivered.
• The delivery of food pallet ( reinforcement)
is contingent on the response of pressing the
lever.
REINFORCEMENT
• Any Stimulus or Event, that is followed by Response, Increases the
probability, that the response will occur again.
• Reinforcement is the attempt to Develop or Strengthen the Desired
Behavior.
• TYPES OF REINFORCERS:
1) Primary Reinforcer - Naturally reinforcing by meeting a basic
biological need, such as Food (hunger), Water (thirst).
2) Secondary Reinforcer - Any reinforcer that becomes reinforcing
after being paired with a primary reinforcer, such as praise, tokens,
or gold stars.
REINFORCEMENT
• Positive Reinforcement:
An Event when it FOLLOWS a response, Increases the likelihood,
that the response will occur again.
• Negative Reinforcement:
An event which, when its TERMINATION, Increases the likelihood,
that the response will occur again.
• SCHEDULES OF POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT :
Continuous reinforcement schedule
Partial Reinforcement Schedule
- Fixed interval schedule
- Variable interval schedule
- Fixed ratio schedule
- Variable ratio schedule
Negative Reinforcement :
• Escape Learning
• Avoidance Learning
PUNISHMENT :
• A stimulus, when its ONSET is contingent on response, Decreases
the likelihood that the response will occur again.
• Factors affecting Punishment:
- Intensity of punishment
- Consistency
- Time between behaviour and punishment
- Strength of behaviour to be punished
- Adaptation to punishment
• Punishment f/b positive reinforcement is more effective.
Significance of Operant Conditioning:
• SHAPING :
The reinforcement of simple steps in behavior through
successive approximations that lead to a desired, more complex
behavior.
• Behaviour Modification
• Programmed Learning
- Final complex task is broken into small steps.
- Reinforcement is contingent upon performance of each
step.
- Learner makes responses at his own pace.
• Personalized system of Instruction.
OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
• The acquisition of new forms of behavior, information or concepts
through exposure to others and the consequences they experience.
• It is the learning of new behavior through watching the actions of a
model .
• Four Elements of observational conditioning:
1.Attention
2.Memory
3.Imitation
4. Desire
Bandura and Bobo Doll experiment
Observational learning and Aggression :
• Aggression may indeed be learned through observation.
• When children and adults were exposed to new ways of
aggression they add these new behaviors to their routine.
• The negative effects of exposure to violence may be most
pronounced for individuals with aggressive nature.
COGNITIVE LEARNING
• Cognition:
The processing of the information about the environment that is
received through the senses.
• Learning:
relatively permanent changes in behavior as a result of experience.
• Cognitive learning:
- A change in the way information is processed as a result of
experience a person or animal has had.
- It involves the forming of new associations and the perceiving of
new relationships among events.
Latent Learning:
• Learning that occurs but is not evident in behavior until later, when
conditions for its appearance are favorable.
• Said to occur without reinforcement of particular responses.
• Example : Tolman’s Maze
Insight Learning:
• In Insight situation, a problem is posed, initially there is no
progress, then the solution comes suddenly.
• Example: Kohler’s Chimpanzee Experiment
• Three major characteristics:
1.Solution come suddenly after a period during which one tried
various response strategies.
2.Perceptual rearrangement helped a great deal.
3.The solution can be generalized rather easily to other similar
problems.
• Insight involves a perceptual reorganization of elements in the
environment such that new relationships among objects and events
are suddenly seen.
Imitation:
• A response that is like the stimulus triggering the response.
• A person or animal watches or hears another do or say something,
then respond in the same way.
• Occurs when we imitate another individual, or model our behavior
on that of someone else.
Bibliography:
• Introduction to psychology by Morgan and King
• Psychology by Saundra K. Ciccarelli
• General Psychology by S. K. Mangal
• NCERT Class XI Psychology Textbook
THANK YOU
