Learning

Ama De Silva
Lesson 8
Outline
Definition of learning.
Forms of learning in human behavior
• classical conditioning
• operant conditioning
• cognitive learning
• observational learning
Definition of learning
Learning is any relatively Learning is adaptive
permanent change in behavior
(or behavior potential)
resulting from experience
(Baron & Misra, 2016).
Forms of learning in human behavior
Although the effects of learning are diverse, many psychologists believe that learning
occurs in several basic forms:
Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning Cognitive Learning
• A type of learning in which a • Learning in which a voluntary • An approach to the study of
neutral stimulus comes to bring response is strengthened or learning that focuses on the
about a response after it is paired weakened, depending on its thought processes that underlie
with a stimulus that naturally favorable or unfavorable learning.
brings about that response. consequences.

Observational Learning
• Learning by observing the
behavior of another person, or
model.

(Feldman, 2009).
 Classical Conditioning
A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to bring (NS)

about a response after it is paired with a stimulus that naturally

brings about that response.
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936) was a Russian physiologist known
primarily for his work in classical conditioning.
Pavlov (1927)
Neutral stimulus (NS):
• A stimulus that, before conditioning, does not naturally bring about the response of interest.

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS):

• A stimulus that naturally brings about a particular response without having been learned.

Unconditioned response (UCR):

• A response that is natural and needs no training (e.g., salivation at the smell of food).

Conditioned stimulus (CS):

• A once neutral stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus to bring about a response formerly caused only by the unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned response (CR):

• A response that, after conditioning, follows a previously neutral stimulus (e.g., salivation at the ringing of a bell)
 Classical Conditioning: Principles
Acquisition Extinction
• refers to the initial stage of learning • the gradual weakening and
something disappearance of a conditioned
response tendency.

Spontaneous recovery Stimulus Generalization

• is the reappearance of an • The tendency for stimuli that are
extinguished response after a period similar to the conditioned stimulus
of non-exposure to the conditioned to elicit a conditioned response.
stimulus

Stimulus Discrimination
• The tendency to differentiate
among stimuli so that stimuli that
are related to the original
conditioned stimulus, but not
identical to it, fail to elicit a
conditioned response. Nevid (2018); Feldman, (2009) and Baron & Misra (2016).
Application of Conditioning Principles
to Human Behavior
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
suffered by some war veterans and others
who have had traumatic experiences, can
also be produced by classical conditioning.
Even years after their battlefield
experiences, veterans may feel a rush of
fear and anxiety at a stimulus such as a
loud noise (Kozaric-Kovacic, & Borovecki,
2005; Kaštelan et al., 2007; Roberts,
Moore, & Beckham, 2007)
Classical conditioning, then, explains many of the reactions we have to stimuli in
the world around us.

Phobias- Excessive fears of particular objects or situations.

Behavior Therapy -A form of therapy that involves the systematic application of
the principles of learning.
Classical Conditioning of Positive Emotions

Classical Conditioning of Drug Cravings

Classical Conditioning Taste Aversion An

aversion to a particular food or beverage
acquired through classical conditioning.

Conditioning the Immune System

https://vimeo.com/129482134
 Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning: Learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or
weakened, depending on its favorable or unfavorable consequences.
Law of Effect Radical behaviorism The
(August 31, 1874 – August 9, philosophical position that free
1949) will is an illusion or myth and that
an American psychologist human and animal behavior is
completely determined by
environmental and genetic
influences.

Father of operant conditioning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtoH5tlr-bI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOgowRy2WC0
 Principles of Operant Conditioning
Positive Reinforcement
The strengthening of a response through the
introduction of a stimulus after the response
occurs.
Negative Reinforcement
The strengthening of a response through the
removal of a stimulus after the response occurs.
Punishment
A stimulus that decreases the probability that a
previous behavior will occur again.
Primary Reinforces
Reinforces, such as food or sexual stimulation, that
are naturally rewarding because they satisfy basic
biological needs or drives.
Secondary Reinforces
Learned reinforces, such as money, that develop
their reinforcing properties because of their
association with primary reinforces.
Discriminative Stimulus
A cue that signals that reinforcement is available if
the subject makes a particular response.
 Principles of Operant Conditioning
cont.
Shaping:
For example, when working
with a beginning student, a
skilled dance teacher or bike
A technique in which close and closer instructor may use shaping
approximations to desired behavior are techniques to establish basic
required for the delivery of positive
reinforcement. skills, such as performing a
Chaining: basic step or standing on the
A procedure that establishes a bike without falling down, by
sequence of responses, which lead to a reward praising simple
following the final response in the chain.
accomplishments.
Schedules of Reinforcement
Predetermined plans for timing the
delivery of reinforcement. As training progresses,
Schedule of Continuous Reinforcement however, the student may
A system of dispensing a reinforcement receive praise only when he
each time a response is produced. or she successfully
Schedule of Partial Reinforcement completes an entire
A system of reinforcement in which only a sequence or chain of
portion of responses is reinforced
actions, such as riding down
a small slope.
Behavior Modification: Putting
Learning Principles into Practice
Behavior Modification (B-mod) Learned Helplessness
The systematic application of learning principles to The Role of Individual Differences Learned
strengthen adaptive behavior and weaken maladaptive
behavior. helplessness seems to result from situations in which
Token economy program nothing a person does yields reinforcers or provides
escape from aversive events.
A form of behavior modification in which tokens earned
for performing desired behaviors can be exchanged for
positive reinforcers.
Programmed Instruction
A learning method in which complex material is broken
down into a series of small steps that learners master at
their own pace.
Computer-assisted Instruction
A form of programmed instruction in which a computer
is used to guide a student through a series of increasingly
difficult questions.
Cognitive Learning Theory
Cognitive learning theory: An
approach to the study of learning Latent
that focuses on the thought
processes that underlie learning. Learning
Cognitive learning theories are
based on how people think Insight
Learning
 Latent Learning
Tolman is perhaps best-known
for his work with rats and
mazes. Tolman's work
challenged the behaviorist
notion that all behavior and
learning is a result of the basic
stimulus-response pattern. ...
Latent Learning His theory of latent learning
suggests that learning occurs
Learning that occurs without apparent even if no reinforcement is
reinforcement and that is not displayed offered.
until reinforcement is provided.
Cognitive Map
A mental representation of an area that
helps an organism navigate its way from
one point to another
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Insight Learning
Insight Learning
The process of mentally working
through a problem until the sudden
realization of a solution occurs.

In the 1920s, German

psychologist Wolfgang Kohler was studying
the behavior of apes. He designed some
simple experiments that led to the
development of one of the first cognitive
theories of learning, which he called insight
learning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-YWrPzsmEE&t=0s
Observational Learning
Observational Learning
Learning by observing and imitating
the behavior of others (also called
vicarious learning or modeling).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjTxQy_U3ac
List of References
Baron, R. A., & Misra, G. (2016). Psychology: Indian Subcontinent Edition. Tamil
Nandu: Pearson.
Feldman, R. (2009). Understanding Psychology (8th ed.). New York: McGraw- Hill.
Nevid, J. S. (2018). Essentials of Psychology: Concepts and Applications (5th ed.).
Boston: Cengage Learning.