6

Theories of Learning I
PAVLOV, WATSON, GUTHRIE

will agree that we have schools in order to

in the society. The main prepare children for different
hring certain desirable changes in the objective ofschool as an institution is to
of
of learning. The process of learningbehaviour childYen through the process
begins from the birth of the child and
continues till his death. Allliving creatures learn. When the child is born, his
mind is /just like a clean slate. AS
SOon as he comes in contact with his
environment, he starts reacting and in this process of
individual and his environment, the foundation of interaction of the
is no doubt that learning learning are laid down. There
occupies an important position in' the whole field of
psychology. Psychology of learning is very important for
animal trainers and.for all those who are
interested in
teachers, parents.
and predicting behaviour. understanding, controlling
Meaning and Definition of Learning
Learning means to bring changes in the bchaviour of the
difficult to give a u:iversally acceptable organism. It is very
definition
theories developed by psychologists attempt to oflearning because various
angles. Learning in psychology has the status of a define the term from
different
an idea or image that cannot be construct. Construct means
Which is inferred from the directly observed like electrons or genes but
behaviour the
of
learning in the following words: "Learningorganism.
is
Melvin H. Marx defines
a relatively cnduring change in
behaviour which is a function of prior behaviour
The definition given above (usually called practice)."
emphasizes four attributes of learning as a
process-the first is that
not include learning is a permanent change in behaviour. It does
The second change due to illness, fatigue, maturation and use of intoxicants.
is that learning is not
activities of the individual. The thirddirectly observable but manifests in the
attribute of learning is that it results in
 ADVANCED EDUCATONAL LEAANING -|
THEORIES OF 121
120
fourth andthe last isthat used for
enduring nature. The Maturationis.specifically qualitative
sOne change
on practice andofexpericnce.IHilgard defined learning
Icaing depeng
as, "a changc ina subj
brought about his repeated
changes inthe
inducedby learning. Krogman defined maturation as
arenotdefineditas an increase in competency and
aging. Baldwin
organism which
to a given situation
behaviourprovidedthat the behaviour change cannot be explained
situation, expericnces
basis of native response tendencies, maturation, Or tempOrary sto
involves
(195 adaptability".
55) the biological processes of growth and differentiation.Maturation
Training
ithoutattaining a definite level of maturation does not yield good results.
fatigue. drugs, etc.).
LearningandItrainingshould. start when achild reaches an appropriate level of
Let(e.g.
subject us illustratethe learning process with the help of a concret aaturation, whichimplies concept off readiness for an activity. The teachers
SuppOse there are three children in a class from threc differcnt relioin On andparents mustsee that the child has attained a definite level of maturation
from an orthodox Hindufamily, second from a Muslim family, and tha. door learning. If training or learning is forced prior to the definite maturational
three different
from a Sikh family. They greet the teacher in
and efforts go waste and do not yield good results.
level,the time
*folding his hands'. other the saying 'salam
'sat sri akal'. You see, why is it so? lt is the
aahcb' and
result of
the ways--0grneecting
third
their carly by IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING FOR TEACHERS
Cxpericncecs in home. The early training has brought a perimanenttraining: simple question at this stage: why should a teacher study
their bchaviour. This type of change can be termed as learning, changYou may ask a
process the
and t various theories developed by psychologists to explain
learning
There are certain terms which are confused with learningsuch as jinstie. this process? Necdless to mentionthat the primary objective of instruction in
imprinting and maturation. If wc examinethe behaviour of an organism wefd
schooliis to bring certain desirable changes in the behaviour of children through
that some bchaviour of the organism is reflexive or inborn as for example w: he nrocess of learning. The prosapective teachers have to take the job of
brcathe, our heart pumps, our cells apparenty team with activity, our ka aftercompleting theirtraining, They must know the operations and
jerks, ctc. Allthese activitics take place without the benefit of lcarning. At m approaches to learning to develop better teaching strategies. The teacher can
move to lower animals, rcflexes and instincts account all the more for thoi
be benefited by studying the psychology of learning in a number of ways. He
bchaviour. An instinct, according to R. Haber, 1966, is: *"A pattern of behaviog can understand the individual differences in learning among learners and can
usually complex in nature which is found universally among the membersofnt bis teaching according to their requirements by using different teaching
species, occurs without the need for prior learning or experiençe, as relatih methods. The most important contribution of psychology of learning is the
invariant in form, and is reliably elicited or released by a particular and usualy concept of motivation. The teacher may know the needs and motives ofchildren
very simple stimulus."
at different age levels. He can motivate them. He can know the concept of
motivation as developed by various theorists of learning. He can organize
Inprinting those activities which create interest and motivation in children. He can know
Another term which is confused with learning is imprinting. At a ccrtain crucal the process of remembering and forgetting and can utilize efficient methods to
time, sometime after emerging from their cells, newborn ducklings can mnimize the percentage of forgetting. He can help the students to transfer
induced to waddle after anything from a football to an experimenter thal b SKkil s and information acquired in classroom to lifesituations outside the school.
moving nearby. This is accomplished by simply exposing the duckling lo: He can diagnose special difficulties of children and help them individually to
moving object. If the timing is appropriate then they will continue to follow 0vercome these difficulties. Modern psychology of learning lays more emphasis
these objects. This behaviour is called imprinting. It is not learncd, but ratu Un soCial psychology of learning. The teacher can improve the social climate
Briefly we can
kind of instinctivereaction that capitalizes on a
tendency which appeas amng by providing aconducive environment in the class.
the time is ripe. It is the following narize that more a teacher knows about the fundamental principles of
of what is followed. bchaviour that is inborn and not the teaching-learning proccss.
learning,the more efficiently he can guide classroom
Muturution Kinds of Learning
skills
The cooncept of maturation has been borrowed from biology. It meal> Learning has been classified into various categories as learning of motor of
close) such as whichrequirethe use
physiological devclopment of the child.
Maturation
related; for learning to take place, adefinite level ofandmaturation are swimming andtyping, etc.
walkanding,Iverbal learning, involving verbal expression.
writing, ftective
A lcarning
learning is CSsential motor skills
 ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYOHOoG OF
LEARNING - |
THEORIES 123
122
and cognitive learningemphasize the role of learning emotional responses :
be conditioned
are not confined to natural or
imayofresponses. In Instrumental Conditioning the
innate responses but to
understanding offacts andI problem-solving. It is very
that
experimenter waits for
learmingoffacts,
category dificu
because one a variety emit a response that approximates the one he wishes to establish
into clear-cut categories subjectto
to dichotomise learming attempted to stretch theextremessof
the other. Robert Gagne Pavlovian overlaps the
thenreinforces
it. B.F. Skinner conducteda series of experiments on animals

leRearfnleingixgevens
exercises by postulating a
and ground for the use of the principles in human learning.
to Kohler's problem-solving into eight types in a hierarchicalhierarchy of and
prepared
Gagne has classified learning order as
3.ChainLearning
below:
1. Signal learning. mainly two types of chaining: motor and verbal. Chaining means
There are
2. S-R learning. thee
connection of a set ofindividual S-R in sequence. There are sequences
3. Chain learning. that are made up
of motor responses like that of tuning on T.V. set or
4. Verbal associate learning. washing machine.
There are sequences which are entire verbal as greeting.
5. Multiple discrimination.
It is a matter of connectingtogether in a sequence two or
6. Learning of concepts. (a) Verbal chaining.
learned stimulus response (S's-R's). Our language is filled
7. Learning of principles. more previously buggy, boy meets girl and
ith such chains of verbal sequence as horse and
8. Problem-solving. In these examples first member of the sequence seems
Gagne stated that the above eight varieties of learning correspond wih daddy and mummy. the second.
eight kinds of changes in the nervous system, which need to be identified firmly tied to by a simple
() Motor chaining. The example of motor chaining can be given
Each variety of learning begins with adifferent state of the organism and ends task of driving. The task of driving a motor consists of several learned chains
with a different capability of perfornance. Below is given description of each ofmotor activities. Guthrie in 1935 described acase of motor chaining:
kind of learning: coat on the floor. Her
Acollege girldeveloped the habit of dropping her
room and hang up the coat on the peg.
mother askèd the girl to get out of the up thecoat on
1. Signal Learning keeps coat on, approaches closet, hangs
The girlenters house,
Signal learning is commonly termed as Classical Conditioning. Classical the peg.
unlocking a door by a child who has
Conditioning iwas developed by the Russian Physiologist Pavlov. In Classicad Another example of motor chaining is The following stimulus
Conditioning, unconditioned stimulus (food) and condítioned stimulus (sound not learned the sequence of unlocking operations. unlocking a door are given:
of the bell) are paired together and presented to the dog a number of times with response connections from the process of
facing the lock, 3. checking the key is right side up,
the result that when CS (sound of the bell) is presented alone it elicits tht I. Key in hand, 2.. turning it until ancther
saliva. This modification of behaviour, causing salivation to the sound of the *. Inserting it into the lock until the stop is reached, 5.
the door open, It should be remcmbered that a
bell, is called conditioning. More detailed account of Classical Conditionng siop Is reached, and 6. pushing individual is capable of performing the
will be given in the next chapter when we will discuss the theory of Classica cannot be established unless the
Conditioning. individual links.
2. Stimulus-Response Learning: Operant Conditioning (Learning Type-4) 4. Verbal Associate
Learning performances withthe
of
Itis true that man is capable of atremendous varietytrue
The study of operantor instrumental conditioning started from the puzzleb
and a dish that his
vocalizations
experiments on cats by Thorndike. He placed ahungry cat in a box Use ofhis legs, hands and arms. It isalsO even more chain is
verbal
of food outside the box. The cat in order to come out of the box had to mmanipulate
show an enormous versatility situations. The simplest
a lever within the box. The thatis in social particular
manipulation of lever is a response
instrumental in producing the reward, escape and food and for this (operant)
reason this llustrated
A
in the activity of naming. The nexttime ifhe sees the
type of learning is called Instrumental Conditioning. Instrumental responses child is shown an objecttasit aisdoll.
Conditioningis inore flexible than Classical Conditioning because the object he will be able to say that a 'doll'.
 LEARNING
THEORIESOF 125
ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLg Fromthe ve.y beginning, the infant acquires simple discrimination and
124
involved in this: differentiationamongthe objects in his environment. He learns the difference
There are two chains the bottle and a simple bottle. In lcarning to walk and to
(i) observing response Ss--R
connection that connects veenafeeding talk, he
objects. FP'aran. differentiates more and more specific movements out of a mass of random
distinguishes it from other
of the object and
(ii)the second is the Ss--R
connection that stimulates the
child himselt activity niscrimination
leearnto
involves higher mental proccsses. It is the basis upon
think and solve problems.
say 'doll'. we which
Generalization. Watson conditioned fear response in Albert by introducing
was found that without further training fear spread to white
+ R R
Object Observing Dol Doll loudsound. It
rabbit, and other white objects. This spread of fear response is called stimulus
Paired associate learning. When one learns a foreign language, generalization. When after initial conditioningto some stimulus, other similar
it is no
uncommon to acquire a large number of translation responses in the o stimulican also operate in calling out the same response, the process is called
manner
give doner or buy--acheter. The traditiona! prototype for such learmino : stimulusgeneralization.
the pair associate sometimes used in non-sense syllables as Riy--GEX Another example is of Pavlov's dog. Ifadog is conditioned to salivate
at
following are essential conditions for learning verbal associates: tone of a given frequency and intensity, other similar tones and
1. According to Gross, 1963, the learming of syllables or words is marked, he sound of a
same salivary response. If an organism is
affected by previous discrimination learning of both the first and second member ound stimuli will bring out the it also responds to a variety of other
2. Efficient learning of a two-element verbal association requires the use of an conditioned to respond to one stimuBus, initial conditioned stimulus.
stimuli bearing some relationship to the
intervening link having the function of mediation or coding.
The child learns the word Daddy' in the presence of agiven stimulus. He
men, old or young. It takes
emits the same word to other stimuli, i.e., other
Give donate doner
one specific
3. It is difficult to separate the phenomena of learning single associates from further conditioning to narrow down the response daddy' to take place.
those of multiple associates. process of generalization, fine discriminations
stimulus. Out ofthis placed
Each link of thechain to be acquired must have been previously lcarneda Differentiation and discrimination. In discrimination, the emphasis is
an Ss-R. It means that a stimulus must have been discriminated. It should be differentiation, the emphasis is placed on the response
readily pronunceable. on the stimulus side but in
we eliminate the
Mediating connections between each verbal unit and the next must have side. In discrimination, through selective reinforcement, reinforcement
through selective
been previously learned. responses to other stimuti. In differentiation,
we develop a very specific type of"
1. Verbal units must be
presented in the proper sequence: of one ofa number of related responses,
some stimuli. The two processes operate
(a) whole chain at a time, eSponse in the presence of
(6) one after the other. simultaneously in our personality development.
2. The learner must actively make the response
3. Cues may be used to learn verbal chains. required by the chain. 6. Concept Learning
4.Individual span of memory determines the length of chain that can be learn common characteristics.
all at once. 7 2 the limit of verbal chain. Progressive part method is mosl n concept is a class of stimuli which have Take the class of objects
as the stimuli.
efficient. There is no limit to verbal chain. People have learned complete book deal With classes of obiects and orange since
these
verbatim. short oak, mango,
called tree. This may include all tall, discriminate them from
5. There must be provision for objects share some characteristics in common. WeWeform concept by finding
situation. confirmation of correct responses in the learning other objects classed as dog. house or people. generalization
common. We learn
properties which a class ofobjects between classes.
shares in
5. Type-S5 Discrimination within classes and discrimination those of arious
of objectstoinclude objects like
We generalize within the dog class the class of
What is discrimination. In the development of discrimination, shapes,tree.size,
colour, but wediscriminatethem from
aspecttof the environment and reinforce selectively some responsewetotahel
it. When horse,
the behaviour shows a specificity of response to one given stimulus tothe house, etc.
cxclusion of others, we may say that a
discrimination has taken place.
 ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL OF
LEARNING - | 127

PSYCHOo
THEORIES
126
Role of Theory
7. Learning of Principles The
formulationofatheory playstwo important roles: one role is that atheory
on learning of concept formation
Learning of principles dependsshowregular relationship among two and ohe The systematizedinformation of an area of knowledge. It serves as a
givesdetailed
forms of learning. Principles of principles that every individual guidelineto
conduct further researches in the area. It produces new facts. It
concepts.Thereis alarge number organized| knowledge of the explanation of behaviour developed by a
environment. Principles of
grammar,mastersin
order to function properly in the work more efficiently. Most of givesan
and mathematics are learned to the ,scieng theorist. It serves
to guide us to explore reality which is the ultimate goal of all

prclaisnciroplmk
social.
whether physical or
learning contributes to the development of principles. Forteaching Sciences
important role of a theory is (a) to summarize or to describe,
the following steps are generally u_ed: The second
explain. The summarizing role of atheory is valuable because
Describethe expected performance of the student after he/she has and(6)toeconomy of expression to explain the concept of atheory and
the principle. leamed provides
explanatory role is also important because it explains the cause and effect
Describe and indicate the concepts or principles, which a student m relationshipinvolved in atheory. Theories of learning attempt to explain the
recall in learning the new principle mechanisms of behaviour involved in a learning process.
Assist the student in the recall of component concepts.
Help the student to combine the concepts in proper order. Characteristics of a Theory
Provide for the practice ofthe principle and for reinforcement of student: characteristic of testability. The
response. 1Testability. The theory must possess the
its testability. If we
Assess the student's learning of the principle. first and the most important characteristicof a theory is increases
Testability
cannot test a theory then we cannotcall a theory scientific.
8. Problem Solving further possibility of verification of the theory and can be helpful in rectifying
Problem solving comes at the highest stage in the hierarchy of learning process. any error.
factor. If the
Itdepends on learning of rules. It constitutes the use of'discovery method'. n 2. Significance. The significance of a theory is an important
then it is worthless. The theory must contain
problem solving the learner discovers a combination of previously lcarned theory is not of any significance, must be able
relevant explanatory mechanisms to explain its points of views. It
rules that he can apply to achieve the solution for a novel problem situation. significant
to predict future events successtully. The theory in order to be
Following four steps are involved in solving a problem: innovative features incorporated in the
(a) Preparation must summarize prior empirical data or must help
(b) Incubation Iheory. The theory in order to be significant for classroom teachers
(c) Illumination hem to understand teaching-learning process. It must provide guidance ior
(a) Verification. eftective learning. The theory must provide the knowledge of all types of
aiables which affect the learning process. It must help the teacherabout to make
Formalized learning theory developed in late thirties when proponents of Varo by helping him to make accurate predictions the
approaches attempted to build their own theory Ore effective
to explain the problems outcome of learning procesS.
learming. Atheory of learning cannot be defined to satisfy 3. meaningthereby that it
We can quote the definition of atheory as "a all interested pe
Parsimony. Agood theory must be parsimonious,
provisional explanatoryconsisting must be comprehensive and must explain all aspectsin simple language with
or set of propositions,
symbolic representations concerning some natural phenomena and propos o brevity.
and dependent variables. (2)of(1
) the observed
the relationships among independe
tounderlie
such relationships, or (3) mechanisms structures presumedmechanis1ns
or CLASSIFICATION OF THEORIES
inferred data
intended to account for observed relationships and underlying
in the absence of any direct cmpirical We will categories: I S-R theories and
manifestations of the relationships" (LLearning Theories edited by Melvin. all theories under two broad which willfollowin subsequcnt
discussItheories. The detailed
Marx). cognitive field
Chapters, will be as
treatment

follows:
 LEARNING - |
ADVANCEDEDUCATIONAI THEOAIES
OF
129
128

A. (1) S-R theories without

reinforcement PSYOHO is
U because it conveys the
|UCS
called
food, special condition; unconditioned
meaning that the response depends
response (UCR) is he introduced
() Conditioning by Pavlov. uponnono pre-conditions. During his experimentation on dogs, unlearned
implies and
(2) Watson's learning thcory. soundofthe bell, a neutral stimulus which evoked no response on the first
(3) Guthrie's learning theory. presentation. This stimulus is called conditioned stimulus (CS). After a
(0) S-R theories with reinforcement ofpairingofCS;andIUCS. the CS is presented alone tothe dog without number
UCS. If
(I)E.L. Thorndike's theory. succeedsin eliciting the response (saliva) then we call it a conditioncd
(2) Hull's theory. stimulus
CS andthe response (salivation) is called aconditioned response. Model
(3)B.F. Skinner's theory. given below:
classical.conditioning is
B. Cognitive field theory of
I. UCS UCR
(1) Gestalt theory of learning.
(2) Field theory of lcarning (Lewin). (Food powder) (Saliva)
2. CS .UCR
(3) Tolman's sign-Gestalt theory of learning.
(Sound ofbell) (Saliva)
1. 1VAN P. PAVLOV (1849-1936): CLASSICAL CONDITIONING UCS
(Food powder)
Classical conditioning was discovered by a Russian physiologist Ivan P. Pavlo 3. CS CR
around the turn of the present century. He was basically interested in studvin (Sound ofbell) (Saliva)
the process of gastricsecretion in dogs. Hc got nobel prize on his research o
digestive process in the year 1904. During his cxperimcntal work on dogs. h Classical Conditioning may be defined as, "a proçess in which a neutral
accidentally noticeda phenomenon of sccretion of saliva in dogs on the sich simuus, by pairing with a natural stimulus, acquires all the characteristics of
of the food or sound of caretaker's approaching
footsteps. The salivatine natural stimulus". In the model given above, the sound of bell was neutral
process, well before the food was put into the mouth of the dog, was called stimulus to elicit the response of salivation but by pairing it a number of times
psychic secretion. This psychic secretion was the basis of Classical with food, it acquired the characteristics of food and succeeded in eliciting the
Conditioning. He classified reflexes into two broad categories: physiological response of salivation when presented alone at the third stage. Classical
and psychic reflexes. Physiological reflex is an Conditioning is sometimes called substitution learning because we substitute
innate
the amount of gastric secretion, depending on the kindprocess which contob
and amount of food n aneutral stimulus in place of a natural stimulus. Some modern psychologists
the stomach of the organism. They are have interpreted Classical Conditioning as signal learning. Classical
invariably
given species. Psychicreflexes (sometimes called shown by all animals ol 3
conditioned reflexes) ocu vOnaitioning as a process reflects the facts that in the first phase of the
only as a result of its particular experience. The dogs in Pavlov's cxperimens experiment the response is made unconditionally to the UCS: that is, the response
Secreted saliva on the presentation of sound of a buzzer. S hot conditional to any special training but is natural. Response to he
situations we experience that sometimes when we go to market,In the our daily k
conditioned stimulus (CS), on the other hand, depends on pair1ng it wn
or smell of sweets, cause percepuu that
salivation in our mouth. unconditioned stimulus (UCS). Conditioned stimulus (CS) is a signal
uhconditioned stimulus (UCS) is about to appear.
Clussicat Conditioning Experiments Another ype of conditioning which is called higher order conditioning
goes one step further as shown below:
The basic phenomenon of Classical
of responses are classically Conditioning is simple one. Agreat va 1. UCS UCR
conditionable in our daily life situations. r
restricted his experimental studies to the process (Food) (Saliva)
s indogs
We will describe an
experiment of'secretion offsaliva 2. CS+UCS .CR
Food in the mouth of the
from Pavlov to make certain concepts clear
the
in (Bell +Food)
mouth of the dog, the dogorganism produces saliva. When we put food º
3. CS,+CS CR
salivates.
natural and unfailing. Food is called theThisunconditioned
response, on the Part(UCS)
Istimulus
dog.
of theandth (Bell +Light)
salivation by the dog is called unconditioncd response (UCR). The stimulos 4. CS CR
(Saliva)
(Light)
 LEARNING -
ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLo OF 131
THEOAIES
130 Pavlov conducted all his experiments under controlled conditios ee.tervalfor diirerentresponses The following types of temporal relationships
psychologistsfor Classical
distractions in a sound-proof cabin. The theory of conditionino Pouebeen
Simultaneous
by
studiedconditioning. When CS and UCS occur either Conditioning: at the
on mechanistic approach to of same
by Pavlov is based on his strong views (a) justfollowing the onset the conditioned stimulus:
According to him every action of animal and
man depended on learning timeor
There was no such thing as mind for
him. The behaviour
corresponding events in the nervous system of the organis1m,
machinen
must refleg
CS

mechanism of conditioning, Frank Restle wrote: "In Pavlov's Explthinakiinnig,ng

conditioned stimulus (CS) would set up a weak centre ofexcitation in
the
te
the UCS

andthe UCS-UCR event would involve a strong centre of

factivity brai n Delayed conditioning. Delayed coonditioning has been reported as the
centre of excitation proceeds the other in time, the weaker centre when
one (9) widely used temporal relationship. It has been found most effective in
develops in the brain.At that time, presentation of the CS initiates the ac
becomey
integrated with or drawn into the stronger activity and a pathway of some.Sontablishing
most conditioning. Thisis called delayed because the onset of the UCS
following the onset ofthe
Cs:
is delayed
of theUCS-UCR complex and the animal makes the UCR. The theory states
the response originally made to the UCSbecomes associated with the ce
CS
what is learned is aCSCR bond of some kind."
UCS
Some Phenomena of ClassicalConditioning is not as effective as delaved
Pavlov and his associates discovered several phenomena during their (o Trace conditioning. Trace conditioningparticularly when there is a long
experimentalstudies on the gastric secretion in dogs. We will discuss imporant conditioning. It is very difficult to establish,
UCS:
interval between the CS and
findings as reported by him in his classic book on conditioning:
1. Intensity. One simple fact is that gastric secretion is the function of kindof
food (UCS). There is positive correlation between intensity of the stimulus and CS
magnitude of the response but there is negative correlation between intensity
of the stimulus and latency of the response. The more intense the CS, themore UCS
rapidly conditioning will proceed and larger the CR will be. conditioning is mostly unsuccessful.
(a) Backward conditioning. Backward
CS CR Here the (ICS is presented prior to CS:
(High intensity) (High magnitude)
Latency is less
CS CS
CR
(Low intensity) (Low magnitude)
UCS
Latency is higher followed by UCS (food), itmeans
It has also been reported that if the CS is too weak, there may be 0 xtinction, If CS (sound ofthebell) it not when the dog stops to secrete saliva.
conditioning. stage comes
Sho reinforcement. A Extinction has been used in two different
2. Temporal relationship between CS and UCS. Classical Conditionine extinction, does and another
M oGessis known as somethingthe experimenter
experiments have been conducted in control conditions in psychologiea waysextinction as procedure is organism. Pavlov reported in
laboratory. Psychologists have manipulated systematically the time ine which happens to behaviour of the was increased,the response
between the CS and UCS. It has been reported that an interval of half a seco something
his experiments that when the spacing oftest trails
the
(.5 sec) between CS and UCS produces the greatest amount of
conditionlis extinguished rapidly. psychologiststhat whenafter
the time interval is shorter than half a second and 4. reported by set-up
particularly if the inteivs
negative so that the CS follows UCS, a dramatic failure of conditionin Spontaneous recovery.
dog is
It has been
set-up and again
put inthe
out of the experimental conditioned stimulus (CS) by
gastric
typically found. Studies suggest that there may be very different optimum alapse brought
of time, the dog responds to
 LEARNING - |
ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL P THEORIES
OF
132

sccretion. This process is called spontaneous

spontaneous recovery explains that there is no
recovery. The
complete cxtinction due
PSYCHOLOGN
phenomcnon
together in ters of either time or
occurred
operationisthe law
the
of contiguity which
space. This
states that two principleof mental
ideaspast.comeButtoideas
sametime because they have occurred together in the
133

mindareat
interval but there is inhibition of CR. psychology as a science
5. Inhibition. Inhibition may be defined as a process in which a stimulus
invisibleand deals with the
the observable straw
measurable. It was Pavlov
for the first and
tyipesnhibisof
Pavlov described two time who
a response that would otherwise occur.
inhibitions as given below:
(ideas)intothe psychologist's gold (response) turned philosopher'
with the law s and
of contiguity
() External inhibition. It is a process of inhibiting CR by external IConditioning procedures in the laboratory. He
Classical explained
environment as noise or any other distraction which may draw thefactattoersntioinnthofe termsof physiological changes by adopting an objective methodlearning
of study.in
Pavlov developed his own theory of brain. Conditioning was accepted as
the dog. Let us illustrate it by an example: suppose adog has been
to atone to salivate. When we present the tone and a new conditiimonedulus
distracting
(noise) is also presented, we find that occurrence of a novel stimulusstinbiL
theoretical framework and practical technique of solving a variety of applied
problems. The m most important contribution made by him is the language of
or blocks the CRthe dog does not salivate. It has been further learningand| conditioning. Much of theterminology usedtoday was developcd
reported
if the novel stimulus is presented on a series of experimental trials, the CR tha byhim. Pavlov contributed alot by developing an objective approach to the
return to its full strength. process ofllearning. We can summarize his major finding as: Capacity to learn
(ii) Internal inhibution. It was observed by Pavlov that if complete extinctin depends on the type of the nervous system and the repetitions of the activity
under reinforcement.
For learning to occur, one must have some drive that
of CR is obtained by not providing food to the dog and it is then given aperiol
of 24 hours rest,CR willshow spontaneous recovery when the dog is testel tivates for action. Transfer of learning is explained as generalization of
again. The extinction does not permanently weaken the CR. Pavlov argued tha stimulus.
spontaneous recovery proves that CR in extinction does not represent dvine
of the reflex or any real weakening of the learned S-R connections. It is blocked Application of ClassicalConditioning
by some internal inhibitory process. For example, physical health of the Most of the experiments on Classical Conditioning have been conducted on
organism or pre-occupation with some other activity, etc. animals except a few on children. Classical experiments do not have direct
(6)Generalization. Generalization is a process in which a conditioned response application to classroom learning. The principles of Classical Conditioning
toa stimulus is generalized to a similar category of stimuli. We can understand can be used in the following areas of animal and human behaviour:
it with the help of an example. Suppose the dog salivates at the sound of the 1. Developing good habits. Principles of Classical Conditioning can be uscd
buzzer of 1000 intensity but ifthe dog also salivates at the sound of 999 or 1001 tor developing good habits in children such as cleanliness, respect for elders,
intensity, it means the dog has his response to the stimuligeneralized. Classical and punctuality, etc.
experiment by Watson on Albert is an example of stimulus generalization of
fear response. Z. Breaking of badhabits and elimination of conditioned fear. All learning is
acquired in the social environment. Acquired learning may be deconditioned
3y using the principles of Classical Conditioning. Principlesin of Classical
Pavlov's Contribution
Onditioning can be used to deconditioning anxiety and fear maladjusted
Pavlov was the man who brought a revolution in the field of psychology. children. the principles of
3. of the animals. Animal trainers have been using
findings generated a lot of enthusiasmamong the psychologists in USA o
his findings. His distinct contribution to psychology is that he for the 1irst t
Trai ning
Classical Conditioning since along time without being much awarc of the
showed how it was possible to talk about that how apart of the environn underlying
4.
mechanisms. Classical Conditioning are
used in
came to be associated with and control an animal's response. He experimental Use in The principles of
proved it in non-mental and perfectly in an objective way. Before Pavlov, several psychotherapy.
philosophers, most notably Locke and Hobbes, had talked about the mi
terms of the association of ideas. Locke compared human mind to 'tabulurasa
decondi
S,
Develoopiningngp
ti emotional fears in mental patients.
Conditioningcan be usedto
develop
positive attitudes. Classical learning, teacher andthe school.to
,on which the environment writes its
messageein the form of ideas..
Accordingto f6.avourTeachiableng
or unfavourable attitude towardsClassical Conditioning are used
of
alphabets. The principles principles of arithmetic
by using some
associationism, one idea leáds to another because in the past these to leach
alphabets and four fundamental
 ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLGY LEARNING - |
OF
MEORIES 135
134
with apple, countingi theory was primarily a protest
against
example,'A' is associated is taugh Watson's
Thorndike's law ofeffect mentalistic in Thorndike' s theory. He
concrete material. For nature,
with the help of beads, etc.
considered
versionof the old hedonistic principle of behaviour. nothing but an
CONTIGuITY THEORY updated
Thesecondlaw which he proposed is of recency. The most recent response
strengthenedImore by its frequent occurrence than is an earlier response. He
dividedi into two broad
Stimulus-responsetheories of learning can be theories with is conditibningthe basis for learning. Learning for him isthe shifting of old
S-Rtheories without
reinforcement and S-R
of
categoriJB.ey
reinforcement. e to new stimuli. Watson had great influence on psychology. He
responses
made
Edwin R. Guthrie cotne under the first category Ftheorists. They developed an objective
method of studying behaviour. He convined
the and
areWatson two foremost contiguity theorists who assigned no role to the psychologiststhattthe real explanation ofbehaviour lies inthe nervous system.
of
intervening variables of pleasantness or unpleasantness the consequences popularizedthe theory of conditioning in America.
contiguity alone was enouo
of response in learming. According to them Wheneve.
He
establish connection or bond between stimulus-Tesponse (S-R). Watson'sContribution
stimulus links with element ofbehaviour (response), a connection is establishoa
in the nervous system. Contiguity theory was simplest because it gave no had great influence on American psychology. His greatest
JB. Watson
place to effect in learning. contributionto psychology is that he brought psychology out from mechanistic
of behaviour. He
ond mentalistic warfare. He emphasized the objective study
2.J.B. WNATSON (1878-1958) acceleratedthe pace behaviourism. He popularizedtheconceptpsychologists
ofl that nervous
systemcan really explain all types of
behaviour. He convinced all
Great revolution occurred in the field of psychology in the early years of the
that for the explanation of learning, understanding of brain and its functioning
present century. People were fed up with traditional psychology of emphasized that all our behaviour is learned by interacting
consciousness and its method of introspection. J.B. Watson (1878-1958) is very essential. He importance of
with external environmental stimuli. He over emphasized the
revolutionized the theory and practice of psychology by his radical ideas. environment. His theory of learning is based on the principle that Stimulus
Being convinced by his research on maze learning by rats, he rejected the learning can
Response (S-R) bondage is the basis of learning and all types ofresearches on
consciousness and introspection as methods of study of human behaviour as connections. He spread and motivated
they couldnot be verified. He closed the gap between the study of animal and be reduced to S-R
conditioning in America. His theory of learning had a great impact on the
man. He defined psychology as the study of overt and observable behaviour educational system in America. For example, emphasis was laid on providing a
which can be measured objectively. He had strong conviction that behaviour conducive environment in schools for efficient and permanent learning.
can be explained in terms of stimulus-response (S-R) connections in the brain. Surticient practice and exercise were given to make the bondages
between S-R
He published his first book Psychology As the Behaviourist Views It in 1913 in permanent.
which he advocated his points of view regarding behaviour.
3.E.R. GUTHRIE (1886-1959)
Watson's Theory of Learning
E.R. Guthrie (1886-1959) offWashington University was the leading advocate
defined
Watson developed a simple theory of learning. He proposed that when a of association by contiguity. He
stimulus and response occur at the same time in close contiguity, the connectio Stimulus-Response (S-R) theory of of stimuli which has accompanied a
between them is strengthened. The strength of connection between stimuiu contiguity principle as: "A combination
followed by that
movement." He
response (S-R) depends upon the frequency of S-R repetitions. This theo movement
developed, his own theory offlearning
will on its recurrence tend to be
similar to J.B. Watson but he rejectedthe
postermity.
was like Thorndike's theory in respect of its claim that learning consists
aw of frequency I favour of a principle of
strengthening S-R connections but there was one difference that for Was developed by Watson in frequency with recency according
l9Watwhisonch suppllemented
there was no law of effect, there was no reinforcement but there was a ve had of
the principle elicited stimulus, all other
by a given was
important law of frequency. He emphasized the importance of frequency the last in series of responses mostreadily whenthe stimulus
exercise in learning. tnexthings being
equal, tended to be evoked
postermity
emphasized that only the last

presented. principle
The of
 ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOG THEORIES OF LEARNING
136
137
to the stimulussis conditioning which means that
response in the series which was connected
as a matter of fact, elaborated
lcarming in particular.
Watson's views
important.Guthprroivede
of behaviour in general

He conducted a series of experiments on cats in puzzle boxes. He

that for connection of S-R only one trial was thought to be
an
and o
inhibitory
response
occurs in between the original

Theethird
responses
principle, which deals with delayed
conditioningatall.
isnot fourth principle is that
are inhibited if any
stimulus-response
(S-R).
conditioning
in his opinion,
improvemnent in performance is the result of
othcr

the conditioned stimulus full strength but practice is usefulnecessary to gve

because
The
practice. Guthrie
believed that conditioning takes place after asingle trial. The
knit S-R bond together to form the larger units of behaviour that we
it tohelps emphasison practice to strengthen stimulusS-response (S-R) connection is for
call\
GUTHRIE'STHEORY OF LEARNING
acs. thepurpose of enlistment of increasing numbers of stimuli as conditioners and
ofindividual connections.
notfor
strengthening
According to Guthrie, a child learns what he
does. Whatever he perceives
Lcarning theory developed by Guthrie stresses that the organism respond. stimulus for and response that occurs at the same
various stimuliby contraction of muscles and secretion ofglands. These s becomes a time. Whenever
responses are called movements. According to Guthrie, an act is a series the stimulus reappears, he does, what it did the last time, it was noticed in
movements associated together by the law of contiguity. We can explain it ih teaching children to read printed word. The child looks at the symbol and while
the help of walking: it requires a number of movements of muscles and senses looking he says. When the child notices these symbols in future, he tends to
which combined together make an act. Guthrie rejected the theory ofThorndike Nthem correctly because of stimulus-response (S-R) connection. The
saying that he was concerned with acts, not with movements. He explained his principle of association by continguity is important to analyse emotional
position on learning as, "Our position is that what is associated Is a stimulus responses of humnan beings in daily life. The emotional responses of school
and response. It would be perhaps more exact to say what is more children are very significant in the teaching-learning process--when feeling of
is some stimulation of sense organs and a
associated
corresponding muscular contraction fear is generalized to all those things of the school situations of which the child
or glandular secretion. By calling them associated we mean that is aware at that time, subject matter, the teacher, etc. If, on the other hand, a
has become the occasion for the response because of a past the stimulation teacher malkes the students feel good it means he is making the students to like
two." In order to test his theory, two noteworthy association of the
experiments are described as school and enjoy learning.
follows: Guthrie developed no separate concept of motivation; for him stimuli are
Experiment 1. The first experiment was conducted by Guthrie and Horton in motives. Stimulation may be from within or without which arouses the learner
1946 on cats in a puzzle box to prove that learning is a and causes him to respond in many ways. The teacher should not teach when
and of nothing else. The experiment was a simple one. Aprocess of association
cat was kept ina box the students are absorbed in their own affairs or when the teacher is not able to
with a small pole in the midst of the box as a release mechanism. The attract the attention of the students. Guthrie did not believe that goals or
of the pole touching
from any side and in any manner opened the door. The cat could purposes determine activity in any future sense.
come out of the box and eat the food put outside the cage. The cat
found the According to contiguity, forgetting is simply to do something else. We
solution immediately and whenever put in the box, it repeated its previous not by disuse but by other learning, It believes in interference theory oT
behaviour. He concluded that what any animal would do at any torgetting. Guthrie was hopeful ofthe possibilities of transfer knowledge
based on a record of what he did the first time in the past. movement wa quite specific area of
Guthrie reduced a from one situation to another by way of giving practice in that that are
lypes of learning to association by contiguity in time.
Experiment 2. The second experiment was conducted by Voeks in 1954 knowl edgelikeor theby situation
generally which
in a wide
providingin practiceperformancevariety
is
of situations
expectedin future.
prove the theoretical concept of Guthrie. He used a bell as a CS and
eye D
as the CR. He found that the subjects very rapidly acquired conditioned
response. A lypical subject might show no conditioning in the first six re
Contribution of Guthrie
the importance of the
and then on the seventh trial showed the CR in
fullstrength. Guhr
overt ie's system was the simplest one. He emphasized annoyers or satisfiers
There is no place forsystem, even being the
Guthrie developed several fundamental principles of learning, the
most
and stimulus in his theory of learning. Guthrie's
and overt response.

plreesitnfoone,rcement
important of them being the principle of conditioning. He attemptedttoreduce the reason
that he had
all principles to this basic
principle. The second principle of learning is
the
shoimresearch was due to
could not generate research;
scholars who could
carry on
research on his proposed
model.
 MEORIESOFLEARANING 139
ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL pSYO
REFERENCES
138 The otherreason was that when his theoryofflearning was foomulate
behaviourtheory of that period. M.L., Learning Theories for Teachers.

stood outsidethe
variables. They
mainstreamof
well-organized
attributed systemstointroducing
importance the
the concept of
concept
Tointlemrvanen
of motivation. is ther
Biggie,Robert
Boles,Restle,
C.. Learning Theory, Holt, Rinehart, NY, 1975.
Learning Animal Behaviour and Human Cognition, McGraw Hill.
Hulldeveloped 1935.
Frank
J.NY,1975.
appeared in It was
R.M.,The Conditions
of Learning, Holt, Rinehart. NY, 1970.
hadan anachronistic quality whenit first
Watson. He explained
behaviour in terms of based ons Gagne,
W.E, Learning.
B.I.Publication, Bombay, 1967.
principles of Pavlov and
excludingcompletely the concept Stimul 4 Hill
Melvin H., Learning
Theories, Macmillan, 1971.

ofreinforcemen
5.
connections Marx,
McGuigan, F.G (eds. ), Contemporary Approaches to Conditioning and Learning.
His (S-R)
Response analysis of extinction, punishment, habit breaking and othe 6. Washington, D.C., 1973.
1.
phenomenon had considerable impact on the theory of education. His ther (eds.), Biological Boundaries of Learning. Appleton, NY, I972.
Seligman, M.LE.P. Behaviour, Macmillan. NY, 1953.
provided atheoretical model for later workers. Behaviour therapists apply h 8. Skinner, B.F. Science and Human
Norton. NY, 1925.
deviant behaviour in child. 9. Watson, J.B.. Behaviourism,
methods of breakinghabits in correcting 10.
WWyrwicka, W., The Mechanisms of
Conditioned Behaviour. Springfield. 1972.
I1.
ASSIGNMENTS
experience.
I. Definc learning List down five motor skills from your
2. Give in brief Gagne'sclassification of learming.
examples.
3. Howis learning reiated to maturation? Explain with
4. Define learning and differentiate between learning. imprinting and maturation
S. Why should prospective teachers study psychology of learning?
6. Define a theory. What are the functions of a theory?
7. What is the contribution of Pavlov to psychology?
8. What is the contribution of Watson and Guthrie to education?
9. Examine the fundamental mechanisms ofClassical Conditioning.
10. What are the arcas where principles of Classical Conditioning can be used?
11. Define Classical Conditioning. Give in briefits application.
12. State the definition of learning given by M.H.Marx.
13. What is the difference between imprinting and learning?
14. Write 'True' or False against each statement as the case
may be.
() The concept of maturation has been borrowed from biology.
(iüi) There isno relation between maturation and learning.
(ü) Gagne has classified learning with eight types.
(iv) Signal learning is commonly termed as classical
I5. What is chain lcarning? conditioning.
l6. Explain Type-5 Discrimination.
17. Mention any three steps in problem
18. What is the role of a theory? solving.
19. Describe the model of classical
20. Mention the names of the conditioning.
promoters
21. Malch the contents of column 'A'
of Cognitive Field Theory.
with those ofB'.
Column A
Hall Column B
Pavlov Sign-Gestalt theory
Tolman S.R. Theory with reinforcement
Walson Classical conditioning reinfurcenen!
22. What is the S.R. Theory without
difference betwecn delayed conditioning and trace conditioning"
 LEARNING - || 141
OF
THEORIES
wasconfined in a puzzle box and outside the
hungrycat box a dish of
simple.
A A Thecat had to pull a string t0 come out of the box. The cat, in
kept. random
was
food madeseveral movements ofjumping,
dashing and to running
7 box,
the off
out
get
the box.
Arlast it succeeded in pulling the string. The door of the
opened,the cat came out and ate the food. He promptly put the cat
box
puzzle for the next trial. The cat again displayed frantic behaviour but it
Theories of Learning - II the
box
in SUcceededin pulling thestring. Over aseries of successive trials, the cat
|
THORNDIKE,HULL
sOon increasinglyefficientin getting out of the box. The number of errors
became
slowly on subsequent
trials. Thorndike's cat showed slow, gradual
reduced improvement in performance over successive trials. He
continuous
ond in box can be explained in terms of
Thorndike (S-R Reinforcement) Theory that learning of cat the puzzle
three psycholoie,concludeu direct connection between the stimulus and the response. He
Nthe previous chapter w discussed the theories of formationof in the puzzle box and emphasizedtwoimportant
Pavlov, Watson and Guthriewho emphasized the role of contiguty of learning of cat
analysedthe
Stimulus-Response (S-R) connections in learning. Though the sequence of
factors for
learning to occur: one is that the cat should be hungry, meaning,
theories is disturbed because Thorndike developed a theory of learning ve be some motivation in the cat for learning and the second
thatthere should
ahead of Pavlov and Watson but it has been done for the convenience st
isfood which is also
necessary to satisfy the hunger of the cat.
or
factor
understanding. We willdiscuss in this and subsequent chapters psychologis
who introduced the concept of reward (reinforcement) for learning to oc Basic LaWs off Learning
E.L. Thomdike (1874-1949) was the first American psychologists in Stimulus:
Response (S-R) theories who conducted a series of experiments on leaming
with animals. He introduced the concept of reward in learning. Earlier 1.TheLaw of Effect
psychologists had made systematic observation of animals but Thorndike was environment.
standardiel Learming occurs if andonly ifthe response has some effect on the
ne irst to study the subject of learning systematically using The law of effect maintains that when modifiable connection between Stimulus
procedures and apparatus. He is considered tader reinforcement theorists.
Traditionally, there has been less emphasis in rëinforcement theories on the Response (S-R)has been made, it was strengthenedifit resulted in satisfaction
modified his
control of stimuli than in contiguity theories. In reinforcement theories more and was weakened if it led to annoyance. But later on in 1932 he
earlier law of effect as 'satisfaction strengthens the bond but annoyance does
emphasis is laid on the control of the consequences that follow a respons:
Responses which are followed by satisfaction or pleasure are reinforced and not weaken it". The law of effect had been under criticism by psychologists who
become more probable in future. All learning, according to Thorndike, is the complained that the lavw of effect has the flavour of the principle of hedonism
formation of bonds or connections between Stimulus-Response (S-R). t USIng satisfier and annoyer. Thorndike tried to respond the criticism by detining
process of forming connectiohs depends on a number of variables which operale e Lerms in an objective way:"By a satisfying state of affairs is meant one which
in the environment and the organism. He conducted several
u tu animal does nothing to avoid, often doing things which maintain or renew
cats in the puzzle box. He formulated three basic laws and fiveexperimens
supplementai) i. By an annoying state of affairs is meant one which the animal does nothing
principles of learning on the basis of his experimental study of cat's behavlou to
in the puzzle box. preserve,, often doing things which put an endto it."
The Puzzle Box
Experiment ClTheassroom Application of the Law of Effect
teacher can use this law in the classroom learning-teaching situations in
Thorndike's classical experiments on cat in the puzzle box are widely known the following ways.
and often quotedin psychology of learning. The experimental set-up wasvery The
(a) The and plcasant.
experiences should be satisfactory
leacher(b) must cassroom
enjoy his teaching work. must be meaningful and

UnderstaLearndabnleing
experiences and other activitieslearners.
in terms of the personal life of the
 ADVANCEDI EDUCATIONAL PSYOHOL THEORIESOFLEAANING
143
142 (c) School experiences and activities mast be arranged in such away t Supplementary Principles ofiLearning
learners may have some degree of confidence and success in their work, EL.Thomdike.in additionto his three basic laws of learning, developed five
should be organized in increasing difficulty learning which are as follows:
() School activities without any failure. ordex s of
principles
students may progress
that the provided in varied ways so that novelty may b Principle ofMultiple Response
(e) Material should be
maintained.
encouragement that give pleasure and principlestates that animal or man may try many responses before
) Guidance, praise and
of knowing that he is on the right path,
should be properly used. satisfacig attemptingtheright response through the process of trial and
This
factors as motives, a difficulty or
learming involves many
error. Trial and
barrier and
error
Sometimes aimlessattempts to
achieve the goal, asuccessful trial, elimination
2. The Law of Exercise
unproductive responses and consolidation of successful
The second law is divided into two parts as: of responses.
oftrial. and error learning in education is thatthe learners
The significance
(a) Law of use, (b) Law of disuse. andla chance to experiment themselves. They learn from
wide experience
The law of use states that other things being equal, the more frequenthget own errors.The teacher provides help to the students when they need it.
modifiable connection between Stimulus-Response (S-R) is made, the stron their
Psychologists now agree that
all experiences are educative including the
that connection will be. The law of disuse states that other things being eon committing oferrors. According to Keel (1965) allteachers ofArts have realized
when a modifiable connection between Stimulus-Response (S-R) is not nai importance of independent selection of theme by learners.
over a period of time, the strength of that connection is weakened. the

Application in Classroom Learning 2.The Principle ofMental Set

1. More opportunities should be given to the stud¿nts to use and repeat the Mental set refers to the predisposition to act in a given way. It is more or less
knowledge they get in the lass. temporary condition of one's attitudes, feelings and interests. For learning to
2. To maintain the connections for longer period, review of the learned materiál occur, positive mentalset inpupils is an essential condition. The teacher can
is necessary. prepare students for various activities in advance. He can encourage them for
3. Drillstrengthens the bondage between S-R. Drill plays an important rolein participating in different activities in home, school and community. The material
elementary classes in the learning of multiplication tables, alphabets and to be taught must be meaningful. The emotional atmosphere of the classroom
meanings of words. According to Thorndike more and more drill should w hould be congenial. Students must feel that they have control over their
provided in elementary classes to strengthen the bondage between Stimulus hiture activities. Teacher's assistance to develop positive attitudes is very
Response. hejpYul for pupils. Pupils have been known to develop favourable attitudes
towards learning merely on the basis of knowing that the teacher is concermed
3. The Law of Readiness about them and that the teacher desires to be of assistance.
When a modifiable connection is ready to act, to do so is satisfying; when 3. Principle of
not ready to do so is unsatisfying. Readiness is
dependent upon Partial Activity
maturation and experience of the learner.
According
to Thormdike, a response made only to parts or aspects of a total
matterthan to the totality is the principle of partial activity.In responding part of
Classroom Implications otal to his mother whether
1. Teacher must wait till the learner is ready to learn and should givethos: she issitinuatnight
ion isclothes
pprepotent, for example,
or evening dress, whetherwillatrespond
,ababy home, or onthe street.
experiences which help to enhance readiness. thatwill
Preparatory experiences 4.
hasten the growth of readiness can be
2. Aptitude tests in various subjects mayprovided
be given toin primary
determineclasses.
the thoroughnes Principle ofstates
This Analogyor Assimilation
faced with a new
situationfor
of learners.
wihichprihenciphasle no n¡tural when
that an individual
or learned
is
response, the
response he makes
will
 ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYOHOLo OF
LEARNING - ||
THEORIES
teacher 145
144
similar situation. The kind of event like satisfying state of affairs. His main
an earlier responseto a can
manner make particular summarized as that
resemble
his
following
classroom teaching in the between the maybe learning is the result of S-R findings on
principle in thebrain and reinforcediby
acts as connections
this leaming
provide similarities new and some ofreward
learningwhich
()The teacher must the known tothe unknown and the he old. G formedin thesame action. The transfer
forrepeating is explained ain terms of
motivator
importance of leading
bringingtextbook abstraction
usefuinesS
from to lifeby relating themto the expernences of th
elements
identical
intwo situations and
forgetting caused bylack of
is
practice.
learners.
() The teacher must provide identity between
historical
and prescnt-da ClarkL.Hull(1884-1952)
(
(ii) The principle of analogy is expla1nedin unit approach. Th UnCL.Hull wasprofessor of psychology at Yale University. He synthesizedinto
events.
the
develops. uemocra:unifiedsystem many of achievements of his predecessors. He built a new
approach: individual learner makes decisions, grows and Systemon their strength and avoided some of their pitfalls. His system of
point of view. behaviouris studied
under. S-Rreinforcement theorists. His
system is deductive,
mathematical and testable. It was experimentaly tested by a number of
5. The Principle of Associative Shifting Series:psychologists. He himself constantly changed it through publication of articles
This principle states that if a response can be kept intact through a inresearch journals. We findthe following similarities in his system and learing
gradual changes in the stimulating situation, it may finally be given to atotaly theories described earlier.
new situation. The stimulating situation is changed firstly by adding son ()Itis based on an association theory of Stimulus-Response.
elements, then by subtracting other elements, until nothing of the orieinl (2)It is based on survival model of life.
situation remains. Acommon school example would be reading where certlin (3)It is based on biological needs and their fulfilment.
combinations of letters through repetition and reinforcement call to mind hËehi (4) His original orientation was Pavlovian. He was much impressed by the
specifíic things. The letters HC0RSE are attached to alarge solid, hotematic nature and scientific aura of Pavlov's theory of conditioning.
grass-eating animal. Associative shifting may then cause these same letters
mean a device on which wood may be held while it is being sawed. The teacher
Some Definitions
can use this principle in the following ways:
() Habits, attitudes and interests that children develop in school inevitabi (0) Need. It is astate ofthe organism in which adeviation of theorganism, from
from the working equipment with which they will perform their functions as the optimum ofbiological conditions necessary for survival, takes place.When
adults. aned arises, the organism acts in order to reduce the need. Sometimes, Hull's
(i) Respect for objective viewpoint, systematic methods of problem theory of learning is called Need-Reduction theory.
solving, concern for others and effective work habits should bg developedi 9Drive. It is ageneral condition of privation in the organism. It is acommon
students. denominator fot all primary motivations whether due to food, water, sex or any
other cause.
Thorndike's Contribution 3) Reinforcement. Hull lexplained reinforcement as:"Whenever a Reaction (R)
Thorndike was the first psychologist who systematically conducteda sericsu Iakes
tron
place in temporall contiguity with an afferent receptor impulse(s) resulting
the impact upon areceptor of stimulus energy (S) and this conjunction is
experiments on animals to evolve basic laws of learning. His foremos!
contribution was to break downthe mentalistic--nechanistic and man-animal on fol owed closely by the diminution in a need, in the tendency of that stimulus
dualism in psychology. He emphasizedthat behaviour is something different
from the mechanism of the describing
subsequent 0ccasions to evoke that reaction."
behaviour., was not an ideanervous system. The basic unit,
but Stimulus-Response for
(S-R)usedconnections. He HULL'S THEORY
proposed that all learning involves the
connections. This basic assumption was toformation
stimulus-respons
of ncw importantrolk
play atremendously Iyou minutengages
he animal ely observe the behaviour
in solving animal, you
of anproblems.
its biological
will find that mostly
Considerananimalthat
in the subsequent concepto has aneed for food, The animal reacts and suppose, accidently, it finds food.
development cf learning theory. He als0
reinforcement, idea that learning occurs when a
the gave the producesà The food
animal's immediate
eliminates the need and solves the
response
Sidogical Original
problem. What an elegant yystem we would have if this
event, the
 ADVANCED EDUCATIONALLPSYCHO
LEARNING -
146 THEOAIESOF
reinforcement aand produce 147

problem-thats\eolarvreduced
niinngg syssemt
serve as factor: the
were to n influencedonly byone number of times the particular
wouldbeanautomatic
reductionin need,
together (contiguity) has been
luckyresponse. The animal then
bchaviour and the particular behaviour occurring Hullbelieved that all followcd by areinforcemcntresponse
.
Nced would produce learncd.
gradually
Reinforcement. behaviour has its in theinlower
needswhichare most demanding early in human life andorigin the biological
animals.
necd would be Thecomplexhuman behaviouris based on our biological needs. Reinforcement
Basic Concepts accordingtoHull|is like Thorndike's reward in one way: it is astimulus which
the importance of unlearned abilityto alter the probabilities of certain Rfollowing certain S. When
Unlearned behaviour Hullrecognizedconnections are found more s t i m ul us the
responseis reinforced,
has this means that it has been followed by one a
of

sfureperquesrtenrsulpyctonsure.
response associations. Unlearned on certain
a class of stimuli. Hull postulated that reinforcing stimuli were thosc
than on the higher. Learning is
the lower phylogenetic levelsconnections. The nature of inherited reduced stimuli uniquely associated with the biological drives.
built upon these inherited association doctrine. Hull.
whichHull's
theory oflearning holds that association between S-R is not enough
formulated on the basis of
patterns was
an elaborate symbolism for histheory. The
symbolSUR stands for the
unlearned
deunlveclamedope Heis of the opinion that some kindlof reward or other reinforcemcnt
forlearning. in order to establish the stimulus as signal. Hull's theory is
stimulus-response connection. Uis an albbreviation of The SandR necessary
isReinforcement theory of learning. He stated his theory in the form of sixteen
represent the stimulus and response components of learning respectively
The stimulus. Behaviourists measure the objective physical stimulus; the: postulates or generalIrules. Four of the sixteen postulates are explained below.
thcories usually relate the internal neural activities to a response. For Hul Thepostulates have not been selected in serial order.
responses are conditioned to the neural after-effects of stimuli rather than: iPostulate IV: The law of habit formation. Hulwas interested in the formation
habit1formation inthe form of the following formula:
the stimuli themselves. The effective stimulus,in learning, is the trace in the ofhabit..HeexplainedSHR = 10-0.03 NA
nervous system caused by the environmental objccts. According to Hull, the
stimuli in the object would give rise to stimulus traces in the organism. The fi there is natural impulse in the
When a stimulus (S) acts on an organism (0)
we might designate S and the second s. Learning involves S and not the s. orpanism which leads to reaction (R). This reaction of the organism reduces
The response. We may distinguish between tendency within the pcrson t the drive present in the organism.
SHR = 1-10-- N
make a response and the actual response itself. If we designate the ovet R
response R, we can refer to the pre-existing neural activitics which initiate the SHR = Habit strength
response as r. These internal response tendencies are not observable bu N= number of trialsto form a habit
inferred from behaviour. Symbolically the learned association of S and Ris empirical constant which is equal to .03
represented as SHR. Hrepresents habit. Changes in SHR constitute learning in Habit strength is a function of reinforcemcnt.
Hull's system. The following figure illustrates the distinction between various 2. Postulate VIlI: The reaction potential. The constitution of reaction potential
internal and external stimuli. has been described by the following formula:
SER = DxV, xKx SHR
Organism where SER = is the reaction potential
D= drive
External situation External response
Vi= dynamism of the signaling stimulus trace
SHR R
K= it is incentive reinforcement
SHR = Habit strength.
corollaries. Reaction potential is
Thihots postulate has been further described byindividual
Stimulus trace and within the same
Response tendency constant: it varies from individual to
individual at different times. given behaviour
The greater the delay inreinforcement of alink within a constant, the
Association bond = Habit strength remaining
Leurning and biological needs. There is a difference
and chain, learning and -evocation conditions
response- Ireaction potentialof thelink inquestionto
performance. Many factors can influence performancebetween
learning 's
itself weaker
he
will be the resulting learned
but learning stimulus traces present at the time.
 THEORAIESOFLEARNING
ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYCHO
148
various occasions purchased 149
when there are two or more
generalization. they cangeneralization
alike stimul1,Stimulus evoke exactly neaisa may
childon
serveas a reward and the child may learn candy
for atocoin
do things
of 10 which get him
Postulate
3.response X: Stimulus
from the organism as was evoked by the original stimulus meansSilonin.Thecointhenwould he a secondary reward, because therepaisa. The 10
is no interest
fearing a snake, fears a rope or any other thing belonging to this Rorycoinfor its own sake. The coin does not itself produce drive-reduction.
contribution of
mostimmportant Hull is latencyhe of response. Latency
generates astimulus generalization gradient on effective
the habit
qualitative continu. oantitative terms. He eucceeded in measuring that described
(SIR ofresponse meansthe length ofthe interval between asignal and thelearning
stimuli S, and S, the The
the case of qualitative
strength in
response.
the simple learned attachment of S, to R Hull'stheory,had great influence on contemporary psychologists. His concepts
S,HR S,HR ×10-0.0135d researchin the field of learning.
lot of
where d represents the difference between S, and S, in J.N.D. A slmu.opnerateda
intensity (S,) generalizes to a second stimulus intensity (S)
following equation: according to th¹ ASSIGNMENTS
S,HR =S, HRx 10bdx V,. Thorndike? What is their application in education?
4. Postulate V: Primary motivation or drive (D). According to Hull, motivati arethe basic laws of
1. What examinethe law of effect and its application in school learning.
is need reduction. Primary motivation is caused by food, water, oxygen or e 2.
Critically
What are the main tenets ofHull's theory of learning? Explain its application in
privation which consists of two components (a) the drive proper (D') whichi 3. examples.
education with suitable
function of number ofhoursof (food privation) () and (b) a negative compon Whatis the central point
in Thorndike's Theory of Learning?
4,
(2) which is a positively accelerated monotonic function of h* decreasine of the Law of Efect
from 1.0 to zero s State any one classroom application
Law of Exercise.
D= D' x 6 Mention the divisions of the
1 Diferentiate between the Law of Effect and Law of
Exercise.
Readiness?
where D'37.824 x 10-27.49
61
+4.001. g What is the classroom application of the Law of
mental set.
9. Explain the principle of
The fundamental relationship of drive (D)toone drive condition(food privation) 10. How can a teacher make use of the principle of assimilation?
is: during the time fromh=0 toabout h 3, drive rises in a linear manner. 11. What is the contribution of Thorndike to the field of learning?
12. Why is Hull's theory sometimes called Need Reduction Theory?
Hull's Contribution 13. Define the term 'drive'.

Hull's theory threw new light on learning process. He related learning to the 14. Mention any one postulate formulated by Hullto explain his theory of learning.
1S. Why is Hull's theory called Drive-Reduction Theory?
needs of the organism. His theory of learning is called Drive-Reduction theory
Drives create restlessness and tension in the organism. The organism in order REFERENCES
to release tension is motivated to do some action. In the course of action, the
organism encounters many stimuli. It makes a continuous series of responses Boles Robert, C., Learning Theory. Holt, Rinehart, NY, 1975.
When these stimuli occur with a response, there is a chance for an associatiot 2Hilgard, E.R., Learning Theories, Appleton-century, 4th edition,
Pqvcholooy: An Introduction, 2nd ed., Harcourt
gan, Jerome and Havmann Ernest
but the association does not take place unless followed by a reward or Brace, NY 1972. McGraw Hill, NY, .
punishment. 4. Koch,
Sigmund (Ed.), Psychology: A Study of Science, Vols. 5 and 6,
Hullemphasized the importance of needs in learning process. The nee 1963 Publishers, NY,
S. Lamberth, Psychology, Harper and Row
of allcategories of children should be incorporated in the curriculum. Learnils 1976
John et al., Foundation of
becomes meaningful only when it satisfies the needs of children. Propel 6. W.E.
Hill, Learning, B.I. Publication, Bombay, 1967.
arrangement of reinforcement should be made in school experiences. kevn
and punishment both reduce tension of theorganism. He alsomentioned certa
types of reinforcement or reward which are not, strictly speaking, drive redu
but are what he calls secondary rewards. These represent states which ae.
in themselves rewarding but which have been associated with reward. Suppo
 OF
LEARNING - |||
THEOAIES
151
procedure was referred by
stimulus.This Skinner as type S'
respondent conditioning. He called his own
conditioning in which a response
conditioning
procedure as type R' conditioningor
absence
or
ofany stimulation with which it may be0ccurs
operant
spontaneously
specifically in theHe
correlated.
calledhis procedure operant conditioning which can be defined as any learning
whichisbascd on response contingent reinforcement and docs not involve
8 choice
arnongeexperimentallydefincd:alternatives. Theterm operant emphasizes
that behaviour operates upon the cnvironment t0 generate its own
thefact
Theories of Learning III Consequences.
Anoperant is a response which is emitted by 'S without any particular
SKINNER
stinmulus rather than clicited by a reinforcing stimulus (U.C.S.) as in
forcing
ClassicalIConditioning. Animportant distinction between two types of learning
B.F. Skinner-Operant Conditioning classically conditioned reeflex may have zero sirength in the beginning
isthatcannot have zero strength because it has to occur at lcast once
(S-R Theory with Reinforcement) but the operant
canbe reinforced. Operant behaviour is external. It can be observed.
of operant conditioning begins with Professor B.F Skinn. beforeit behaviour is internal and personal. Acorresponding distinction
HiontL1090 fHarvard University. When he was a graduate in s Respondca
betweentwo types of conditioning has been given at the end of this chapter in
department of Psychology of Harvard University, he wrote his dissertation:
1931entitled The Concept of the Reflex in the Description of Behaviow k detail.
made historical survey of previous studies and an operational analysis oft: Behaviour
concept of the reflex. He emphasized that the.basic datum for the studenta ASystem of
behaviour issimply an observed correlation between stimulus-response (Sal Prof B.E Skinner is known for his rcsearches of collecting facts and description
connection. Refiex was adopted by him as the basic unit for analysing behavioa of purelyempirical relations. He is specifically interested in controlling those
of the organism. He held that it is necessary to study something simpler, ieresponses that seem to occur with no direct stimulation. Such responses are
the relationship of apart of behaviour (a response) to apart or modifcationd emited rather than elicited by obvious environmental stümulus.
the part of environment (stimulus).
He was interested in developing a scienceof behaviour. He had made
B.F.Skinner is apractical psychologist who conducted several experim
on different reflexes in rats
fequent references to science of behaviour in his writings as the object of his
and pigeons. Finally he selected eating as t efforts. His published work in the beginning was highly technical and was
subjectin short
data of hisperiod
experiments
of time.because of ts simplicity and ease of collectingh beyond the understanding of ordinary reader. It was just after the second
Norid war that he made his findings and theory of behaviour non-tcchnical.
He developed his own apparatus and method of observation to study 0d During the same period he was making attempts to spell out some ot ne
analyse behaviour in asystematic objective way. After some time his apprcau mplications of principles of operant conditioning for the society. He wrote a
to analyse behaviour became so increasingly visible and yiable force wt novel Walden Two', a fictional description of a Utopian society in which
psychology that most of the American psychologists adopted his method education and social regulations were based on positive reinforcement rather
research in their studies. than on the technique of aversive control. The same ycar, he came to Harvard
TWO TYPES OF LEARNING University
book Scienceandandtaught a course dealing with human behaviour. llc wrote
Human Behaviour in 1953. The book summarizesthe basic
a

Skinner foundthat the procedure he was using to conditioning lever pressuring

in rat did not conformto the paradigm used by Pavlov to condition the secretioa prfinidinncigsplesgenerated
arising from the laboratory. experiments conducted by him. His
a number of rescarch activities in the USA. Bythe
middle of
of saliva in dogs. He recognized two types of conditioning that are produced
by different experimental procedures. In Pavlovian conditioning, thereinforæ! foentriees,rprisresearcl
e, h using
operant methods had become more than
one man's
worked with some
andIndiana Universities huge amount of
stimulus was paired with a neutral stimulus that roperties offnaturd
talented Ski
atnner Minnessota
acquired pro Tesearch stdataudentwass onproduced
the theory of operant conditioning. So
period that it
in a short
ncededsome meditii
of
 LEARNING I||
ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLG THEORIES
OF
153
152 untrainedpigeonin
the Skinner
box to learn a
findings of research studies
communication to coordinate the The first conference was
response,
saypeckíng a particular disk. particularthisinstshaping
We may accomplish rumentaofl
Universities. conducted ofan
pigeon through a procesS of
Behavicoonvuren"e.dEvien
various centres in the behaviour of the series of
"Experimental Analysis of Instead of waiting until the pigeon makes a successive
Indianain 1946on the theme of exchange views and|to sgproximations.
he full and correct
held to co-ordinate response, we would
reinforce some bit of the
year annual conference is Many researches are being conducted
findings of various centres.
conditioning ir USA and other
countries of the world. on resoepaerraenh
necking
part of the chain, the
termina link is the
reinforcement when he
disk
pigeon'
pecking
merely
s behaviour that
act. At first we
principles of operantnon
forms pigeon turns
dgive disk. Once. a definite tendency to turn towardtheslightly
the in the
Inthis chapter we will discuss the basic the disk has been
part of this chapter "irectionof wouldIholdfurther reinforcement until the pigeon made a
and other phenomena related to it. In the last princinl established,we definite
mention some of the areas of education where we can use the ogproachmovement toward the disk. By reinforcing those responses that
Operant Conditioning. closer and closer to the disk and then those that bring
pigeon come
makethenearit We
would be sure finally toinduce the pigeon to peckthe disk
The Operant Experiment hisbeakwould
ireinforcethis behaviour. It has been reported by Skinner that by
andwe ai hungry pigeon can usually be made to peck at
Skinner developed his own method and apparatus to study Oner US0ngthisshapingtechnique, about three minutes.
Conditioning. He developed a simple apparatus, commonly known as Skinhe within a period of
thedisk understand shaping with the help of an vxample from human
box. This apparatus was devised to study a lot of Let us
Skinner box
behaviour in short time in an objective way. Asimple Suppose we wantto toilet-train a child. Simply putting the child on
behaviour.
response of pressing a lever/bar was chosen as a unit of successful because as soon as the child is placed on the stool,
the toilet is not whenever
behaviour. The movements of the rat were electrically he beginstocry. To shape his behaviour, the child is given achocolateelimination
has been observed that successful
recorded and cumulative records of the behaviour of the he is placed on the toilet. It
rat were obtained. The figure of Skinner box explains the Other techniques may also be used as mother may read or entertain
reinforcer may be withheld
mechanism of operant conditioning. the child when he is placed on toilet. Chocolate as
from the age of 12
OPERATIONS IN OPERANT CONDITIONING following failure. Such type of training may be started
Several operations are involved in the process of Operant Conditioning. Son: years. It has been reported by psychologists that toilet-training behaviour
of the important operations are briefly described as follows: may be shaped within a period of a fortnight. psychological
1. Shaping (generalization, chaining and habit competition). Principles involved in shaping. There are three important
shaping of behaviour.
2. Extinction. principles which are involved in the process of successful
3. Spontaneous recovery. They are as follows:
4. Concept of reinforcement. (a) generalization,
() habit competition,
1. Shaping (C) each segment in the chain must be linked to the other.
hese have been described in brief below: capable of
Shaping is the most important mechanism used in Operant Conditioning, la) extent animals are
refers to the judicious use of selective reinforcement to bring certain desirau Human beings andtosome
Generalizexperiences
ation. and knowledge acquiredin one ability, we would
teaming situationto
changes in the behaviour of the organism. The basic process in shaplng generalizing
oher situations, Had we not been endowed with this uniqueslightest alteration
successive approximation to the desired behaviour. The experimenter siap epeat the there was
process each time whenever whichare mentioned below:
or moulds the behaviour of the organism as clay is moulded by a potter
ofSkinner in the le arning oftwotypes involved in
definite form ofa pot. The most striving andsignificant contribution 0) stimulus..Ceneralization may be psychological principle
behaviour by
is the development of a technique to shape the complex behaviour,Let Res pons e generalization. The first
Shapite ng response generalization. range of moreorless
is It refers to
when responseS
the fact that similar acts. It
systematically reinforcing closer approximations tothe desired behaviout
us explain it with the help of an example. Suppose we wish to shape repeated, they are likely to vary Over a
 THEORIESOF LEARNING
ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYCHO
154
2.
Extinction 155
does occur, otherwise
is important that response gencralization
be impossible. Ifthe pigeon could only rigidly
repcat his shaping
previously consists
simplyoffwithholding the
Withholding ofreinforcer reinforcer when ofthe appropriate
response in exactly the same form he would
never get closer to the
cited above). Among the responses possible under
the principle rei(nexfoarmcale
disk
of
It
Occurs.
relationship. Suppose in
the means
Skinner box extinction
the response
previously established
food. If this is repeatedly done, rat presses the bar but
generalization is the one that allows him to get nearer. This
then reinforced and the ground-work laid for response generalization responsg
closer approachi
1o ge thy
get
ratwillbe
of
pelletextinguished. the bar
pressing does not
behaviour of the
pigeon even closer later on. 3. Spontaneous Recovery
(i) Stimulus generalization. The famous study of Albert is an
stimulus generalization. Stimulus generalization occurs when a example phenomenonof spontaneous recovery has almost
similar
inThePavlovianand Operant Conditioning (Skinnerian). It refers tocharacteristics
the fact that if
response elicited by a particular stimulus becomes also elicited
by other particula an organismis removed from the situation for a while after extinction andthen
similar
stimuli. There are anumber of examples of stimulus generalization as a bow again presented with S,, his performance will be
returned and
fears the presence of a tyrant teacher may generalize fear to other teache. would be predicted from his performance at the end of preceding better than
extinction.
(6) Habit competition. The second principle in shaping is successful ha: Spontaneous recovery occurs in operant conditioning situation and is affected
competition. At each point ofthe chain, the correct habit must attain domina SPo ose variables which operate in Pavlovian conditioning. Grahm and
over competing habits. This is accomplished by reinforcing the correct hai Gagnein their study showed that the amount of spontaneous recovery of an
alone.
operant habit is directly related to the length of period since the termination of
(c) Chaining. The last and the third principle involved is that each segmeni in
the chain must be linked with the succeeding segment. Cues produced by one extinction. Other factors that influence the amount of spontaneous recovery
response must be linked with the next response. Let us illustrate this point wih aethe spacing of reinforced occurrences of trial training, the spacing of non
the help of a concrete example. Suppose, we want to train a pigeon to tum reinforced occurrences (extinction trial) and the combination ofthese two factors.
around in a circle. This training is started by reinforcing the pigeon for making
The number of reinforced occurrence of training trials prior to extinction also
affects the degree of spontaneous recovery; more reinforcements are associated
even a slight movement in the right direction. After this habit is, thus.
with greater recovery.
strengthened, other responses that are part of the hain of responses required
in turning around are successively reinforced. By this shaping technique, the 4.The Concept of Reinforcement
response chain ofturningaround, one that a pigeon normally rarely makes, can The concept of reinforcement is central in Operant Conditioning theory of Skinner.
be made to occur over and over again at a high rate of frequency.
Itis afundamental problem for every learmer of theoryof Operant Conditioning
It has been experimentally proved that secondary.reinforcers are more to study it thoroughly. A reinforcer (a reinforcing stimulus) is any event which
effective in shaping behaviour than primary reinforcers because primary changes subsequent behaviour when it follows behaviour in time. Empirically
reinforcers interfere with the smooth flowing sequence of responses. As 1000, We can define a reinforcer as:*Anyenvironmental event that is programmed as
the eating movements will confuse the association between the cues producecd aconsequence of a response that can increase the rate of responding, is called a
by one responseand the succeeding response. Whenever we want to take the eintorcer." B.E Skinner used reinforcement as a procedure for controlling
(S-R)
advantage of psychological technique of shaping in training animals and behaviour, not a hypothetical device, that produces Stimulus-Response
children, we should first develop a strong secondary reinforcing agen. connection. Reinforcers responding.
are events that raise the rate of
Needless to mention that by using technique of shaping we can change Types of Reinforcers
the behaviour of the organism. We can bring those changes in the behavi
which we want to install in the repertoire of the organism. Effective shaping
Reiositive
nforcersreinforcer,
have been divided intothe following categories:
requires thorough understanding and control of the reinforcing mechants
compris
and effective arrangement of several or many behaviour segments that 2.\.PNegative reinforcer.,
the learning task. 3. Punisher.
 LEARNING - I||
OF
THEORIES
157
ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYOHO SoheduleSof Reinforcement
156
Positive reinforcer is any
stimulus which Theprocedureof giving reinforcement is called conditioning which may be
reinforcer. an
1. Positive
will workto obtain as food,
or maintain the response. Food is a positive reinforcer
ind
money, etc. Apositive reinforcer serves to ivid u
hungrystreman.nghe
for a
givenonregularor intermittent schedule. If we minutely observe our day-to-
dayactivities we find that most of our behaviour is reinforced by some
intermittentorpartial reinforcement. There are numerous occasions when
consumable'stimuli as food, water as well as cultural
case of human beings
derivedstimuli such as praise, money and social approval work as schedule offreinforcementareoperates in our daily life. For example.
It has been commonly observedthatin
to get something done by the organism. The positive primary
which are of prime
rreinfeosinormicoerercthesirms,g
positive reinforcement we do
intermittent.
.equests
our
fiendsare
for money from parents
not always
answered:
not always granted: phone
we do not calls by
always get good grades in the
based on drives as warmth, food and water
the survival of the organismand positive secondary reinforcers are
prestige and praise, etc.
importabasednce onfy; examination.
Needlessto mention that by skilfully manipulating various schedules of
reinforcement, it is quite possible to shape the behaviour according to the
socially derived motives as money, which are no
necessary for the physical survival of the organism, but with repeated close desiredgoal. We can get a good deal more out of the person by using
association with primary reinforcers become reinforcing stimuli. reinforcement. Many experimental studies have been conducted on the
2. Negative reinforcer. Negative reinforcers are those unpleasant stimuli wh intermittenttschedule of reinforcement using human andanimal subjects which
the learner will readily terminate if given the opportunity to do so. For examol reported great success in shaping the behaviour.
social disapproval or condemnation by peer group. When negatie haveInthe following pages we shall study the important scnedules of
reinforcement is used, the response to be learned serves to terminate : reinforcementand see how they apply and operate in developing and shaping
eliminate the aversive stimulation. Suppose engaging in homework is the onh. anindividual's behaviour:
means by which a student can terminate the displeasure of his parents: the 1Continucus schedule. It is an arrangement of providing reinforcement after
student may, over a period oftime, learn to terminate the annoying stimulation Linear model of programming provides continuous
every correct response.
quickly by engaging in the required task. Negative reinforcement is then a reinforcement to the learner.
means of forcing behaviour to occur. Negative reinforcers strengthen avoidange ) Partial or intermittent schedule. It is an arrangement when sometimes we
response. In negative reinforcement an organism does something to avoid schedule of
Drovide reinforcement and sometimes we withhold the same. This
something. reinforcement has been further classified into the various categories described
3. Punisher. Apunisher is an aversive stimulus which follows a response and in the following pages:
frequently serves to suppress it. Negative reinforcers and punishers are ) Interval schedule. It is an arrangement of giving reinforcement
after an
sometimes confused with each other. To avoid the confusion let us differentat: arrangement as for example
Interval. Passage of time is more important in this
between them. Anegative reinforcer precedes the response and forces is ater every 2minutes the rat in the Skinner box gets food. Students
appear in
occurrence to terminate the unpleasant condition, whereas the punisher follows 8 hours of work.
the response and decreases the likelihood of the recurrence of the response. Il Ine examination after 3 months. Labourer gets his wages after
learner iS important
disapprovalor other annoying stimulation follows immediately after behaviou, W) Katio schedule. In this schedule. the performance of the a
as for example the learner responds correctly 2questions and he receives
punishment has taken place, on the other hand, when disapproval or scolding in the Skinner box, gets
chocolate. When the rat, the bar 10times
after pressing
is directed at an individual in an effort to force behaviour to occur and hs
behaviour can terminate this condition (scolding or disapproval) negaive apellet of food, is another example of ratio schedule. studied ia
reinforcement is used. Negative reinforcers and punishers are grouped togeu (iün) FixedIinterval schedule. This schedule has beenexperimentally
Schedules of,
book
most ofthe studies. B.F. Skinnerr(1938) andFeresterintheir schedule of
as aversive stimuli. research on this
Effects of Reinforcers Reiraltereinfnofrocement
a
rcement. , have thoroughly
In a fixed interval
conducted
schedule
forcementis presented
(F)the rein reinforcethe rat, for
we would
1. Strengthening of behaviour, he prescribed intervall of time. For example, continue thisarrangement
for first response
will
he makes after a minute and andto months
2. Intensification of certain aspects of ensuing hours, days, weeks his salary on
behaviour,
3.Alternation in behaviour occurs immediately, persists in time, becomes
weaker future intervals can vary Trom one minute.
used. Ateacher
gets
and gradually declines in the absence of further reinforcement. depending on the conditions and subjects
 LEARNING -
ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOG THEORIESOF

158 fvariable interval,

Ertinctionof schedule. It has bcen reported that 159
his behaviour is schedules is
of every month. It means that operating on fixeg VIand Fl similar. Inthe carly
stage thc behaviour will be extinction
the first
reinforcement. Several principles have
been between
maintainedat.about the same rate s
during as

fodel orivws.ed before showing signs of conditioning. The rate will continue
interval schedule of animal subjects. Two of them are as on
using
place. Behaviour established decreasing.
fixed interval schedule long time In general.,
schedule, the organis
(a) In the beginning of conditioning on Fl reinforcements hibibra
take under some kind extinction is
of variable
a series of small extinction curves between
beginning slow toconsiderable resistance to
extinction. schedule
after the reinforcement and followed by a wilh shows Stanley.(1950) while
rapid responseimmediately reinforcement. slow. thisscheduleand |
Jenkins observed: summarizing se and cffcctivity of
the
down prior to the next schedule
on fixed interval the organism
(6) In studies conducted "Administerthe reinforcing stimulus iin conditioning
time discrimination. When the time discrimination is developed, the develops schedule,and behaviour will be maintained for long period according
in the to a partialof
absence
is characterized by a period of little or no behaviour
response after reinforcemen
esternal supportfrom primary
reward "
Application of fixcd interval schedule in human behaviour are many as This principle seemsstto explain why most of us 'Kcep going' in the face of
Students attend classes at certain fixed hours of the day,
failure.
We eat at regular periods in the day. ratio, schedule. In fixed ratio schedulc arat is reinforced only after it
We go to work at spccified time. ()Fixed
emittedla certain number of responses. The ratio refers to the number of
Behaviour that operates on habitual level and on an accurate tin has
unreinforced.and reinforced responses as for example 5:1.ltmeans that the rat
discrimination comes under FI schedule.
he is reinforced only once. The child solves five
Payment of salary on 1st of every month. makes five responses and
chocolate.
Administration of quiz test on every Monday to the class. sums and he gets a
Principles of FRschedule
If the interval between reinforcement is toolòng, it is difficult to maintain LHigher rate of response has been recorded in this schedule than under fixcd
behaviour under someconditions. As for example in our schools, students do interval or regular reinforcement.
not work for the examination consistently because they know that they willbe 2. By startíng with a low ratio (3 : 1) and gradually increasing the ratio in graded
tested after a year. steps, very high ratio can be established such as (500: ).
(iv) Variable interval schedule. Invariable interval schedule (VI) the intervalis 3.As in FI conditioning,a discrimination is built. There is a break afler the
randomly varied about some given time value. reinforcement, followed by rapid rate until the next reinforcement. This is based
Experimental evidences show that after a prolonged training on this on the fact that the organism is never reinforced for a response immediately
schedule the organism develops a steady rate of responding. The rate bcing a following the last reinforcement.
function of the size and rate of intervals employed, The characteristic time 4.The length ofthe breakor pause is a function ofthe size of the ratio. Once the
discrimination found in the fixed interval is lacking because of the variabilty esponse begins, following the break, it assumes a rapid rate until the next
with which the reinforcement is applied. The rate will be high or low depending reinforcement comes.
on the size of interval employed. Asteadiness of rate is most characteristic ol
this schedule. Ihe examples of FR schedule
Actually, large amount of our personal andsocial behaviour operates on \.Aman is paid after complcting certain amount of work.
this schedule. The learner does not definitely know when the reinforcenis
will come. In case he knows then it becomes fixed interval schedule. 2.3. Commitys.sion
commodi
agents receive commission after selling a certain
amount of

The dating behaviour of the college girl (USA) often operates

of schedule. If she does not know when the invitations from male friends
onthis kind Suudent learns 25 lines and gets a toffee.
Thisshould reasonable. The amount
coming, if she operates as a strong reinforcer for the behaviour ofthe manin
popular.
ol work schedulenot isbe very much. Thewhen
too effective the ratio isshould
reinforcement not betoo weak. A
her life, the variable interval may be alow one and she
may be called time man is not expected to work too hard if the reinforcement istoo low.
On the other hand, if her VI schedule is a long
one, she waits a long (v) Variable ratio schedule. In this arrangement, the number of responses
between invitations. We may say she is not a popular girl. Tequired for a
reinforcement varies around some average
rati10.
 THEORIESOF LEARNING
ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYCHO
161
160 butifthefishis not biting, no reinforcement will be forthcoming. On the other
organism under VR schedule is
The behaviour of
following:
an

discriminationlikethat under regular schedule,

characterized
(a) Asteady rate of responding without breaks, since there iS no basis forby
hand, ifhe is
if)
the more
casting, one could argue that the
casts he makes the more likely he
reinforçermentis partly a
function of
schedule
the number of
not familiar with the
is aavariable
will get

responses
catch. ratio
Herc for

he makes.
the

information ofa
rates, which may be
built up very quickly if Parents who are fundamental rules
high rates ofFhehaviour which turn out to be ofhuman behaviour
(b) Extremely high the
ratio is small.
One very crucialdifference
between variable interval and variable begin iny oftengenerate
example,assimplerequest which is turned down the first time
child has been
reinforced in the past, the
inappropriate.
behaviour persists until the
For
it is made, becausc

inrtaetrivobra"ea
to higher rate than variable
that variable ratio schedule ordinarily leads
the fact that a response
the down
parentsbreak
and give into the child's demand. Thus, a schedule is
The reason for this lies in
schedule.
in interval
followinga
schedule has a greater likelihood offbeing reinforced. A
pause in the
established. On the next occasion of arequest, a resistance to extinction is
developing. The child persists again until the requests become annoying to
probability of the
ratio schedule in no way increases the operation ofVRin
The most striking illustration of the reinforcementaffai.rs
human is parents. The
beehaviour we often call teaching is established on variable
the depending on the circumstances.
be found in the multitude of gambling devices and games of chance th ratio
where skill is involved, the Conditioning
engages in. Even in card games, VR schedule Application of Operant
not have the right cards, victory is
operates, for if one does
impossible.
these gambling games, the pay-off is urpredictable and therefore: asteady Skinner originally conducted aseries ofexperiments on animalsin controlled
B.F
schedulebecause winningi laboratory conditions. He formulated certain lawsgrounds
is maintained. This schedule differs from interval
of behaviour on the basis
for the application
contingent upon playing and the more one plays, the greater the probability d afhis extensive experimental studies. He prepared
winning. The extremely high rate that can be generated by this schedule y fhose laws in human behaviour. He was fully convinced that the principles
learming. He deveioped
ofOperant Conditioning promise equal success in schoolProgrammed
illustrated in the compulsive behaviour; even though the rate of returns is ven or Instruction
slim, families are ruined and fortunes lost, still the rate ofbehaviour is maintained asvstem oflearning known as Programmed Learning
influenced teaching-learning process in recent years allover
Witness the Allright'crop games in which a single person willremain until al which has greatly arcas of education
various
his funds are gone. His behaviour is terminated only by his inability to perfom the world. Programmed Instruction is being used in Programmed Instruction
to
operations necessary to stay in the game. And even on these occasions ift at different levels with success. A detailed treatment
Prograrnmed Learning.
can muster more funds by borrowing or stealing, he will return to the game. has been given in the subsequcnt chapter on educational system of America
Like Skinner's pigeons, the comnpulsive gambler is a victim of an B.F. Skinner noted certain weaknesscs in the
of learning. If wc examine our own system of
unpredictable coutingency of reinforcement. and developed a newsystem same weaknesses. The
Gambling is not the only area of conduct that operates on variable ralo education we find that our system also suffers from the
schedule. In any activity where a rate is necessary to secure reinforcenet most characteristic weaknesscs of our teaching-learning system are:
dominated by aversive stimulation. The whole atmosphere of
reinforcement is variable and such a schedule is operating. I,behaviowr is Though legaliy
"Ifat first you do not succeed, try again'". The trying is not always Isucceed,
rewauy Our schools is dominated byfear and unpleasant experiences. punishment of various
still teachers use
but the more one tries, otherthings being equal,the more often he will Orporal punishment is prohibited. teachers and parents. They
from
although one cannot be always certain of his success. studentis aieties. Students workto avoid punishment principles ofOperant Conditioning to
In classroom teaching-learning VR schedule operates when a OUt of fear. The schools can use the positive
by using
not always reinforced each time he raises his band to answer a questioibythe eliminate the element of fcar from school atmosphere
the more often he raises his hand, the more likely he is to be called upon
teacher. Good marks and promotions maycome at unpredictable times.whether
reinforcemment.
2. Wide
bchaviour
reinforcement. The desirable destroys
ofa gap is not
benveen behaviour and ofreinforcement
Sometimes in practical situations it becomes difficult tto determine example. The delay in thetest:
Ihe learner immediately reinforced. a childscorcs high marks reinforccmnent
a behaviour is operating under a VI schedule or VR schedule. For
intervalata effect
and his of reinforcing stimuli. Suppose
reinforced bythe
teacher but
fishing, if one is simply 'still' fishing, the schedule is a variable factor. The the behaviour
comes bchayiour is not immcdiately eftect on
given day. The time which the fish will bite is the determining willhaveno
fisherman may drop his line in and take it out of the water innumerable
ttines. afler a day ortwo. This reinforcement
 ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSYCHO
162 LEAANING - |
THEORIES OF
schools,the desirable
ofthe child. Generally, in our raise the probabilitybehaviour
ofthe 163
thefundamental principles of
Operant
the \earnersi
of the
not immediately reinforced
same behaviour in future.
to
Reinforcing stimuli should follow recurrence using
behaviourof
by human beings. Specific mention may be
computer-assisted
Conditioning to
made of modify the
instruction, mathematics programmed
immediately for an etfect on the behaviour.
Though in present
respong instruction, and behaviour
System where ateacher handles 50to 70 students at atime
the teacher to reinforce the behaviour
of programmed material in the forn of a
of each student in teaching\earming
it is not OSsibleeMostly psychologists
the class, but
book or machine makes
is a
he us (eaching-
practical approach to
and
cducationists
human behaviour
-learning. There is another group of
agree
and that
can Operant
be
therapy.
Conditioning
used in classroom
psychologists who have frequently
to the use of terms like stimulus,
immediate reinforcement.
3.Ahsence of a programme ofserial reinforcement. Our programme of
provision io aised objections
response and
conceptual tools for the analysis of behaviour outside the reinforcement
psychology
as
laboratory. Chomsky has
critically examined the theory of Operant Some
lcarming does not proceed forward step by step by reinforcing teseriachiensg:
progressive approximations to the final or terminal behaviour. We
a of
and has pointcd out a number of weaknesses of the theory.
described below:
Conditioning
of the

Progrreibehavi
nforc:
behaviour in classroom teaching in a haphazard way. The weaknesses are
Instruction proceeds in a serial order
by rein•orcing behaviour at each step.
from initial behaviour to terminalI ammed ou
I.Chomsky criticizcd the generality of application ofthe concepis and
derived;from controlled experimentalI studies on animals to the socialprinciples
lerning
situations. What bothered Chomsky was that in natural settings the relationshin
4.cducation
Objectives areobjectives
is that vague. The greatest
of the coursesweakness of ourdefined
have not been present system t
in Operation. between behaviour andits controlling stimuliis extremely complcx. IHe argued.
therefore, that concepts derived from situations in which these relationships
tems. In Programmed Instruction objcctives are defined in observable bue been clarified do not apply to the natural conditions of learning. Problem
measurable way.The initial and the terminalbehaviour which the teacher wantsho diffculty of material, not in the limitations of the conccpts of Operant
toinstil in the final repertoire of the learners are defined in operational terms
5. Lack of receptivity to new innovations among teachers. The teacher ca Conditioning
use the principles of Operant Conditioning in his classroom teaching fu e28kinner very
has completely ignored the structural and hereditary factors which
important in the development of psychological process of language.
efficient and effective learning. But in our country, every innovative idea is
resisted by traditional teachers and educationists. The same attitude is He failed to take into account the known factors about the devclopment of
applicable to programmed instructionalmethods. Theycriticize it that for being language
of verbal
in recent years. Chomsky maintained that Skinner's interpretations
behaviour were:
costly and time consuming affair to develop programmes on Programmed
Instructional model. Leaving aside the business of developing programmes. "Fomulatedin terms of melaphoric extension of the technical laboratory
.in fact the terms used in the description of the real life and of laboralory
we can at lcast use the basic principles of operant lcarning in our teaching. 1e behaviour may be homonvms. with at most a vaguc similarity of meaning.
teacher can plan his work in advance, specify the terminal behaviour ano
survey allthe conditions of schoolenvironment which can provide reinforcemen and 3.The operant reinforcement system fails to account for spontaneity. curiosity
to the students. The teacher may plan contingencies of reinforcement anu creativity in human beings.
provide reinforcement at the most appropriate time lo the learners..He nay 4.Sometimes Skinner in his description.of behaviour lapses into subjective
involve the students in teaching-learning process so that students' nc planation such as self-reinforcement and thinking. etc.
5. Skinner neglects innate endowment. According to him. all behaviour is
may be maintained in learning activities.
acquired during the lifetime of the individual. It denics theimportance ofgcnctic
Evaluation and Critique in6.heri
It tance. machine. It
the mental process and treats the organism like a
mechanizes
Operant Conditioning has gencrated a great amount of research studieswere
over the world. Though originally, the principles of operant conditioning
ll
dehumani zes learning
1.lt is Superficial and process.
does not deal with the depths ofthe mind.
successfuly 8.Itis betwcen expcrimenter
developed on lower order animals, later on those principles were evolvd and saidthat it is antidemocratic becausethe relation by dictators.
used in human learning. Anumber of devices and tcchniqucs have been subject
is manipulative and its results can be misused
 ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PSICHY
LEARNING - Il|
164 THEOAIESOF 165
Comparison Between Classical and ClassicalConditioning
Operant Conditioning Operunt Conditioning
Classical Conditioning presents 13. The Operant
Conditioning
ClassicalConditioning Operant Conditionine 13. different pictures of behaviour and describes the differentiationsituation
and
learningin which an arbitrary discrimination of aresponse out of
1. It was developed
developed by Russiancalled by B.F. stimulus is
associated with a highly amass behaviour emitted in
. It was and is called
physiologist, Pavlov and is
Pavlovian or type-1 learning
(respondent).
Skinnerian
learning (operant).
specific, elicitable response.
14In
Classical Conditioning stress is
time control.
response toa complex stimulus
field.
14. Place of motivation and reward is
Conditioning. the 2. In Operant laid on stimulus
learning is
2.In Classical
occurrence of conditioned response response is moreConditioning. and the 16.The essence of
substitution.
stressed.
15. The essence of learning is
(CR) is reflexively forced by
unconditioned stimulus (UCS).
spontaneous.
voluntary Ik Classical
oriented.
Conditioning is stimulus response nodification.
16.Operant Condilioning is response
unconditioned stimulus (UCS) 3. The reward is conditioned reflexes oriented.
3. The
occurs without regard to the contingent lin 17. The classically strength initiatly. 17. The operant cannot have zero
0Ccurrence of response. may have zero
subject's behaviour. strength because it has to occur at
Classical Conditioning is described 4. Operant conditioned ieast once before it can be
4. 18.The classically
as preparalory or anticipatory prímarilyConditioning
to
emphasize
serves
or response is correlated
with and reintorced.
response and is also called signal organism which already hasguicdee controlled by an antecedent event.
is
18. In Operant Conditioning. there is nu
an eliciting stimulus which
antecedent: behaviour is controlled
leaming. responses available in its
5. In Classical Conditioning, the 5. In Operant Conditioning,repenl initially the UCS and subsequently by its consequences.
association between Stimulus association between Stimulus. the CS.
Response (S-R) is on the basis of Response (S-R) is on the basis 19. Respondent behaviour is internal 19.Operant is external behaviour. it is
law of contiguity. law of effect. and has a secret, personalquality the behaviour with which the
6. It is controlled by autonomic 6. It is organism operates in the
controlled by the central about it.
nervous system in the organism. nervous system in the organism environment.
7. There is pairing of UCS and CS. 7. There is no pairing of UCS and C
but pairing of a response and the
Reinforcing stimulus which fole ASSIGNMENTS
8. Bondage between specific (UCS) 8. Tendency to respond in a speciít:
unconditioned stimulus and (CS) 1. Write a short note on the contribution of B.F. Skinner to learning.
manner is developed.
conditioned stimulus is established. 2. Name any two books written by Skinner.
9. Reinforcement comes first as in 9. Reinforcement is provided after 3. What the central theme of a novel written by Skinner?
Pavlov's experiment food is .4. Mention any three operations in operant conditioning.
presented first to elicit the response is made by the organisn
response. 5. Name the three important principles involved in opèrational conditions.
10. CS and UCS can be 6. What is the meaning of response generation?
placed in 10. Close contiguity is followed and
different temporal sequences; close R-S chain is formed.
T. Explain the concept of reinforcement in Operant Conditioning Theory of' Skinner.
contiguity is followed. 8. Fill in the blanks:
||. Classical
the singleConditioning
(S-R)
focuses on I1. Operant Conditioning is con" (0) Reinforces are divided into ..... categories.

bondage.
12. We present the
Stimulus-Response with sequences of responses. 1
chain of responses tormed
is
() Pavlov's findings generated alot of enthusiasm among psy chologists ol.
(iil) developed a system of learning known as Programmed Learning.
.....

slimulus (UCS)unconditioned which leads to the desired goa. 9. Mention any two points of criticism of Skinner's Theory of Operant Conditioning.
regardless of
whether the conditioned 12. We present the stimulus 10. Give any three points of comparison between Classical and Operant
(CR) occurs. response only the organism makes the
desired response. Conditioning.