Psychology - Chapter 5: Learning

Introduction

At birth, human babies have limited responses that occur reflexively. As children grow, they develop diverse capabilities through learning - identifying people, using utensils, reading, writing, observing and imitating others, learning names of objects, driving vehicles, and developing social skills. Learning shapes personality traits, social knowledge, professional competence, and problem-solving abilities.

Nature of Learning

Learning is defined as "any relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential produced by experience." Key characteristics:

• Involves experience (repeated or single impactful events)
• Produces relatively permanent behavioral changes (distinct from temporary changes due to fatigue, habituation, or drugs)
• Is an inferred process (different from performance which is observable behavior)

Paradigms of Learning

Different methods are used for acquiring simple to complex responses:

1. Classical Conditioning
2. Operant/Instrumental Conditioning
3. Observational Learning
4. Cognitive Learning
5. Verbal Learning
6. Skill Learning

Classical Conditioning

First investigated by Ivan P. Pavlov through experiments with dogs. Key components:

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Naturally elicits response (e.g., food)
• Unconditioned Response (UR): Natural response to US (e.g., salivation)
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Initially neutral stimulus that becomes associated with US (e.g., bell)
• Conditioned Response (CR): Learned response to CS (e.g., salivation to bell)

Stages of Conditioning	Nature of Stimulus	Nature of Response
Before	Food (US), Sound of Bell	Salivation (UR), Alertness
During	Sound of Bell (CS) + Food (US)	Salivation (UR)
After	Sound of Bell (CS)	Salivation (CR)

Determinants of Classical Conditioning

1. Time Relations between Stimuli:
   • Simultaneous conditioning (CS and US together)
   • Delayed conditioning (CS precedes US)
   • Trace conditioning (CS ends before US begins)
   • Backward conditioning (US precedes CS)

   Delayed conditioning is most effective.

2. Type of Unconditioned Stimuli:
   • Appetitive (pleasurable) vs. aversive (painful)
   • Aversive conditioning establishes faster
3. Intensity of Conditioned Stimuli: More intense CS leads to faster conditioning

Operant/Instrumental Conditioning

Investigated by B.F. Skinner using Skinner boxes with rats and pigeons. Key concepts:

• Operant: Voluntary response emitted by organism
• Reinforcer: Stimulus that increases probability of preceding response
• Learning occurs through consequences of behavior

Determinants of Operant Conditioning

1. Types of Reinforcement:
   • Positive reinforcement (pleasant consequences)
   • Negative reinforcement (removal of unpleasant stimuli)
   • Note: Negative reinforcement is not punishment
2. Number/Frequency of Reinforcement: More reinforcements generally strengthen learning
3. Quality of Reinforcement: Superior reinforcers (e.g., cake vs bread) are more effective
4. Schedule of Reinforcement:
   • Continuous (every response reinforced)
   • Intermittent/Partial (some responses reinforced)
5. Delayed Reinforcement: Immediate reinforcement is more effective

Key Learning Processes

• Reinforcement: Primary (biological) vs secondary (learned) reinforcers
• Extinction: Disappearance of learned response when reinforcement is removed
• Generalisation: Responding similarly to similar stimuli
• Discrimination: Responding differently to different stimuli
• Spontaneous Recovery: Reappearance of extinguished response after time lapse

Observational Learning

Also called imitation, modeling, or social learning. Demonstrated by Bandura's Bobo doll experiments:

• Children observed aggressive behavior being rewarded/punished/neutral
• Those who saw rewarded aggression were most aggressive
• Those who saw punished aggression were least aggressive

Important for acquiring social behaviors, personality traits, and skills.

Cognitive Learning

Focuses on changes in what the learner knows rather than what they do.

Insight Learning

Demonstrated by Kohler's chimpanzee experiments. Solution appears suddenly after mental reorganization rather than through trial-and-error.

Latent Learning

Learning occurs but isn't demonstrated until reinforcement is provided (Tolman's rat maze experiments). Rats developed cognitive maps of mazes even without reinforcement.

Verbal Learning

Unique to humans, involving acquisition of verbal material. Methods of study:

1. Paired-Associates Learning: Learning word pairs (like foreign language vocabulary)
2. Serial Learning: Learning lists in specific order
3. Free Recall: Learning to recall items in any order

Determinants of Verbal Learning

• Length of list (longer lists take more time)
• Meaningfulness of material
• Relations among items (categorical organization)
• Total time principle: Fixed time needed for fixed material

Skill Learning

Ability to perform complex tasks smoothly and efficiently (e.g., driving, typing). Phases of skill acquisition (Fitts):

1. Cognitive Phase: Understand instructions and task requirements
2. Associative Phase: Link sensory inputs with appropriate responses
3. Autonomous Phase: Performance becomes automatic with minimal conscious effort

Factors Facilitating Learning

• Continuous vs Partial Reinforcement: Partial reinforcement creates more resistant learning
• Motivation: Intrinsic (enjoyment) and extrinsic (goal-oriented)
• Preparedness for Learning: Biological constraints on what can be learned

Learning Disabilities

Heterogeneous group of disorders manifested as difficulties in acquiring academic skills despite normal intelligence. Symptoms include:

• Reading/writing/speaking difficulties (e.g., dyslexia)
• Attention disorders and hyperactivity
• Poor space and time orientation
• Motor coordination problems
• Difficulty following directions
• Perceptual disorders

Learning disabilities are not incurable - remedial teaching methods can help.

Review Questions

1. What is learning? What are its distinguishing features?
2. How does classical conditioning demonstrate learning by association?
3. Define operant conditioning. Discuss the factors that influence the course of operant conditioning.
4. Explain the importance of role models in observational learning.
5. Describe the procedures for studying verbal learning.
6. What are the stages of skill learning?
7. Differentiate between generalization and discrimination in learning.
8. Why is motivation important for learning?
9. What is meant by preparedness for learning?
10. How can we identify students with learning disabilities?

Project Ideas

1. Analyze how parents and teachers use reinforcement in different situations
2. Design a simple conditioning experiment with classmates
3. Observe and document skill learning progression in a new task