Learning

Learning refers to any relatively permanent change in behaviour or in the potential

for behaviour brought about through experience.
• Learning is normally distinguished from other changes in behaviour or in the
predisposition to behave in a certain way. Learning is normally distinguished from
other changes in behaviour that might be due to evolution or maturation, in that it
normally occurs as a result of practice or other related experience during the life
time of the organism. Behavioural changes that occur due to learning are
relatively permanent. The changes in behaviour due to continuous exposure to
stimuli i.e., habituation is not due to learning. Learning is sequential i.e., it
involves a sequence of psychological events. Learning is different from
performance. Learning is an inferred process. Performance is person’s observed
behaviour which gives guarantee of learning although learning never gives
guarantee of performance.
II. Classical conditioning is a form of learning in which a previously learnt
stimulus;. CS) neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus, CS) is paired with an
unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that elicits an unlearned or unconditioned response
(UCR). As a result, the CS comes to elicit a conditioned response (CR) that is
identical or very similar to the UCR.
(A) Classical conditioning occurs because of the association in time of a neutral
stimulus that already elicits the response. The CS becomes a signal that predicts
the occurrence of the UCS.
III. Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which the consequences of
behaviour lead to changes in the probability of its occurrence.
(A) In positive reinforcement, a positive consequence of behaviour leads to an
increase in the probability of the occurrence of the response.
1. Primary reinforcers are innately reinforcing.
2. Secondary reinforcers are learned through classical conditioning.
3. Four different schedules of reinforcement that result in different patterns of
behaviour are fixed ration, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval.
4. Shaping is the process of positively reinforcing responses that are progressively
more similar to the response that is wanted.
(B) Negative reinforcement occurs when the reinforcing consequence is the
removal or avoidance of a negative event.
(C) Punishment is the process through which an aversive consequence of
behaviour reduces the frequency of the behaviour.
IV. New stimuli come to influence behaviour through the process of learning.
(A) We say that a stimulus discrimination has been learned when a response is
more likely to occur in the presence of a specific stimulus that in its absence.
(B) Stimulus generalization has occurred when an individual responds in the same
way to a stimulus that is similar to the original stimulus.
V. The process of unlearning a learned response because of the removal of the
aspect of the environment that originally caused the learning is termed as
extinction. Extinction is sometimes slowed because of spontaneous recovery and
external disinheriting.
• Imitation is another form of learning which is called observational learning. The
reinforcement provided by parents when their children imitate grown up actions
ensures that children acquire many aspects of behaviour in this way. It is also
known as modelling. In modelling somebody observes another (the model) and
then attempts to imitate their behaviour. The concept is based on Bandura’s Social
learning theory.
• Human beings mostly learn through knowledge about objects and events in
terms of words. This is called Verbal learning.
• Verbal learning can be studied through method of paired-associates learning,
serial learning and free recall. Meaningfulness of the material time devoted on
learning, category clustering, i.e., subjective organisation are the main
determinants of verbal learning.
• Learning occurs in the form of concept, i.e., in terms of category. Concept
involves a set of features connected with a rule or instruction: concept can be
natural or artificial. Natural concepts are ill defined and difficult to learn whereas
Artificial concepts are well defined and easy to learn.
• Skill refers to the ability of an individual to perform an act with ease and
precision. Skills are acquired through stages that are cognitive, associative and
autonomous phase.
• Transfer of learning refers to the way in which we might transfer skills learnt in
one situation to a second, related situation. Thus, learning to play Tennis may
introduce a range of coordination and racket skills that would then transfer to
similar games such as Squash.
• Factors facilitating learning include reinforcement, motivation and preparedness
of the learner and the learner’s performance is facilitated by his/her cognitive
style. Cognitive style refers to a learner’s consistant way of responding to and
using stimuli in the context of learning.
• Learning disability refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested in
terms of difficulty in the acquisition of learning, reading, writing, speaking,
reasoning and mathematical activities. These disabilities are mostly inherited or
neurologically determined.
• Learning curve is a graphical representation of the relationship between the
duration of learning experience or practice trials and observed changes in
performance on the learning task. In learning curve, the units of practice/trials are
depicted on the horizontal axis and the degree of learning measured in terms of
number of errors, correct responses, time taken etc. are shown on the vertical axis.
VI. Psychologists disagree about whether learning results from neural connections
between specific stimuli and specific responses or whether learning is a change in
cognition.
(A) Research that supports the cognitive view includes Tolman’s studies of place
learning and latent learning, Kohler’s studies of insight learning, and Bandura’s
work on modeling.
(B) The ability of humans to learn from experience is not limitless; it is influenced
in a number of ways by biological factors.
Words That Matter
1. Learning : It is any relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural
potential produced by experience or practice.
2. Associative learning: Learning that certain events occur together. Te events
may be two stimuli (As in classical conditioning) or a response and it
consequences (As in operant conditioning)
3. Cognitive learning: In this type of learning an organism comes to associate
stimuli.
4. Operant: An operant is any response voluntarily emitted by an organism.
5. Operant learning : This is a type of learning in which response is strengthened
if followed by reinforcement.
6. Reinforcer: Any stimulus or event, which increases the probability of the
occurrence of a desired response is known as reinforcer.
7. Reinforcement : Reinforcer are stimuli that increase the rate or probability of
the responses that precede
8. Negative reinforcer : Any unpleasant stimulus whose removal leads to an
increase in the probability that a preceding response will occur again in the future.
9. Generalisation: The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for
stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses.
10. Observational learning : In this type of learning observers acquire
knowledge by observing the model’s behaviour.
11. Insight learning : The process by which the solution to a problem suddenly
becomes clear is termed as insight learning.
12. Latent learning: In this type of learning, a new behaviour is learned but not
demonstrated until reinforcement is provided for displaying it.
13. Cognitive learning: In this kind of learning, there is a change in what the
learner knows rather than what she/he does.
14. Verbal learning: In verbal learning words get associated with one another on
the basis of structural, phonetic and semantic similarity and contrast.
15. Concept: A concept is a pategory that is used to refer to a number of objects
and events.
16. Artificial concepts: These are those concepts that are well-defined and rules
connecting the features are precise and rigid.
17. Skill: It refers to the ability to carry out complex tasks smoothly and
efficiently. They are learned by practice and exercise.
18. Motivation: It is a mental as well as a physiological state, which arouses an
organism to act for fulfilling the current need.
19. Learning style: It is a learner’s consistent way of responding to and using
stimuli in the context of learning.
20. Perceptual modality: These are biologically based reactions to the physical
environment. It refers to the preferences of persons through which they take in
information such as auditory, visual, smell, kinesthetic and tactile.
 Memory

The Multi-Store Model

The multistore model of memory was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin and is a structural
model. They proposed that memory consisted of three stores: sensory register, short-term
memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). Information passes from store to store in a
linear way. Both STM and LTM are unitary stores.

Sensory memory is the information you get from your sense, your eyes, and ears. When
attention is paid to something in the environment, it is then converted to short-term memory.

Information from short-term memory is transferred to long-term memory only if that

information is rehearsed (i.e., repeated).

Maintenance rehearsal is repetition that keeps information in STM, but eventually, such
repetition will create an LTM.

If maintenance rehearsal (repetition) does not occur, then information is forgotten and lost
from short-term memory through the processes of displacement or decay.

Each store has its own characteristics in terms of encoding, capacity, and duration.

● Encoding is the way information is changed so that it can be stored in memory.

There are three main ways in which information can be encoded (changed): 1.
visual (picture), 2. acoustic (sound), and 3. semantic (meaning).

● Capacity concerns how much information can be stored.

● Duration refers to the period of time information can last in-memory stores.
Sensory register

● Duration: ¼ to ½ second

● Capacity: all sensory experience (v. larger capacity)

● Encoding: sense specific (e.g., different stores for each sense)

Short Term Memory

● Duration: 0-18 seconds

● Capacity: 7 +/- 2 items

● Encoding: mainly acoustic

Long Term Memory

● Duration: Unlimited

● Capacity: Unlimited

● Encoding: Mainly semantic (but can be visual and acoustic)

The model is supported by studies of amnesiacs: For example the patient H.M. case study.
HM is still alive but has marked problems in long-term memory after brain surgery.

He has remembered little of personal (death of mother and father) or public events
(Watergate, Vietnam War) that have occurred over the last 45 years. However, his short-term
memory remains intact.

It has now become apparent that both short-term and long-term memory is more complicated
than previously thought. For example, the Working Model of Memory proposed by Baddeley
and Hitch (1974) showed that short-term memory is more than just one simple unitary store
and comprises different components (e.g., central executive, Visuospatial, etc.).

The model suggests rehearsal helps to transfer information into LTM, but this is not essential.
Why are we able to recall information which we did not rehearse (e.g., swimming) yet unable
to recall information which we have rehearsed (e.g., reading your notes while revising)?
Therefore, the role of rehearsal as a means of transferring from STM to LTM is much less
important than Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) claimed in their model.

Types Of Long-Term Memory

One of the earliest and most influential distinctions of long-term memory was proposed by
Tulving (1972). He proposed a distinction between episodic, semantic, and procedural
memory.

Procedural Memory

Procedural memory is a part of the implicit long-term memory responsible for knowing how
to do things, i.e., a memory of motor skills. A part of long-term memory is responsible for
knowing how to do things, i.e., the memory of motor skills. It does not involve conscious
(i.e., it’s unconscious-automatic) thought and is not declarative.

For example, procedural memory would involve knowledge of how to ride a bicycle.

Semantic Memory

Semantic memory is a part of the long-term memory responsible for storing information
about the world. This includes knowledge about the meaning of words, as well as general
knowledge.
For example, London is the capital of England. It involves conscious thought and is
declarative.

Episodic Memory

Episodic memory is a part of the long-term memory responsible for storing information about
events (i.e., episodes) that we have experienced in our lives.

It involves conscious thought and is declarative. An example would be a memory of our 1st
day at school.

Cohen and Squire (1980) drew a distinction between declarative knowledge and
procedural knowledge. Procedural knowledge involves “knowing how” to do things. It
included skills such as “knowing how” to play the piano, ride a bike, tie your shoes, and other
motor skills.

It does not involve conscious thought (i.e., it’s unconscious-automatic). For example, we
brush our teeth with little or no awareness of the skills involved.

Whereas declarative knowledge involves “knowing that”; for example, London is the capital
of England, zebras are animals, your mum’s birthday, etc. Recalling information
from declarative memory involves some degree of conscious effort – information is
consciously brought to mind and “declared.”
The knowledge that we hold in semantic and episodic memories focuses on “knowing that”
something is the case (i.e., declarative). For example, we might have a semantic memory for
knowing that Paris is the capital of France, and we might have an episodic memory for
knowing that we caught the bus to college today.

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Evidence for the distinction between declarative and procedural memory has come from
research on patients with amnesia. Typically, amnesic patients have great difficulty in
retaining episodic and semantic information following the onset of amnesia.

Their memory for events and knowledge acquired before the onset of the condition tends to
remain intact, but they can’t store new episodic or semantic memories. In other words, it
appears that their ability to retain declarative information is impaired.

However, their procedural memory appears to be largely unaffected. They can recall skills
they have already learned (e.g., riding a bike) and acquire new skills (e.g., learning to drive).

Explanations For Forgetting

Interference

Interference is an explanation for forgetting from long-term memory – two sets of

information become confused.

1. Proactive interference (pro=forward) is where old learning prevents the recall of

more recent information. When what we already know interferes with what we are
currently learning – where old memories disrupt new memories.

2. Retroactive interference (retro=backward) is where new learning prevents the recall

of previously learned information. In other words, later learning interferes with
earlier learning – where new memories disrupt old memories.

Proactive and retroactive Interference is thought to be more likely to occur where the
memories are similar, for example: confusing old and new telephone numbers. Chandler
(1989) stated that students who study similar subjects at the same time often experience
interference. French and Spanish are similar types of material which makes interference more
likely.

● Semantic memory is more resistant to interference than other types of memory.

Postman (1960) provides evidence to support the interference theory of forgetting. A lab
experiment was used, and participants were split into two groups. Both groups had to
remember a list of paired words – e.g., cat – tree, jelly – moss, book – tractor.
The experimental group also had to learn another list of words where the second paired word
is different – e.g., cat – glass, jelly- time, book – revolver. The control group was not given
the second list.

All participants were asked to recall the words on the first list. The recall of the control group
was more accurate than that of the experimental group. This suggests that learning items in
the second list interfered with participants’ ability to recall the list. This is an example of
retroactive interference.

Although proactive and retroactive interference is reliable and robust effects, there are a
number of problems with interference theory as an explanation for forgetting.

First, interference theory tells us little about the cognitive processes involved in forgetting.
Secondly, the majority of research into the role of interference in forgetting has been carried
out in a laboratory using lists of words, a situation that is likely to occur fairly infrequently in
everyday life (i.e., low ecological validity). As a result, it may not be possible to generalize
from the findings.

Baddeley states that the tasks given to subjects are too close to each other and, in real life;
these kinds of events are more spaced out. Nevertheless, recent research has attempted to
address this by investigating “real-life” events and has provided support for interference
theory. However, there is no doubt that interference plays a role in forgetting, but how much
forgetting can be attributed to interference remains unclear.

Retrieval failure

Retrieval failure is where information is available in long-term memory but cannot be

recalled because of the absence of appropriate cues.

When we store a new memory, we also store information about the situation and these are
known as retrieval cues. When we come into the same situation again, these retrieval cues
can trigger the memory of the situation.

Types of cues that have been studied by psychologists include context, state, and
organization.

● Context – external cues in the environment, e.g., smell, place, etc. Evidence
indicates that retrieval is more likely when the context at encoding matches the
context at retrieval.

● State – bodily cues inside of us, e.g., physical, emotional, mood, drunk, etc. The
basic idea behind state-dependent retrieval is that memory will be best when a
person’s physical or psychological state is similar to encoding and retrieval.

For example, if someone tells you a joke on Saturday night after a few drinks, you”ll be more
likely to remember it when you”re in a similar state – at a later date after a few more drinks.
Stone cold sober on Monday morning, you”ll be more likely to forget the joke.
 ● Organization – Recall is improved if the organization gives a structure that
provides triggers, e.g., categories.

According to retrieval-failure theory, forgetting occurs when information is available in LTM

but is not accessible. Accessibility depends in large part on retrieval cues.

Forgetting is greatest when context and state are very different at encoding and retrieval. In
this situation, retrieval cues are absent, and the likely result is cue-dependent forgetting.

Evaluation

People tend to remember material better when there is a match between their mood at
learning and at retrieval. The effects are stronger when the participants are in a positive mood
than when they are in a negative mood. They are also greater when people try to remember
events having personal relevance.

A number of experiments have indicated the importance of context-based (i.e., external) cues
for retrieval. An interesting experiment conducted by Baddeley indicates the importance of
context setting for retrieval.

Baddeley (1975) asked deep-sea divers to memorize a list of words. One group did this on the
beach, and the other group underwater. When they were asked to remember the words, half of
the beach learners remained on the beach, and the rest had to recall underwater.

Half of the underwater group remained there, and the others had to recall on the beach. The
results show that those who had recalled in the same environment (i.e., context) and who had
learned recalled 40% more words than those recalling in a different environment. This
suggests that the retrieval of information is improved if it occurs in the context in which it
was learned.

A study by Goodwin investigated the effect of alcohol on state-dependent (internal) retrieval.

They found that when people encoded information when drunk, they were more likely to
recall it in the same state.

For example, when they hid money and alcohol when drunk, they were unlikely to find them
when sober. However, when they were drunk again, they often discovered the hiding place.
Other studies found similar state-dependent effects when participants were given drugs such
as marijuana.

The ecological validity of these experiments can be questioned, but their findings are
supported by evidence from outside the laboratory. For example, many people say they can’t
remember much about their childhood or their school days. But returning to the house in
which they spent their childhood or attending a school reunion often provides retrieval cues
that trigger a flood of memories.

Eyewitness Testimony
Misleading Information

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Loftus and Palmer investigated how misleading information could distort eyewitness
testimony accounts.

Procedure: Forty-five American students formed an opportunity sample. This was a

laboratory experiment with five conditions, only one of which was experienced by each
participant (an independent measures experimental design ).

Participants were shown slides of a car accident involving a number of cars and asked to
describe what had happened as if they were eyewitnesses. They were then asked specific
questions, including the question, “About how fast were the cars going when they
(hit/smashed/collided/bumped/contacted ) each other?”
Findings: The estimated speed was affected by the verb used. The verb implied information
about the speed, which systematically affected the participants’ memory of the accident.

Participants who were asked the “smashed” question thought the cars were going faster than
those who were asked the “hit” question. The participants in the “smashed” condition
reported the highest speeds, followed by “collided,” “bumped,” “hit,” and “contacted” in
descending order.

Anxiety

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The Yerkes-Dodson effect states that when anxiety is at low and high levels, EWT is less
accurate than if anxiety is at a medium level. Recall improves as anxiety increases up to an
optimal point and then declines.

When we are in a state of anxiety, we tend to focus on whatever is making us feel anxious or
fearful, and we exclude other information about the situation. If a weapon is used to threaten
a victim, their attention is likely to focus on it. Consequently, their recall of other information
is likely to be poor.

Real-world application: We can apply the Yerkes-Dodson effect to predict that stressful
incidents will lead to witnesses having relatively inaccurate memories as their anxiety levels
would be above the optimum – We can avoid an over-reliance on eyewitness testimony that
may have been impacted by anxiety.