Notes

Class 11
LEARNING
Nature of Learning

Definition of Learning
 Learning refers to a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience.
 It excludes temporary changes caused by fatigue, drugs, or temporary physiological states.

Key Features of Learning

Relatively Permanent:
Behavioural changes due to learning are enduring and are not the result of
temporary states. For example, a child burning their finger on a matchstick learns to
handle it cautiously in the future.

Experience-Based:
Learning happens through interaction or repeated experiences, like a student
forming associations through classroom activities.

Excludes Temporary Changes:

Changes in behaviour due to fatigue, habituation, or drugs are temporary and not
categorized as learning. For example:
• Fatigue: A student stops reading when tired, but this change is not permanent.
• Habituation: A person gets used to constant noise, and the initial reflexes disappear
over time.

Sequence of Psychological Events in Learning

Learning involves multiple stages, which can be observed through experiments.

For instance, psychologists studying how a list of words is learned might follow these steps:
 Pre-Test: Assess the learner’s prior knowledge.
 Exposure: Introduce a list of words for a fixed duration.
 Processing: The learner actively processes and acquires the information.
 Outcome: Knowledge is acquired and consolidated, which marks the completion of learning.
 Recall: Later, the learner recalls the information, and improvements in performance (e.g.,
remembering more words) reflect that learning has occurred.

Learning as an Inferred Process

• Learning is inferred based on performance, which is the observed behavior or

response.
• Example: A teacher observes that a student can recite a poem after being taught,
inferring that learning took place.
• Thus, learning is different from performance; the former involves internal change,
while the latter is its external manifestation.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Introduction
Developed by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist.
Definition: A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned
stimulus, eliciting a conditioned response similar to the unconditioned response.

Pavlov’s Experiment
Pavlov studied salivation in dogs.
Before Conditioning:
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): Food → Unconditioned Response (UCR): Salivation.
Neutral Stimulus (NS): Bell → No Response.
During Conditioning:
The bell (NS) is paired with the food (UCS).
After Conditioning:
The bell becomes a Conditioned Stimulus (CS).
The dog salivates (Conditioned Response, CR) in response to the bell.

Concept of US,UR,CS,CR
•Unconditioned Stimulus (US): produces response without prior learning (e.g. Food)
•Unconditioned Response (UR): the response to US. This is not due to learning. (e.g. : salivation on
seeing food ).
• Conditioned stimulus (CS): it is that stimulus which was previously neutral. It produces response
after learning /classical conditioning has occurred. (e.g. Sound of bell).
• Conditioned Response (CR): the response to CS. This is due to learning (e.g.: salivation on hearing
bell)

Time relations between stimuli

a) Simultaneous conditioning: US and CS are presented and terminated together.
b) Delayed conditioning: CS is presented; leave it for a while present US and terminate CS and US
together. This is most effective way.
c) Trace conditioning: CS begins and ends before US is presented.
d) Backward conditioning: CS is presented after US is terminated.

•Delayed condition is found to be most effective way of producing a strong conditioned response.

Type of Unconditioned Stimuli:

a) Appetitive US automatically elicits approach responses, such as eating, drinking, caressing etc.
These responses give satisfaction and pleasure.
b) Aversive US such as noise, bitter taste, electric shock , painful injections,etc. are painful ,harmful
and elicit avoidance and escape responses .
Appetitive classical conditioning is slower and requires greater number of acquisition trials , but
aversive classical conditioning is established in one,two or three trials depending on the intensity of
the aversive US.

Intensity of Conditioned Stimuli:

•This influences the course of both appetitive and aversive classical conditioning.
•More intense CS is more effective in accelerating the acquisition of CR.
•The more intense the CS, the fewer are the number of acquisition trials needed for conditioning.
Operant Conditioning
Introduction
 Developed by B.F. Skinner, an American psychologist.
 Definition: A type of learning in which behavior is influenced by its consequences. Behaviors
followed by favorable outcomes are strengthened, while those followed by unfavorable
outcomes are weakened.
Difference from Classical Conditioning:
Classical Conditioning involves associations between stimuli and responses, while Operant
Conditioning focuses on voluntary behaviors and their consequences.
Skinner’s Experiments
Skinner Box: A controlled apparatus used to study behavior in animals (e.g., rats, pigeons).
Example:
A rat presses a lever and receives food (reward).
The behavior of lever pressing increases due to reinforcement.
Key Concepts in Operant Conditioning

Reinforcement:
A stimulus or event that increases the likelihood of a behaviour.
Types:
Positive Reinforcement: Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase behavior (e.g., giving a child a
chocolate for completing homework).
Negative Reinforcement: Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase behavior (e.g., turning off a
loud noise when a button is pressed).

Punishment:
A stimulus or event that decreases the likelihood of a behavior.
Types:
Positive Punishment: Adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease behavior (e.g., scolding a student
for being late).
Negative Punishment: Removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior (e.g., taking away a toy
for misbehaviour).

Number of reinforcement and other features.

The course of operant conditioning is usually accelerated to an extent as the number, amount and
quality of reinforcement increases.

Schedules of Reinforcement:
Refers to the frequency and timing of reinforcement.
Types:
Continuous Reinforcement: Reinforcement after every correct response (best for initial learning).
Partial Reinforcement: Reinforcement given intermittently (better for long-term retention).

Delayed reinforcement
Delay in delivery of reinforcement - poorer level of performance.

1. Reinforcement
Reinforcement refers to the process of increasing the likelihood of a desired behavior by using a
stimulus following the behavior.

Positive Reinforcement: Involves introducing a pleasant stimulus to increase a behavior.

Negative Reinforcement: Involves removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior.
Types of Reinforcers:

Primary Reinforcers: These are biologically important (e.g., food, water).

Secondary Reinforcers: These acquire their value through learning and association (e.g., money,
praise).
2. Extinction
Extinction is the process where a learned response gradually decreases or disappears when
reinforcement is no longer provided.

Resistance to extinction increases when reinforcement is provided frequently during the acquisition
phase.
If reinforcement is delayed or provided intermittently, the learned response becomes more resistant
to extinction.
3. Generalization
Generalization occurs when an organism responds to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned
stimulus (CS).

Example: A child conditioned to fear a person with a long mustache and black clothes may also fear
another person with similar features.
4. Discrimination
Discrimination is the opposite of generalization and occurs when an organism learns to differentiate
between similar stimuli.

Example: A child learns to fear a person with specific features (e.g., mustache and black clothes) but
does not fear someone with different features (e.g., clean-shaven and grey clothes).
5. Spontaneous Recovery
Spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response
after some time has passed.

The strength of recovery depends on the duration between the extinction session and the re-
presentation of the conditioned stimulus (CS).

Observational learning
Key Points:

1. Definition of Observational Learning:

• Learning occurs by observing others.
• Earlier, it was referred to as imitation. Now, it’s often called modelling or social
learning.
• Individuals learn behaviours by observing and emulating others, especially in
situations where they don’t know how to act.
2. Examples in Everyday Life:
• Fashion industry: People observe and imitate the way models present themselves in
magazines or on TV.
• Children often observe adults’ behaviours during ceremonies or events and replicate
them in their games, such as playing house or pretending to be policemen.
• Media influence: Observing actions in books, TV shows, or other forms of media
contributes to their understanding of social behaviour.
3. Bandura’s Experiment:
• A famous experiment involved a “Bobo doll” to study aggression:
• Children watched one of three versions of a film:
 • An adult was rewarded for aggressive behaviour.
• An adult was punished for aggressive behaviour.
• The adult’s behaviour had no consequences.
• After watching, the children were placed in a similar setting with toys, including the
Bobo doll. Their behaviours varied based on what they observed in the film.
4. Impact of Observation:
• Observers acquire knowledge by seeing the behaviour of a model.
• The outcome of the model’s actions (reward or punishment) influences how much
the observer replicates the behaviour.
5. Learning Social Behaviours:
• Children learn politeness, courtesy, diligence, and even personality traits through
observation.
• Observing others helps children understand how to act in different social settings.

Cognitive Learning
This approach emphasizes the mental processes that occur during learning, focusing on
understanding and insight rather than stimulus-response connections. Cognitive learning involves a
change in the learner's knowledge or understanding.

1. Insight Learning
Explanation: Insight learning refers to a sudden realization or understanding of how to solve a
problem without trial-and-error. It involves mentally reorganizing the problem and discovering the
solution in a flash of insight.
Kohler’s Experiment:
Kohler demonstrated insight learning with chimpanzees. In one experiment:
A chimpanzee was placed in a cage with a banana out of reach.
After some exploration, the chimpanzee suddenly used tools (e.g., a box and stick) to retrieve the
banana, demonstrating insight into solving the problem.
This process did not rely on conditioning but involved a sudden "aha" moment.
Characteristics of Insight Learning:
The solution appears suddenly rather than through gradual trial-and-error.
Once the solution is discovered, it can be applied to similar problems in the future.
Insight learning highlights a cognitive relationship between means and ends.

2. Latent Learning
Explanation: Latent learning occurs without any immediate visible reinforcement or observable
behavior. The learning only becomes evident when the organism is later motivated to demonstrate
the learned behavior.
Tolman’s Experiment:
Tolman studied rats in a maze to illustrate latent learning:
Rats explored a maze without any reward.
Later, when food was placed at the end of the maze, the rats quickly navigated the maze to find it,
showing that they had learned the layout of the maze even without reinforcement.
Key Takeaway: Latent learning suggests that knowledge is acquired but may not be immediately
displayed until the situation calls for it.
Verbal Learning
Explanation: Verbal learning is unique to humans and involves acquiring knowledge about objects,
events, and their relationships primarily through words.
Methodology: Psychologists use different types of materials to study verbal learning, such as:
Syllables
Familiar and unfamiliar words
Sentences
Paragraphs
Key Focus: This form of learning is concerned with the associations and relationships formed
between words and concepts, helping to structure human thought and communication.

Methods used in studying verbal learning.

1. Paired- associates learning.
2. Serial learning
3. Free recall

Determinants of Verbal Learning

• Length of the List: The longer the list of items, the harder it is to learn.
• Meaningfulness of Material: Material that is meaningful is easier to learn. This is
assessed using:
• Number of associations with other words.
• Familiarity and frequency of word usage.
• Relationships and dependencies among words in the list.
• Nonsense Syllables: When using nonsense syllables for experiments, their
association levels are adjusted to measure the effects of meaningfulness.

2. Learning Time and Factors Affecting It

• Learning time increases with:

• Longer lists.
• Low-association or unrelated words.
• The total time principle suggests that learning is proportional to the time spent on it:
the more time dedicated, the stronger the learning.

3. Free Recall and Category Clustering

• In free recall, participants are asked to remember words without strict order.
• Experiments showed that even when words are presented randomly, participants
often recall them in semantic categories (e.g., names, animals, professions,
vegetables).
• This natural grouping is called category clustering, showing how people organize
information to make recall easier.

4. Subjective Organization

• Verbal learning is influenced by the participant’s individual way of organizing

material.
• This indicates a subjective process, where individuals arrange and recall information
based on personal preferences or patterns.
5. Intentional vs. Incidental Learning

• Verbal learning is mostly intentional, but certain aspects (like word patterns,
rhymes, or vowels) may be learned incidentally.
• Thus, verbal learning involves a mix of conscious (intentional) and unconscious
(incidental) processes.
Skill learning
Nature of Skills

• A skill is the ability to perform complex tasks smoothly and efficiently (e.g., driving,
piloting, navigating, shorthand writing, reading).
• Skills are developed through practice and exercise.
• A skill can be described as:
• A chain of perceptual-motor responses: Coordinated actions involving sensory and
motor systems.
• A sequence of stimulus-response (S-R) associations: Linking specific stimuli with
appropriate responses.

Phases of Skill Acquisition

According to psychological studies, skill learning progresses through three main phases:
1. Cognitive Phase:
• The learner focuses on understanding and memorizing instructions for the task.
• The emphasis is on consciously analyzing the task and keeping cues and outcomes in
awareness.
• Errors are common as the process is deliberate and effortful.
2. Associative Phase:
• With practice, sensory inputs are linked to appropriate responses more effectively.
• Errors decrease, and performance improves.
• Time taken for each response reduces.
• However, the learner must still concentrate on inputs to ensure proper
performance.
3. Autonomous Phase:
• The skill becomes automatic with minimal conscious effort.
• Two significant changes occur:
• Reduced attentional demands: The task requires less focus, freeing mental resources
for other activities.
• Less interference from external factors, ensuring smooth execution.
• At this stage, performance becomes highly efficient and errorless.

Additional Insights

• Skill learning often reaches a performance plateau, where progress seems stagnant
before improvement begins again.
• The transition between phases highlights the importance of consistent practice in
mastering skills.

In summary, skill acquisition evolves from conscious effort to unconscious proficiency,

demonstrating the importance of practice and the gradual reduction of mental demands as expertise
develops.
Factors facilitating learning
• Continuous vs partial reinforcement
• Motivation
• Preparedness for learning: it implies that one can learn only those associations for
which one is genetically prepared.

Learning disabilities
Difficulty in acquisition of learning, reading, writing, speaking, reasoning and mathematical
reasoning.
Source of such disorders- inherited in child
Problems with CNS
Can affect self – esteem, vocation, social relations and daily life activities.

Symptoms of learning disabilities

o Difficulty in writing letters
o Attention disorders
o Poor space coordination
o Poor motor coordination
o Unable to understand oral directions
o Misjudge relationships
o Perceptual disorders
o Dyslexia

• Not incurable
• Remedial classes can help.