Learning

Definition

Learning is a relatively durable change in behavior or knowledge

due to past experiences.
Forms of Learning:
▪ Verbal Learning
Basically man is a verbal learner who learns about the
environment through experiences.
• Verbal learning involves the person’s own association,
experiences and relations with the phenomenon that has been
learned.
 Conti…
Motor Learning
• It involves the practical application of the learned phenomena.
• There are various tasks/ activities in which motor skills are of primary
importance as compared to the ones requiring verbally learned material; e.g.
learning the skills like playing football, tennis, cricket etc; or the training of
technicians whose motor skills need to be highly efficient.
• In learning motor skills two things are important; quickness of movements and
the results that are achieved through it.
Problem Solving
• Problem solving tasks usually involves trial and error and primarily include
verbal processes.
• While doing the problem-solving task, individual learns many responses that
can be helpful for him in different situations
Factors of Learning

Motivation: is goal directed activity.

Reinforcement: exceeds the rate of learning positive
reinforcement in the form of prizes strengthens the successful
Behaviour or correct response in learning. Negative
reinforcement in the form of punishments weakens the
incorrect responses in learning and helps in avoiding failure.
Association: also affects learning. It helps in associating
temporal and spatial events. Learning is thought to be the
formation of association between stimuli and response.
Changings during learning process
Physical Changes: occurs when an individual learn to do
some physical work. For example: when a child learn to ride a
bicycle ,he has to maintain the balance.
Neural changes: Response process of nervous system. For
example when the child start bicycle riding the neural
resistance is the hindrance. He overcomes this difficulty by
practice. Learning makes the neural traces and produces
continuity and harmony in stimuli.
Cont..
Mental Changes: Learning brings about mental changes in
an individual. When an individual starts learning a new task
,he needs more active attention. After learning this need of
active attention changes into passive attention or less
attention. When a practice made him perfect he can even ride
a bicycle inattentively as his body mind coordination has
taken lace.
Psychological changes: learning also bring these changes
in an individuals Behaviour .initially his Behaviour is hesitating
and reluctant due to ignorance fear and non confidence.
When he has achieved skill in learning he becomes confident
and exceeds in life with numerous success and fame.
How Do We Learn?

Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Cognitive approaches to learning.
Conti…
Stimulus
A physical energy source that has an effect on a sense organ, thus
producing a response.
Response
The action, behavior, or reaction triggered by a stimulus.
Environment
External factors, variables, conditions, influences, or circumstance
affecting one’s development or behavior.
Variable
A behavior, factor, setting, or event that can change/ vary in amount or
kind
Cont…

Why are children scared of darkness?

Why some children jump with joy at the sight of a bear and
some start screaming in fright?
Why does one coming from abroad start feeling happy at the
very sight of his parents’ home?
Why does one start feeling bad at the thought of going to a
dentist?
The answers to all these questions can be found in the
classical conditioning approach
Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning forms an association between

two stimuli. Classical Conditioning is when a stimulus
acquires the ability to cause a response that was
previously caused by another stimulus. This learning
process essentially allows us to predict what is going
to happen
Historical background
• In 1879 Ivan Pavlov, the Russian physiologist and pioneer of classical
conditioning, began his research work on
the digestive process, primarily that of dogs.
• He won Nobel Prize for that in 1904.
• The focal point of his investigation was the salivation reflex in dogs.
• It was already known that the dogs would salivate if food powder were
led into their mouths, as it was a ‘reflex.’
• The dogs would salivate every time the food powder was presented.
• Pavlov observed that after some time, the dogs at times salivated just
before food was put into their
mouths. They also salivated at the sight of the food, and even at the
sight of the lab assistant who
brought food for them.
• This is where the concept of classical conditioning emerged.
Terminalogies
Basic Terminology in Classical Conditioning • Reflex
An automatic, unlearned response resulting from a specific
stimulus.• Un-Conditioned Stimulus (UCS)
A stimulus that elicits a response reflexively and reliably. •
Un-Conditioned Response (UCR)
A natural, reflexive, reliable, response of the UCS. •
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
A primarily neutral stimulus which, when paired with the UCS,
starts evoking a response (different from its natural response)
and the same as UCR. • Conditioned Response (CR)
After conditioning, the CS begins to elicit a new, learned
response. i.e. CR.
Pavlovian Classical Conditioning The following diagram explains
the classical conditioning model
Applications of Classical Conditioning
in Everyday Life
Negative emotional responses: fears,
phobias-----fear of lizards, dark places, school phobia
Positive emotional responses: Feelings of relaxation,
and happiness --- thinking of going on a holiday •
Advertising: Associating model with the product
Advertising: Associating model with the product.
Operant Conditioning

Why do teachers give stars on children’s workbooks?

Why do parents clap happily when their child utters
the first words that nobody else can interpret?
Why do manufacturers of products announce prize
schemes for the consumers of their products?
Operant Conditioning

Type of learning in which a voluntary response becomes stronger

or weaker, depending on its positive or negative consequences
The organism plays an active role and “Operates” on environment
to produce the desired outcome
With verbal humans, we can explain the connection between the
consequence and the behavior, even if they are separated in time.
For example, you might tell your friends that you'll buy dinner for
them since they helped you move, or a parent might explain that
the child can't go to summer camp because of her bad grades
There are four possible consequences
of any behavior:
Something Good can start or be presented
Something Good can end or be taken away
Something Bad can start or be presented
Something Bad can end or be taken away
Applying these terms to the Four
Possible Consequences
• Something Good can start or be presented: behavior increases
= Positive Reinforcement (R+).
• Something Good can end or be taken away: behavior
decreases = Negative Punishment (P-).
• Something Bad can start or be presented: behavior decreases
= Positive Punishment (P+).
• Something Bad can end or be taken away, so behavior
increases = Negative Reinforcement (R-).
Reinforcement
Reinforcer : The stimulus that increases the probability of repetition or re
occurrence of a behavior •It can be material as well a non material in
nature.
Reinforcement: Increasing the probability that preceding behavior will be
repeated through a stimulus.
Positive Rein forcer: A stimulus whose introduction brings about an
increase in the preceding response.
Negative Rein forcer: A stimulus whose removal reinforces and leads to
a higher likelihood that the response bringing about this removal will be
repeated.
Punishment: An unpleasant or painful stimulus whose introduction
following a certain behavior decreases likelihood that the behavior will
occur again.
procedure in Skinner’s Operant
conditioning experiment
A special apparatus usually known as skinner’s box is used.
Laboratory animals learn to press a lever so that food is
delivered to them. • The environment is controlled.
The animal operates on the environment, and as a result of
its behavior it may be rewarded or punished. Food is the
reward.
The consequence determines if the response will be repeated
or not.
Positive Reinforcer/ Reward

It is a stimulus whose introduction brings about an increase in

the preceding response.
CONSEQUENCES OF BEHAVIOR AND THEIR IMPACT
 Negative Rein forcer

A stimulus whose removal reinforces and leads to a higher likelihood that the
response bringing about this removal will be repeated: in simpler terms it means
repeating a behavior in order to get rid of a negative stimulus.
Punishment

Punishment is an unpleasant or painful stimulus whose

introduction following a certain behavior decreases the
likelihood that the behavior will occur again.
No reinforcement

This also deters or stops a behavior from being

repeated.
Applications of Operant
Conditioning in Everyday Life
▪ Child rearing
▪ Classroom management
▪ Teaching of skills
▪ Advertising
▪ Psychological intervention and Psycho- therapy: behavior
modification, assertiveness training, token economy
Schedules of Reinforcement
The procedures involving specific frequency and timing of
reinforcing a desired behavior.
Continuous Versus Partial Schedules
Continuous Schedule Reinforcing the behavior every time it is
repeated.
Partial Schedule The behavior is reinforced but not every
time.
Conti…

Fixed Ratio Schedule

The organism is reinforced only after a specific number of
responses is made e.g. salary after 7 days.
Variable Ratio Schedule
The organism is reinforced after a varying number of
responses is made (not a fixed number) e.g. surprise bonus.
PARTIAL SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT
CONSIDERING THE PERIOD OR AMOUNT OF TIME

Fixed- Interval Schedule

The organism is reinforced after pre fixed time intervals e.g. giving students a
candy every two days.
Variable- Interval Schedule
The organism is reinforced after around an average time interval instead of
fixed ones e.g. at times giving 2 candies after 6days, and one after two days.
Remember!!! Immediate and appropriate reinforcement is essential for
learning. Consistency is the golden rule; follow the pattern of reinforcement
regularly and never let the organism feel that his/her/its behavior is not been
observed and the progress not followed.
Conti…

Shaping: Successive approximations of a required / desired

response are reinforced until that response is fully learnt:
In the beginning each and every success is reinforced with a
reward, no matter how small the success.
Once the desired response is learnt the rein forcer
immediately follows it, every time it happens.
Once learnt the behavior, in many cases, the organism may
not need reinforcement any more, since many behaviors are
self-reinforcing e.g. learning to play a musical instrument.
Conti...

Acquisition: Initially the response rate following reinforcement

may be slow but at one stage it increases to the maximum.
This is acquisition
Extinction: If reinforcement is withheld the response rate
decreases and finally no response is shown. This is extinction.
Learning by Trail and error

Learning begins when the organism faces a new and difficult

situation – a problem. Most learning organism counters errors,
and with repeated trials, errors reduce.

The phenomenon is called Trial and Error Learning in a

simple sense
Laws of Trial and error learning

Law of Exercise
Law of exercise is a fundamental basis of trial and error learning
since organism learns as a result of repeated
trials/practice/exercise. The law can be subdivided into two
parts:
Law of Use: If any action is repeated by an organism in
certain condition, learning occurs.
Law of Disuse: If the action is not repeated by an organism,
there will be no learning.
Conti…

Law of Effect
Law of effect states that satisfaction lead to the repetition of
the action. Reward causes satisfaction. Thorndike stated that
satisfying state of affairs is a key to learning.

Law of Readiness
Readiness means a preparation for action. If one is not
prepared to learn, learning cannot be automatically instilled in
the organism.
Observational Learning

A type of learning that occurs when an organism’s responding is

influenced by the observation of others, who are called models.

“Most human behaviour is learned by observation through modeling”

(Albert Bandura)
Basic Processes

Bandura identified 4 key processes that are crucial in

observational learning.
1) Attention … To pay attention
2) Retention … To store in your memory
3) Reproduction … To reproduce the response
4) Motivation … To continue reproducing the response
Observational Learning

Bandura’s study: Bandura showed that children would imitate

aggressive behaviour directed toward a Bobo doll by an adult
model.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmBqwWlJg8U)
Bendura’s study: Watching violence on TV is related to
increased aggression.
Learning by insight

Learning by insight means sudden grasping of the solution, a

flash of understanding, without any process of trial and error.
All discoveries and inventions have taken place through
insight
Learning by insight

This theory is also called Gestalt Theory of Learning. An explanation of

Gestalt School of Psychology

So learning also takes place as a whole’. In this respect Kohler performed a

number of experiments on monkeys, and arrived at the result that highest
types of learning is through insight.
Learning by insight
THANKYOU