LEARNING

DEFINITION AND NATURE OF LEARNING

LEARNING is any relatively permanent change I behavior which occurs as a result of practice or
experience.

THREE IMPORTANT POINTS

1.LEARNING IS A CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE. Unfortunately, not all learning is
adaptive or beneficial to the person. An individual can also learn negative or undesirable behavior which
can cause maladjustment. For example, smoking or taking drugs.

2. IT IS A CHANGE THAT TAKES PLACE THROUGH EXPERIENCE. Experience includes repetition, practices,
or training. By specifying that learning must be due to experience, we discount changes in behavior that
are due to drugs, maturation or illness.

3. THE CHANGE MUST BE RELATIVELY PERMANENT. We could determine this by checking if such
behavior persists for a long time. As a result of the individual’s learning, he may become adjusted or
maladjusted since learning can be either positive or negative in effect on the learner. At best learning
should help a person change for the better. The goal of every learner should be to acquire
manifestations of behavior that will enhance his personality.

BASIC LEARNING PROCESSES

A. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, a Russian psychologist devised a simple experiment in three phases to
determine how salivation could occur in the absence of an obvious physical cause.
Classical Conditioning describes how an organism responds to the environment, ignoring the
organism’s active influence on the environment. It occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes
associated with a meaningful stimulus and comes to elicit a similar response.
TERMINOLOGIES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
1. UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS- a stimulus that can elicit a response without learning
2. UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE- an unlearned, inborn reaction to an unconditioned stimulus
3. CONDITIONED STIMULUS- a stimulus that comes to elicit responses as a result of being
paired with an unconditioned stimulus
4. CONDITIONED RESPONSE- a response that is similar or identical to the unconditioned
response that comes to be elicited by a conditioned stimulus
5. ACQUISITION-(in classical conditioning) is the initial learning of the stimulus response link,
which involves a neutral stimulus being associated with an unconditioned stimulus and
becoming a conditioned stimulus that elicits the conditioned response. For example, a
young child learns to fear (CS) going to the dentist’s office by associating it with the
unlearned response (UCR) to the pain of having a tooth cavity filled.
6. GENERALIZATION- (in classical conditioning) is the tendency of a new stimulus that is similar
to the original stimulus to elicit a response that is similar to the conditioned response. For
example, the child fears the dentists’ offices and places similar to them, including doctors’
 offices and adults in them who wear white medical clothing, as well as the smells and
sounds of them.
7. DISCRIMINATION- (in classical conditioning) is the process of learning to respond to certain
stimuli and not to others. For example, the child goes with his mother to her doctor’s office
and learns that it is not associated the pain of UCS.
8. EXTINCTION- (in classical conditioning) is the weakening of the conditioned response in the
absence of the unconditioned stimulus. For example, the child subsequently goes to the
dentist on a number of occasions and does not have a painful experience, so the child’s fear
of dentist’s offices goes away, at least for a while, until the child has another painful
experience.
9. SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY-the process in classical conditioning by which a conditioned
response can recur after a time delay without further conditioning. The child’s extinguished
fear of dentists’ offices recurs after hearing the news of seeing the dentist again.

B. OPERANT CONDITIONING
Operant Conditioning (or instrument conditioning) is a form of learning in which the
consequences of behavior produce changes in the probability of the behavior’s occurrence. B.F.
Skinner described the behavior of the organism as operant: the behavior operates on the
environment, and the environment in turn operates on the organism.
The experiments of E.L. Thorndike established the power of consequences in determining
voluntary behavior. Law of Effect is Thorndike’s concept that behaviors followed by positive
outcomes are strengthened, whereas behaviors followed by negative outcomes are weakened.
TERMINOLOGIES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING
1. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT- the process that increases the frequency of a behavior by
providing a rewarding stimulus.
2. NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT- the process that increases he frequency of a behavior by
removing of an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus.
3. PRIMARY REINFORCEMENT-the use of positive reinforcers that are innately satisfying; that is
they do not take any learning on the organism’s part to make them pleasurable such as
food, water, or sexual satisfaction.
4. SECONDARY REINFORCEMENT- the use of positive reinforcers that acquire their value
through experience, such as getting a pat on the back, praise or an eye contact.
5. GENERALIZATION-(in operant conditioning) giving the same response to similar stimuli. For
example, a student who has great success in dating people who dress neatly and not such
good results with those who dress sloppily, subsequently seeks to date with people dress
neatly, the neater the better, and avoid sloppy dressers, especially the sloppiest.
6. DISCRIMINATION-(in operant conditioning) responding to stimuli that signal whether a
behavior will or will not be reinforced For example, street signs like “Enter at your own risk”
and “Please walk this way” are discriminative stimuli. The first suggests that the
consequences may not be positive’ the other indicates a reward for doing so.
7. EXTINCTION- (in operant conditioning) becomes less likely to perform previously reinforced
behavior when it is no longer reinforced. For example, when bonuses were given, the
 worker’s productivity was above quota; once the bonus was removed, the performance
decreased.
8. PUNISHMENT- a consequence that decreases the likelihood a behavior will occur. For
example, a child plays with an attractive matchbox and gets burned (punished) by a lit
matchstick, and therefore in the future the child will likely t play the matches. (Punishment
is not to be confused with negative reinforcement, in which a response increases because of
its consequences).
9. SHAPING- a procedure in which reinforcement is delivered for successive approximations of
the desired response. For example, if you want to shape the child to make his bed, you
begin by reinforcing when he gets the first step of the task. Over time you would stop
reinforcing that first level of behavior and only reinforce when he gets into each of the
series of successive steps, leading to the final goal response.

C. COGNITIVE LEARNING

Cognitive Psychologists study internal mental processes including thinking, or cognitive processes.
Cognitive Psychologists think of the learner as an information processing system. They are interested on
how we acquire information about our world and process that information to store it to our memories.
The most influential among the cognitive psychologists were Wolfgang Kohler and Edward C. Tolman.

D. INSIGHT LEARNING

The term “insight” was used by the Gestalt psychologist Wolfgang Kohler, to describe problem
solving by grasping relations, especially if the solution is arrived at suddenly. According to Kohler,
learning is not merely the forming of stimulus-response bonds but it is a total reaction in a total
situation. Kohler called insight a sudden recognition of the nature of a problem and its correct solution.
Insight learning is a form of problem solving in which the organism develops a sudden insight,
understanding of a problem’s solution.

E. OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

Observational learning, also called imitation or modeling, is learning that occurs when a person observes
and imitates someone’s behavior. Albert Bandura considers modeling to be an important
demonstration of the role of cognition in learning. Bandura’s social learning theory proposes that
people learn various behaviors by observing others who serve as models. Bandura describes four main
processes that are involved in observation learning:

1. ATTENTION- in order to reproduce a model’s actions, we must first attend to what the
model is saying or doing.
2. RETENTION- we must code the information and keep it in memory so that it can be
retrieved.
3. PRODUCTION-we must be able to put into practice what was observed. People might attend
to a model and code in memory what they have seen, but imitations in motor development
 might make it difficult for them to reproduce the model’s action (for instance, e wouldn’t be
able to imitate someone riding a bike if we were paralyzed)
4. REINFORCEMENT-on many occasions we may attend to what a model says or does, retain
the information on memory, and possess the motor capabilities to perform the action, but
we might fail to repeat the behavior because of inadequate reinforcement.

LEARNING STYLES
Learning styles is the way a person processes, internalizes, and studies new and challenging
materials. The cornerstone of this theory is that most people can learn, and each individual has his own
unique ways of mastering new and difficult subject matter. For young children, a big challenge is
learning to read and, for some of them, that challenge is a grueling ordeal if the way they are taught
does not match the way they learn.

The Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model

Complex and encompasses 5 strands of 21 elements that affect each individual’s learning. Some of these
elements are biological and others are developmental.

1.ENVIRONMENTAL- the environmental strand refers to the elements; lighting, sound, temperature, and
seating arrangement. For example, some people need to study in a cool and quite room, and others
cannot focus unless they have music playing and it is warm (sound and temperature elements).

2. EMOTIONAL- this strand includes the following elements: motivation, persistence, responsibility and
structure. For example, some people must compete a project before they start a new one, and others
work best when working with colleagues (learning alone or with peers element).

3. SOCIOLOGICAL-the sociological strand represents elements related to how individuals learn in

association with other people: (a) alone or with peers, (b) an authoritative adult or with a collegial
colleague, and (c) learning in a variety of ways or routine patterns. For example, a number of people
need to work alone when tackling a new and difficult subject, while others learn best when working with
colleagues (learning alone or with peers element).

4. PHYSIOLOGICAL- the elements in this strand are: perceptual (auditory, visual, tactual and kinesthetic),
time of day energy levels, intake (eating or not while studying) and mobility (sitting still or moving
around). For example, many people refer to themselves as night owls and early birds because they
function best at night or in the morning (time-of-day element).

5.PSYCHOLOGICAL-types of psychological processing: hemispheric, impulsive or reflective, and global

versus analytic. The hemispheric elements refer to left and right brain processing modes; the impulsive
versus reflective style describes how some people leap before thinking and others scrutinize the other
elements because these two elements are made up of distinct clusters of elements found in the other
four strands. The elements that determine global and analytical processing styles are: sound, light,
seating arrangement, persistence, sociological preference, and intake.
DIFFERENCES AMONG STUDENTS’ LEARNING STYLES
1. GLOBAL AND ANALYTIC. Global learners prefer to work in an environment with soft lighting and
informal seating and needs breaks, snacking, mobility and sound. Analytic learners prefer to
work in an environment with bright light and formal seating. They work best with few or no
interruptions, in a quiet environment, and little or no snacking. The majority of children are
global processors.
2. AGE- some learning styles are developmental and many people’s style alter as they grow older.
These style elements are: sociological, motivation, responsibility, and internal vs. external
structure. Children tend to prefer to work with peers instead of alone and have an authoritative
versus a collegial teacher. For many people, auditory and visual perceptual elements strengthen
with age.
3. GENDER- the perceptual strength of males are often visual, tactual and kinesthetic. They tend to
need more mobility than females, and function better in an informal environment. Males are
peer-motivated and nonconforming. Females tend to be more auditory, need quiet studying,
work best in a formal setting, and need less mobility. Often they are more conforming authority-
oriented, and parent and self-motivated than males.
4. HIGH-VERSUS LOW-ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT- high and low achieving students learn in
statistically different ways from one another. The teaching strategies that are successful for one
group will not produce similar outcomes in the other group.

SIX WAYS TO CAPITALIZE ON YOUR OWN LEARNING STYLE

1. Recognize that each person is uniquely different. Research suggests that you are most
effective when you use your strengths. However, without taking stock of our own learning
styles, many of us try to produce through our weaknesses. This leads to less productivity at
work and wasted time at home.
2. Identify your own learning style. While some differences among people are readily
apparent, others are not. Therefore, it is important to use a reliable and valid standardized
instrument.
3. Once you know your style, use it to teach yourself anything that seems difficult or
challenging. This may be any complex task that requires concentration like outwitting the
government or writing notes to your child’s teacher. When there is greater harmony
between how you learn and you work, things will seem easier and move more rapidly.
4. Determine whether you are a step-by-step analytic processor or global learner who needs
to see the big picture before you can concentrate on details. Global learners often hum,
speak or sing to themselves to provide the sound they crave while thinking. They snack,
whisper, crouch and lose interest in whatever they are exposed to when taught analytically.
Conversely, analytics think best in a formal, quiet, rightly lit area with minimum food snacks.
5. Arrange or re-arrange your environment to take advantage of your own learning style
strengths. For example, if you like to hum while working, find a quiet place where you won’t
be bothering anyone else. If you need space, don’t work at the desk where you keep your
 computer. If you need to take breaks, structure your time to allow them but make sure you
return to the task after a set interval.
6. Forget about the age-old wisdom, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you”. What you don’t
know about your own learning style strength can hurt you. Although people can be
productive in the wrong style (for them), they are significantly more so when they work with
their learning style.

Reference

1. Psychology: An Introduction, 7th Ed by Benjamin B. Lahey, 2001

2. Psychology, 7th Ed by John W. Santrock, 2002
3. Psychology in Action, 5th Ed. By Karen Huffman, 2000
4. Introduction to Psychology by Bucu, et al.