Learning

Prepared by Dipesh Upadhyay

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Main Contents
• Meaning and Nature of Learning
• Instincts
• Behavioral leaning
• Cognitive learning and other complex form of learning
• Classical and operant conditioning with
applications
• Shaping and behavior modification and shaping.
• Cognitive learning
• Cognitive maps and latent learning
• Insights in learning (from Ciccarelli)
• Observational learning
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 Definition of Learning

• Relatively permanent change in behavior

or mental state based on experience
• Relatively permanent change: Can be
altered with future learning
• Behavior: Some response to a situation
or event
• Mental state: thinking, knowledge,
attitude, belief, strategy

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 Factors Influencing Learning
• Physiological : age, health, sex, fatigue,
imprints on RNA (ribonucleic acid), DNA
• Social: social need, incentive, reward and
punishment
• Environmental: temperature, light, noise
• Learning material: novel, interesting or non
interesting, meaningful or not meaningful
• Organism (‘O’): individual factors like interest,
moods, perception, motivation, ability

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 Theories of Learning
• Classical Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning
• Trial and Error
• Cognitive Leaning:
– Latent Learning and Cognitive Map
– Insight Learning Or Gestalt Learning
– Observational Learning or Vicarious Lea

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 Classical Conditioning Important Figures
• Ivan Pavlov and his experiment on dog
• JB Watson and ‘Little Albert’ experiment
• Mary Cover Jones and Counterconditioning- experiment
with ‘Little Peter’

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Classical Conditioning Pioneered by Ivan Petrovich
Pavlov

• Born Sept 14, 1849 in

Ryazan, Russia
• Died Feb 27, 1936
• Physiologist and physician
• Awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physiology in 1904 for
research on the digestive
system

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Pavlov and Classical Conditioning

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Pavlov’s Experiment

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Classical Conditioning Concepts
• Neutral stimulus (NS): A stimulus that, before conditioning,
does not naturally bring about the response of interest i.e.
ringing of bell
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that naturally brings
about a particular response without having been learned i.e.
meat for the dog
• Unconditioned response (UCR): A response that is natural and
needs no training usually reflexive (e.g. salivation at the smell of
food).
• Conditioned stimulus (CS): A once neutral stimulus that has
been paired with an unconditioned stimulus to bring about a
response formerly caused only by the unconditioned stimulus.
• Conditioned response (CR): A response that, after conditioning,
follows a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. salivation at the
ringing of a bell)
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 Menu
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 Classical Conditioning

UCS UCR
Dog Bite Frightened

CS UCS UCR
Sight of Dog Dog Bite Frightened

CS CR
Sight of Dog Frightened

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Classical Conditioning

UCS UCR
Car Crash Racing Heart

CS UCS UCR
Squealing Car Crash Racing Heart
Brakes

CS CR
Squealing Racing Heart
Brakes
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 Classical Conditioning

UCS UCR
Love Racing Heart

CS UCS UCR
Sight of Love Racing Heart
Significant Other

CS CR
Sight of Racing Heart
Significant Other
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 Classical conditioning
• Hence, classical conditioning is a type of learning in
which a neutral stimulus comes to bring about a
response after it is paired with a astimulus that
naturally brings about that response (Unconditional
Response i.e. UCR) i.e. ringing bell causing
salivation
• Classical conditioning involves an organism
forming an association between an involuntary
(reflexive) response and a stimulus

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John Broadus Watson

• Born Jan 9, 1878

• Died Sept 25, 1958
• Born in Greenville, South
Carolina
• American psychologist
• Established the psychological
school of behaviourism
• “Little Albert” experiment

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 "Little Albert" experiment

• Occurred in 1920
• One of the most
controversial experiments in
the history of psychology
• It was an experiment
showing empirical evidence
of classical conditioning in
humans

Rosalie Rayner
Albert B.
John B. Watson
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"Little Albert" experiment

• 9 months of age, no fear of live animals (e.g., a rat, a

rabbit, a dog, and a monkey), and various inanimate
objects (e.g., cotton, human masks, a burning newspaper)
• Attempted to condition him to fear a white rat followed by
a loud clanging sound (of the hammer and steel bar)
• Whenever Albert touched the animal, after seven pairings
Albert reacted with crying and avoidance when the rat was
presented without the loud noise
• What is UCS, UCR, CS and CR in Albert’s case?
• Think of any phobia you have- what is UCS, UCR, CS, and CR
there??

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Mary Cover Jones

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Some concepts in classical conditioning
• Stimulus Generalization: learned response not only to the original
stimulus but also to other similar stimuli i.e. Little Albert feared
stimuli resembling rat
• Stimulus Discrimination: learned response to a specific stimulus
but not to other similar stimuli i.e. Pavlov’s dogs learned to
discriminate between tones
• Extinction: refers to loss of response if no pairing to a CS with a
UCS
• Spontaneous Recovery: The reemergence of an extinguished
conditioned response after a period of rest and with no further
conditioning.
• Higher Order or Second Order Conditioning: pairing a previously
conditioned stimulus with a neutral stimulus i.e. after ringing bell
causes salivation, associating ringing bell with another stimulus
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Examples of Classical Conditioning
• Conditioning of attraction in advertising: Brand
name (CS) + attractive model (UCS) => liking (UCR)
• Aversion and its use in treatment: Flavor (CS) +
illness (UCS) => flavor aversion (UCR)
• Phobias
• Prejudice

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Application and Importance of Classical
Conditioning
•Could explain and treat behavior such as fear,
phobia
•Use in medication, aversion and other
therapy
•Use in teaching learning method
•Use in advertisement

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Operant Conditioning
• Major Contributor: BF Skinner
• Influenced by Thorndike’s ‘Trial and Error Experiment’
• Experiments on Skinner Box
• Reward (Reinforcement) and Punishment
• Voluntary behavior- thus the name ‘Operant
Conditioning’

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Trial and Error (Instrumental) Learning by
Edward Lee Thorndike
• Born August 31, 1874
• Died August 9, 1949
• Born in Williamsburg,
Massachusetts
• Studied animal behaviour
and the learning process
• Laying the foundation for
modern educational
psychology

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Trial and Error Learning

• Thorndike put a hungry cat in a ‘puzzle box’ and

placed fish outside the box where it could be seen,
but was out of reach.
• In order to escape from the box to get the food, the
cat had to operate a latch to release a door on the
side of the box.
• Through a process of trial and error the cat learned
that pushing the lever opened the door.

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Cats in Puzzle Boxes

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Trial and error learning

• A kind of learning in which one response after

another is tried (eg, trials) and rejected as
ineffective (eg, errors), until eventually a successful
response is made.
• An organism slowly eliminates responses that do
not achieve the desired outcome, and continues to
respond in different ways until they determine the
response that leads to the desired reward.

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Operant Conditioning championed by
Burrhus Frederic Skinner
• Born March 20, 1904
• Died August 18, 1990
• Born in Susquehanna,
Pennsylvania
• American psychologist, author,
inventor, advocate for social
reform and poet.
• Innovated his own philosophy of
science called Radical
Behaviorism

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Operant Conditioning
• Based on the principle that if a response is followed by a
pleasurable consequence, it tends to be repeated, and if
followed by an unpleasant consequence, it tends not to be
repeated.
• Learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or
weakened, depending on its positive or negative
consequences
• Responses that are satisfying are more likely to be
repeated, and those that are not satisfying are less likely to
be repeated

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 Skinner Box

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Reinforcement
• Reinforcement - any event or stimulus that increases
the probability that the response will occur again i.e.
rewards that motivates you continue a behavior
• Organisms make responses that have consequences:
The consequences serve to increase or decrease the
likelihood of making that response again
• Primary reinforcer - any reinforcer that is naturally
reinforcing by meeting a basic biological need i.e. food
for a hungry person, warmth for a cold person, and
relief for a person in pain
• Secondary reinforcer - any reinforcer that becomes
reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer,
such as praise, tokens, or gold stars and money
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Example of reinforce: determine which is
primary and which is secondary?
•Salary increment
•Bonuses
•Promotion
•Praise
•Toys
•Ice-cream, chocolate, foods
•Good grades

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Reinforcement/Punishment

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Positive Reinforcement
• Positive reinforcement - the reinforcement for a
response- by addition of which likelihood of a
response is increased i.e. getting a promotion or
raise for good performance at work
• If food, water, money, or praise is provided after a
response, it is more likely that that response will
occur again in the future.

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Negative reinforcement
• Negative reinforcement - the reinforcement for a
response by the removal, escape from, or avoidance
of an unpleasant stimulus i.e. removal of an
unpleasant stimulus leads to an increase in the
probability that a preceding response will be
repeated in the future.
• For example, getting rid of pain by taking
medication
• Like positive reinforcers, negative reinforcers
increase the likelihood that preceding behaviors will
be repeated (Magoon & Critchfield, 2008).
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Positive Punishment
• Punishment: it refers to addition of a unpleasant
stimulus that decreases the probability that a prior
behavior will occur again.
• Positive punishment weakens a response through
the application of an unpleasant stimulus i.e. getting
a demotion or pay cut for poor work, getting a
spanking for misbehavior
• Unlike negative reinforcement, which produces an
increase in behavior, punishment reduces the
likelihood of a prior response.

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 Negative Punishment
• Negative punishment consists of the removal of
something pleasant i.e. removal of television or video
games for getting bad grades
• Both positive and negative punishment result in a
decrease in the likelihood that a prior behavior will be
repeated.

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Side Effects of Punishment

• Increased aggression
• Passive aggressiveness
• Avoidance behavior
• Temporary suppression
• Learned helplessness

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Schedules of Reinforcement
• Schedules of reinforcement is adopting different patterns
of frequency and timing of reinforcement following desired
Behavior.
• Continuous Reinforcement: behavior that is reinforced
every time it occurs
• Partial or Intermittent Reinforcement: behavior that is
reinforced some but not all of the time

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Types of Partial Reinforcement

Based on no. of response made or items produced

• Fixed Ratio
• Variable Ratio
Based on time interval
• Fixed Interval
• Variable Interval

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Ratio schedule

• Fixed-Ratio Schedule: reinforcement is given only

after a certain number of responses are made i.e.
piece wage system

• Variable-Ratio Schedule: reinforcement occurs

after a varying number of responses rather than
after a fixed number i.e. Sales Commission

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Interval Schedule

• Fixed-Interval Schedule: provides

reinforcement for a response only if
a fixed time period has elapsed,
making overall rates of response
relatively low i.e. salary

• Variable-Interval Schedule: time

between reinforcements carries
around some average rather than
being fixed i.e. fishing, surprise test

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Shaping: Learning Complex
Behavior
• Shaping - the reinforcement of
simple steps in order to learn
complex desirable behavior that
lead to a desired i.e. learning
dancing skills step by step
• You start by reinforcing any
behavior that is in any way
similar to the behavior you want
the person to learn.
• Later, you reinforce only
responses that are closer to the
behavior you ultimately want to
teach.
• Finally, you reinforce only the
desired response.
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Shaping: Learning Complex Behavior
• Successive approximations - small steps in behavior,
one after the other, that lead to a particular goal
behavior.
• Shaping allows even lower animals to learn complex
responses that would never occur naturally, ranging
from lions jumping through hoops, dolphins rescuing
divers lost at sea, or rodents finding hidden land
mines.
• Shaping also underlies the learning of many complex
human skills. For instance, learning complex dance
steps

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Real World Example
• Training a cat to use
the toilet

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Behavior Modification

• Behavior modification - the use of operant conditioning

techniques to bring about desired changes in behavior.
• Behavior-modification techniques have proved to be helpful in a
variety of situations.
• People with severe mental retardation have started dressing and
feeding themselves.
• Behavior modification has also helped people lose weight, give up
smoking, and behave more safely

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Steps in Behavior Modification

• Identifying goals and target behaviors

• Designing a data-recording system and recording
preliminary data
• Selecting a behavior-change strategy
• Implementing the program
• Keeping careful records after the program is
implemented
• Evaluating and altering the ongoing program

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Difference Between Classical and Operant
Conditioning

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Cognitive learning theory
An approach to the study of learning that focuses on the
thought processes that underlie learning.

It focuses on the unseen mental processes that occur

during learning, rather than concentrating solely on
external stimuli, responses, and reinforcements.

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Cognitive Learning

• Tolman’s Latent Learning and Cognitive Map

• Gestalt and Kohler’s Insight Learning
• Bandura’s Observational Learning

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Tolman’s latent learning experiments with rats

• In latent learning , a new

behavior is learned but
not demonstrated until
some incentive is
provided for displaying it

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 Tolman’s Experiment on Latent Learning

Edward Tolman’s experiment of teaching three groups of rats at the

same maze, one at a time:
1. In an attempt to demonstrate latent learning, rats were allowed to
roam through a maze of this sort once a day for 17 days.
2. The rats that were never rewarded consistently made the most
errors, whereas those that received food at the finish every day
consistently made far fewer errors.
3. But the results also showed latent learning: Rats that were
initially unrewarded but began to be rewarded only after the 10th
day showed an immediate reduction in errors and soon became
similar in error rate to the rats that had been rewarded
consistently.

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Latent Learning and Cognitive Map
• To cognitive theorists, it seemed clear that the
unrewarded rats had learned the layout of the maze
early in their explorations; they just never displayed
their latent learning until the reinforcement was
offered.
• Instead, those rats seemed to develop a cognitive
map of the maze—a mental representation of spatial
locations and directions.
• People, too, develop cognitive maps of their
surroundings.

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Gestalt View of Learning

• Gestalt psychologists- learning is a purposive,

exploratory and creative rather than simple stimulus
and response mechanism
• According to Gestaltists, learner does not take
stimulus only, they also process, act, interact, think,
organize and interpret with conscious effort by use of
insight

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Insight
• Insight - the sudden perception of relationships
among various parts of a problem, allowing the
solution to the problem to come quickly.
• Cannot be gained through trial-and-error
learning alone.
• “Aha” moment.

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Insight learning experiment- Kohler
• Kohler went of Canary Islands to study intelligence and problem
solving ability of great apes in 1913.
• WWI began and he was unable to leave until 1917
• Conducted most of his studies on insightful learning during this
period
• Kohler (1925) set up a problem for one of the chimpanzees.
• Sultan the chimp was faced with the problem of how to get to a
banana that was placed just out of his reach outside his cage.
• Sultan first tried one stick, then the other (simple trial and error).
• After about an hour of trying, Sultan seemed to have a sudden
flash of inspiration.
• He pushed one stick out of the cage as far as it would go toward
the banana and then pushed the other stick behind the first one.
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Insight Learning
• These experiments demonstrated the role of
intelligence and cognitive abilities in higher learning
such as problem solving

• Higher animals
(1) identify the problem
(2) organize the perceptual field and
(3) use “insight” (the term coined by Kohler)

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Insight Learning
Insightful learning depend up on:
• Experience
• Intelligence
• Learning situation
• Initial efforts
• Repetition and generalization

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Observational or Vicarious Learning
• Observational or Vicarious Learning: learning by
observing others through real life or media
exposure i.e. children learning aggression from
computer games
• Bandura dramatically demonstrated the ability of
models to stimulate learning in a classic
experiment.
• In the study, young children saw a film of an adult
wildly hitting a 5-feet-tall inflatable punching toy
called a Bobo doll (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963a,
1963b).
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Four Elements of Observational
Learning
1. ATTENTION: To learn anything through
observation, the learner must first pay attention
to the model.
2. MEMORY: The learner must also be able to retain
the memory of what was done, such as
remembering the steps in preparing a dish that
was first seen on a cooking show.
3. IMITATION: The learner must be capable of
reproducing, or imitating, the actions of the
model.
4. MOTIVATION: Finally, the learner must have the
desire to perform the action.
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Observational Learning in therapy
• Not only negative behaviors are acquired through
observational learning.
• In one experiment, for example, children who were
afraid of dogs were exposed to a model—dubbed the
Fearless Peer—playing with a dog (Bandura, Grusec, &
Menlove, 1967).
• After exposure, observers were considerably more
likely to approach a strange dog than were children
who had not viewed the Fearless Peer. Similar therapy
with Snake Phobia
• Observational learning important in acquiring skills in
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Observational Learning
• Not all behavior that we witness is learned or carried
out, of course. One crucial factor that determines
whether we later imitate a model is whether the model
is rewarded for his or her behavior.
• If we observe a friend being rewarded for putting more
time into his studies by receiving higher grades, we are
more likely to imitate his behavior than we would if his
behavior resulted only in being stressed and tired.

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Learning violence from media
• Because research on modeling shows that people
frequently learn and imitate the aggression that they
observe, this question is among the most important
issues being addressed by psychologists.
• Most experts agree that watching high levels of media
violence makes viewers more susceptible to acting
aggressively, and recent research supports this claim
(Boxer et al., 2009; Carnagey, Anderson, & Bartholow,
2007; Savage & Yancey, 2008).

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Learning violence from media
• For example, one survey of serious and violent
young male offenders incarcerated in Florida
showed that one fourth of them had attempted to
commit a media-inspired copycat crime (Surette,
2002).
• Experiencing violent media content seems to lower
inhibitions against carrying out aggression—
watching television portrayals of violence or using
violence to win a video game makes aggression
seem a legitimate response to particular situations.

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Thank you

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