UNIT 2: LEARNING

Nick Phamba
February 2024
Unit objectives
• Define learning
• Explain the principles of learning
• Describe the theories of learning
• Discuss the factors that affect motivation to learn
Definition of learning
• Psychologists define learning as relatively permanent change in
behavior as a result of experience.
• Acquiring or improving a behavior pattern through experience and
practice.
• Psychologist John B. Watson suggested that all behaviors are a result of
learning process.
• Different explanations or models suggests that learning involves change.
• The changes take place in three areas or domains namely; cognitive
{Knowledge and understanding}, affective {Attitudes}, and psychomotor
{skills}
FIDO principles in Learning
For learning to take place, the following principles must be met:
• Frequency: the more frequently the material to be remembered is
repeated, the better the learning.
• Intensity: the more visual, intense, bright, and personal the message
is, the better the learning.
• Duration: short, focused relevant items are better learned.
• Over-again: Learning occurs better with repetition.
Theories of learning
There are several theories that explains how learning takes place. These
include but not limited to:
• Classical conditioning {Pavlovian Conditioning}
• Operant conditioning
• Social learning
Classical Conditioning
• Involves learning a new behavior via the processes of association.
• In other words, two stimuli are linked together to produce a new
learned response in a person or an animal.
• Discovered by Russian Psychologist, Ivan Pavlov.
• He looked at salivation in dogs in response to being fed.
• Every time he enters the room, his dogs begin to salivate even when he
doesn’t have any food.
• Pavlovian conditioning stems from the idea that there are certain things
that the dog doesn’t need to learn, i.e. dogs don’t need to learn to
salivate whenever they see food.
Classical conditioning cont..
• It is an unconditioned response {Stimulus response connection that
required no learning}
• Unconditioned stimulus {food} > unconditioned response {salivate}
• The theory involves pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned
stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.
• The theory says that behaviors are learned by connecting a neutral
stimulus with a positive one, for instance when pavlovs dogs heard a
bell {neutral} and expected food {positive}
Classical cont..
• Pavlov noted that eventually dogs would not only salivate at the taste of
food, but also at the sight of food and the sound of the laboratory
assistant footsteps.
• Pavlov theory of behaviorism is rooted in the idea that behavior is a
result of conditioning.
• He believed that behavior is learned through the process of classical
conditioning, where behavior is shaped through the association of
stimuli in the environment.
• Pavlov taught us that principles of learning apply to all species and that
classical conditioning is the way that organisms learn to adapt to the
environment.
Stages of classical conditioning
• Before conditioning
• During conditioning
• After conditioning
Before conditioning
• During this stage, unconditioned stimulus produces unconditioned
response.
• No new behavior is learnt at this stage.
During conditioning
• A stimulus which produces no response {neutral} is associated with a
conditioned stimulus on a number of occasions or trials for learning to
take place.
After conditioning
• Conditioned stimulus is associated with unconditioned stimulus to
create a conditioned response.
Strengths of classical conditioning
• It is scientific, based on empirical evidence carried out by controlled
experiments.
• It is a reductionist explanation of complex behavior. Complex behavior
is broken down into smaller units of stimulus response behavior.
Weaknesses of classical conditioning
• Emphasizes the importance of learning from the environment, and
supports nurture over nature, however it limiting to explain behavior
solely in terms of nature or nurture.
Operant conditioning
• Type of learning in which responses come to be controlled by their
consequences.
• Sometimes called instrumental conditioning or skinner conditioning
• A method of learning that uses reward and punishment to modify
behavior.
• Through operant conditioning, behavior that is rewarded is likely to
be repeated, while behavior that is punished is prone to happen less.
• Skinners operant conditioning is based on the law of effect which
states that behavior which is rewarded {reinforced} tends to be
repeated while behavior which is punished tends to die out.
Operant cont..
• Skinner studied operant conditioning by placing animals in the skinner
box.
• He coined the term operant conditioning meaning changing the
behavior by use of reinforcement which is given a desired result
• Skinner identified three types of responses or operants:
• Neutral operant neither increases nor decreases the probability of the
behavior being repeated
• Reinforces increase the likelihood of the behavior being repeated
• Punishers decrease the likelihood of the behavior being repeated
Operant conditioning cont..
• Skinners operant conditioning theory is seen in education and
classroom management.
• Teachers use positive reinforcement to encourage good behavior and
academic achievement and negative reinforcement {Punishment} to
discourage bad behavior.
• Organisms learn from the consequences of their behavior.
• Skinners theory of operant conditioning suggests that learning and
behavior change are a result of reinforcement {Reward} and
punishment.
Social learning
• The essence of social learning, also called observational learning, is
that people learn from behavior of others and start imitating them.
• The concept was theorized by psychologist Albert Bandura who
combined ideas behind behaviorist and cognitive learning approaches
• Children observe people around them behave in so many ways and
the children learn by imitating what they have observed.
• Individuals that are observed are called models. Children pay
attention to these models and encode their behavior, and later
imitate {copy} the behavior they have observed.
Social learning cont..
• If a child imitates a models behavior and the consequences are
rewarding, the child is likely to continue performing the behavior.
Mediational processes in social learning
• Bandura believes that humans are active information processors and
think about the relationship between their behavior and its
consequences.
• Observational learning could not occurs until cognitive processes are
at work.
• These mental factors mediate {intervene} in the learning process to
determine whether a new response is required.
• Therefore individuals do not observe the behavior of a model and
immediately imitate it. There is some thought prior to imitation and
this process is called mediational process.
Mediational process cont..
• There are 4 mediational processes, which are the necessary steps if
observational learning is to take place:
• Attention
• Retention
• Reproduction
• Motivation
Attention
• Extent to which we are exposed to the behavior
• For a behavior to be imitated, it has to grab our attention.
• Attention is very important if at all the behavior has influence on
others imitating it.
Retention
• How well the behavior is remembered.
• The behavior can be noticed, but is not always remembered which
affects imitation.
• It is therefore important for a memory of the behavior to be made
which allows the observer to perform it.
Reproduction
• The ability to perform the behavior that the model has performed.
• Sometimes our physical ability may not allow us to perform the
particular behavior
Motivation
• The will to perform the behavior
• The rewards and punishments that follow after performing the
behavior is considered by the observer.
• If the perceived rewards outweigh the costs, the behavior will more
likely be imitated by the observer.
Reading assignment
• Conduct a literature search on the 3 theories of learning as already
discussed. Highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each theory