General Psychology. Its aim is to discover psychology in learning methods

Chapter: Two
Human Learning
Compiled By Mengistu D /MA In
Counseling Psychology/
1

Definition of Learning
 Learning is defined as a relatively permanent
change in behavior resulting from experience or
practice.
 Key Concepts in the Definition of LEARNING
 Relatively permanent
 Change in behavior
 Experience or practice
2

Conti….
 First :- learning is marked by a change.
 Second:-the change is a change in behavior/ in the
mental process.
 Third :- the change in behavior should be relatively
permanent.
 That is it is neither temporary nor fixed once and for all.
 Fourth :- the relatively permanent change in behavior must
come from experience or practice
3

Factors for effective learning
1. Motivation
 When the motives of learning are high, the learner becomes
enthusiastic.
2. Intelligence
 It enables us to understand things
 It enables us to see the relationships between things
 It enables us to reason and judge correctly and critically.
3. Maturation
 Neuro-muscular coordination is important for learning a given task.
Example- The child has to be physically mature before he is able to
walk or run.
4

Factors………………
4. Physical condition of the learner
 The learner should be in a good health status.
 Example- Sensory defects, malnutrition, toxic
conditions of the body, loss of sleep and fatigue hinder
effective learning.
5. Good Learning conditions
 Example- Fresh air, light, comfortable surroundings,
moderate temperature, absence of distractions like
noise, aid in learning efficiently
5

Factors………
6. Mental health of the learner
 Example- Worries, fears, feelings of loneliness and inferiority
hinders learning. Self-respect, self-reliance, and self-confidence
are necessary for effective learning.
7. Length of the Learning period
 Learning periods should neither be too short nor too long.
 Long learning time sets fatigue and reduces effectiveness in
learning.
6

Theories of Learning
A learning theory is an attempt to describe how people and
animals learn
 Theories of learning provide explanations about the underlying
mechanisms involved in the learning process.
 Whereas principles tell us what factors are important for learning,
 Theories tell us why these factors are important.
There are three major theories of learning.
 Behavioral learning theory
 Cognitive learning theory
 Social cognitive learning theory
7

Behavioral learning theory
8
Behavioral Psychology is basically interested in how our
behavior results from the stimulus
•Behaviour is learned
•Can be unlearned
•Can be relearned
Learning: resulted of the association b/n S-S or S-R
Learning is explained as Behavioural change
As a result of Practice and Experience

Models of learning in
behaviorism
There are two types of models of learning
Classical conditioning :Ivan Pavlov
Operant (instrumental) conditioning : F Skinner
9

10

Classical conditioning
 Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian
conditioning) is learning through association and was
discovered by Pavlov, a Russian physiologist.
 Behavior is learned
 Learning is the result of S-S
 Two stimuli are linked together to produce a new
learned response
11

 Conditioning: Learning
 Stimulus: Any event in the environment that can bring or elicit
response
 Response: Any action or reaction elicited or brought by a Stimulus
 Natural or Unconditioned or unlearned stimulus–Naturally that can
bring response
 Neutral stimulus- Naturally that can’t bring response
12

Classical Conditioning
13

Elements in classical
conditioning
 Unconditional stimulus (UCS):- Stimulus that elicits the
innate reflex (e.g., food).
 A stimulus that elicits a response before any conditioning
has occurred. It is also called unlearned stimulus
 Unconditional response (UCR):- Reflex action that
occurs in response to US (e.g., salivation).
 A response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus. It is
unlearned response.
14

Conti..
 Conditional stimulus (CS):-Any stimulus that doesn’t
originally elicit the UR (e.g., bell).
 A stimulus that elicits a response after being paired with
an unconditioned stimulus. It is the learned stimulus.
 Conditional response (CR):- The action elicited by the
CS (e.g., salivation). A response elicited by a conditioned
stimulus. It is the learned response.
15

Example: One
 For example: a baby learns to associate the sight of a feeding
bottle with milk
 The advertisements you’ve seen on billboards and television
typically feature classical conditioning. Most companies use
various models to make their ads more relatable.
 For instance, some brands may use cartoon characters in their
commercials to attract children.
 In the same way, advertisers also use female models to
promote specific products
16

Example: Two
 If a child is bullied in school, he or she may start associating
school with fear and anguish. In the same way, students
may also start to develop a dislike for particular subjects if
they are punished by their teachers.
 If parents don’t work hard to change their child’s point of
view, the student may continue to dislike the particular
subject throughout their academic career.
17

Example: Three
 Suppose your boss always nags you about
work whenever he or she gets the chance.
Eventually, you get so tired of being lectured
that you dread running into your boss, even
when you’re at a dinner party or outside work.
Over time, the association becomes so strong
that you can’t stand being in the same room
as the person.
18

Principle of CC
 The principle of stimulus generalization:- it
states that when the CR is responded to stimuli that
are similar to the CS, there is stimulus
generalization.
 The principle of stimulus discrimination:- the
conditioned response is not responded to stimuli
that similar to the conditioned stimulus.
19

Conti..
 The principle of Extinction: - It states that if the CS
is presented repeatedly without presenting the
unconditioned stimulus, the conditioned response will
diminish and eventually stop occurring.
 The principle of spontaneous recovery: - is the
reappearance of the extinct behavior after a rest
period.
20

Operant Conditioning
 Operant conditioning is a learning process through which
the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or
punishment.
 view learning as the product of the association between
stimulus (S) and the responses (R).
 It is sometimes referred as the S-R
 The behaviorist, to modify people’s attitudes and responses,
recommends either to alter the stimulus conditions in
the environment or to change what happens after a
response occurs. Compiled By Mengistu D /MA In
21

The History of Operant
Conditioning
 Operant conditioning was coined by behaviorist B.F. Skinner,
which is why you may occasionally hear it referred to as
Skinnerian conditioning. As a behaviorist, Skinner believed
that it was not really necessary to look at internal thoughts and
motivations in order to explain behavior. Instead, he
suggested, we should look only at the external, observable
causes of human behavior.
 Where the early behaviorists had focused their interests on
associative learning, Skinner was more interested in how
the consequences of people's actions influenced their
behavior.
22

The consequences……
 The consequences of people's actions can be
 Rewarding /Positive
 Punishing /Negative
 The emphasis is given to the role of
 Reinforcement
 Punishment
23

Reinforcement &
Punishment
 Reinforcement can be defined as any event
that increases the probability of the
occurrence of a Behavior.
24

Operant Conditioning
25

Reinforcement in Operant
Conditioning
 Reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it
follows. There are two kinds of reinforcers:
 Positive reinforcers are favorable events or outcomes that are presented after
the behavior. In situations that reflect positive reinforcement, a response or
behavior is strengthened by the addition of something, such as praise or a direct
reward.
 For example, if you do a good job at work and your manager gives you a bonus.
 Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes
after the display of a behavior. In these situations, a response is strengthened by
the removal of something considered unpleasant.
26

 A professor tells students that if they have perfect attendance all
semester, then they do not have to take the final comprehensive
exam. By removing an unpleasant stimulus (the final test)
students are negatively reinforced to attend class regularly.
 After performing in a community theater play, you receive
applause from the audience. This acts as a positive reinforcer
inspiring you to try out for more performance roles.
 You train your dog to fetch by offering him praise and a pat on
the head whenever he performs the behavior correctly.
27
Examples of ReInforcemnt

28

Reinforcement Schedules
 There are a number of factors that can influence how
quickly and how well new things are learned.
 Skinner found that when and how often behaviors were
reinforced played a role in the speed and strength of
acquisition.
 In other words, the timing and frequency of reinforcement
influenced how new behaviors were learned and how old
behaviors were modified.
29

Types of Reinforcement
Schedules
 Continuous Schedules of reinforcement
 Intermittent (partial) Schedules of reinforcement
30

Continuous reinforcement:
 A schedule of reinforcement that rewards
every correct response given.
 Response is reinforced each time it occurs.
 A reinforcer follows every response.
 Best used for shaping or maintaining difficult
behavior.
31

32

Intermittent (partial)
 Intermittent (partial) schedule of reinforcement, which
involves reinforcing only some responses, not all of them.
 Intermittent Reinforcement: A type of reinforcement
schedule by which some, but not all, correct responses are
reinforced.
 Intermittent reinforcement is the most effective way to
maintain a desired behavior that has already been learned
33

34

Schedules of Intermittent
Reinforcement
 Interval schedule: rewards subjects after a
certain time interval.
 Ratio schedule: rewards subjects after a
certain number of responses.
35

Ratio
 Fixed-ratio schedules: A fixed ratio schedule of
reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of
responses.
 Variable-Ratio Schedule: A variable ratio schedule
of reinforcement occurs after varied number of
responses
 The responses are more resistant to extinction
than when a fixed ratio schedule is used.
36

Interval
 Fixed Interval Schedule: A fixed interval schedule of
reinforcement occurs only if a fixed amount of time has
passed .
 Variable Interval Schedule: A variable interval schedule of
reinforcement occurs only if a variable amount of time has
passed .
37

Summary
of the schedule of RI
Ratio Interval
Fixed Deliver Reinforcement after an
exact Number of correct
responses
Deliver Reinforcement after an
exact amount of time has
elapsed/passed
Variable Deliver Reinforcement after a
varied Number of correct
responses
Deliver Reinforcement after an
varied amount of time has
elapsed/passed
38

Punishment in Operant
Conditioning
 Punishment: refers to unpleasant stimulus that decreases the
probability of the occurrence of a behavior.
 Punishment is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that
causes a decrease in the behavior it follows. There are two kinds of
punishment:
39

Types of Punishment
 Positive punishment, sometimes referred to as punishment by
application, presents an unfavorable event or outcome in order to
weaken the response it follows. Spanking for misbehavior is an example
of punishment by application.
 Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal, occurs
when a favorable event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs.
Taking away a child's video game following misbehavior is an example
of negative punishment.
 In both of these cases of punishment, the behavior decreases.
40

41

Examples of Punishment
 If you fail to hand in a project on time, your boss becomes
angry and berates your performance in front of your co-
workers. This acts as a positive punisher making it less likely
that you will finish projects late in the future.
 A teen girl does not clean up her room as she was asked, so
her parents take away her phone for the rest of the day. This is
an example of a negative punishment in which a positive
stimulus is taken away.
42

When Punishment works:
When Punishment works:
 Immediacy – When punishment follows immediately after the
behavior to be punished.
 Consistency- when punishment is inconsistent the behaviour being
punished is intermittently reinforced and therefore becomes resistant
to extinction.
 Intensity- In general terms severe punishments are more effective
than mild ones. But, there are studies that indicate that even less
intense punishments are effective provided that they are applied
immediately and consistently.
43

Principles of Operant
Conditioning
 Extinction: In operant conditioning, extinction refers to the
gradual weakening of and disappearance of a response tendency
because the response is no longer followed by a reinforcer.
 Spontaneous Recovery: Just as in a classical conditioning,
animals and people whose operant behaviors have been
extinguished may recover them. This is called spontaneous
recovery.
44

 Stimulus Generalization: Stimulus generalization describes the
phenomenon whereby an animal or a person has learned a
response to one stimulus and then applies it to other similar
stimuli.
 Stimulus Discrimination: The tendency for a response to occur
in the presence of a stimulus but not in the presence of other,
similar stimuli that differ from it on some dimension.
45

Operant and Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning
Behavior is controlled by the stimuli that
precede the response (by the CS and the
UCS).
Behavior is controlled by consequences
(rewards, punishments) that follow the
response.
No reward or punishment is involved
(although pleasant and averse stimuli may be
used).
Often involves rewards (reinforcement) and
punishments.
Through conditioning, a new stimulus (CS)
comes to produce the old (reflexive)
behavior.
Through conditioning, a new stimulus
(reinforcer) produces a new behavior.
Extinction is produced by withholding the
UCS.
Extinction is produced by withholding
reinforcement.
Learner is passive (acts reflexively):
Responses are involuntary. That is behavior
is elicited by stimulation.
Learner is active: Responses are voluntary.
That is behavior is emitted by the organism.
46

47

Observational learning
theory
 The founder of the theory was Albert Bandura.
 The theory claims that a major part of human learning takes place
through observing the behavior of another person called a
model.
 Social Learning : Behavioral and Cognitive Learning
 The term model may refer to an actual person whose behavior
serves as a stimulus for an observer’s response.
48

Types of Models
 Real life models: These are really existing models such as
parents, teachers, friends, heroes of films, sport stars and other
most successful persons in life.
 Symbolic models: These are representatives of real life models.
 They include materials and other works of individuals.
 Not only negative behaviors are learned through observational
learning. We learn positive behaviors too.
49

Processes of Learning
through Imitation
Attention: Individuals cannot learn much by
observation unless they perceive and attend to
the significant features of the modeled behavior.
Retention: In order to reproduce the modelled
behaviour, individuals must encode the
information into long-term memory. Therefore,
the information will be retrieval.
50

Conti….
Reproduction: The observer must be able to
reproduce the model’s behavior.
 If it is a physical behaviour, the observer must
learn and posses the physical capabilities of the
modeled behavior.
Motivation or Reinforcement : The observer
expects to receive positive reinforcements for the
modelled behavior.
51

Types of Reinforcement
Imitation may be reinforced in two ways
 Direct Reinforcement – it involves the direct reinforcement of
the learner by the model.
 For example, a child is praised for imitating the behavior of his
sister.
 Vicarious Reinforcement – it involves obtained a secondhand
type of satisfaction from imitating.
52

Cognitive Learning Theories
 Learning Explained as “Recall” of stored
information
 Mind as a "Black Box“
 Latent learning
 Insight learning
53

 Latent Learning: ‘Latent’ means hidden and
thus latent learning is learning that occurs but
is not evident in behavior until later, when
conditions for its appearance are favorable
54

Insight Learning
“Aha Learning”
 It is cognitive process whereby we reorganize
our perception of a problem.
 It doesn’t depend on conditioning of particular
behaviors for its occurrence.
 Human beings who solve a problem insightfully
usually experience a good feeling called an 'aha'
experience.
55

The Insight Learning
“Aha” Learning
56

Memory Is a process of……..
 ENCODING STORING RETRIEVAL
 Encoding: Encoding is the process of Receiving information
and bringing it into the memory system, perceiving and
organized it.
 Storage: Which simply means holding on to the information
physiological change must occur for the memory to be stored.
 Retrieval: Involves the use of stored information when it is
needed.
57

The Three-Box Model of
Memory
58

Rehearsal and Types of
Rehearsal
 Rehearsal: - Refers to mental repetition of information to
keep them active in working memory and to retain it
longer in short-term memory and finally transfer it into
the long term memory.
Elaborative Rehearsal
REHEARSAL
Maintenance Rehearsal
59

Types of Rehearsal
 Elaborative Rehearsal: Refers to the process of relating
information to other information that is already stored in
long-term memory.
Mengistu-------------Mengistu Hailemariam
 Maintenance Rehearsal: Involves repeating the information in
your mind. This type of rehearsal is useful for retaining
something you plan to use, and then forget, like a phone number.
60

LTM is subjected to
Interference
 Interference: focuses on what occurred before,
during and after learning. There are two primary
cases
 Proactive interference: - Here, more recent
learned materials interferes with recall of earlier
learning.
 Retroactive interference: - Here, earlier learned
materials interferes with recall of the new learned.
61

Types of long-term
memory
 Procedural memories: Memories for performance of actions or
skills
“Knowing how”
 Semantic memories: Memories of general knowledge, including
facts, rules, concepts, and propositions
 Episodic memories: Memories of personally experienced events
and the contexts in which they occurred
62

Types of long-term
memory
63

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