Learning theories in psychology

1. LEARNING THEORIES

2. INTRODUCTION
• LEARNING IS A KEY PROCESS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
• RELATIVELY PERMANENT CHANGE IN BEHAVIOUR THAT OCCURS AS A
RESULT OF PRACTICE OR EXPERIENCE
• 3 ELEMENTS
Change in behaviour , for better or worse
Change that takes place through practice or experience
Change must be relatively permanent

3. Types :
Based on the way of acquiring
INFORMAL FORMAL
NON
FORMAL
INDIVIDUAL
OR GROUP

4. BASED ON ACTIVITY
MOTOR DISCRIMINATION VERBAL
CONCEPT SENSORY

5. PROCESS OF LEARNING
1. MOTIVE OR DRIVE: Dynamic force that energizes behaviour and
compels an individual to act
2. GOAL: A definite goal makes learning purposeful and interesting
3. OBSTACLE/BLOCK/BARRIER: Equally imp in the process of learning

6. THEORIES
• 3 MAIN CATEGORIES:
• BEHAVIOURAL: focuses on objectively observable aspect of learning
• COGNITIVE: looks beyond behaviour to explain brain based learning
• CONSTRUCTIVISM: process where learner actively builds new ideas

7. BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES
THORN DIKE’S CONNECTIONISM
PAVLOV’S CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
GUTHRIE’S CONTIGUOUS CONDITIONING
ESTE’S STIMULUS SAMPLING THEORY

8. HULL’S SYSTEMATIC BEHAVIOR THEORY
HUMAN ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING
SKINNER’S OPERANT CONDITIONING

9. BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES
• 2 CATEGORIES:
I. S-R (STIMULUS-RESPONSE) THEORY WITHOUT REINFORCEMENT:
 Classical conditioning
I. S-R (STIMULUS-RESPONSE) THEORY WITH REINFORCEMENT:
 Trial and error theory
 Operant conditioning

10. S-R (STIMULUS-RESPONSE) THEORY WITHOUT
REINFORCEMENT:

11. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• EXPLAINED THROUGH THE CLASSICAL EXPERIMENTS OF IVAN P
PAVLOV
• CALLED RESPONDANT CONDITIONING OR PAVLOVIAN
CONDITIONING
• DEFINITION:
• A type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a
response that was originally evoked by another stimulus

12. ACQUISITION OR LEARNING OF
CONDITIONED RESPONSES
• TO MEASURE HOW MUCH A DOG’S MOUTH WATERS IN RESPONSE TO
FOOD OR OTHER THINGS IN THE ENVIRONMENT

14. Principles of classical conditioning
EXTINCTION
SPONTANEOUS
RECOVERY
STIMULUS
GENERALIZATIO
N
STIMULUS
DISCRIMINATION

15. EXTINCTION
• Occurs when the CS is presented alone without the US for a number
of trials
• The strength or the magnitude of CR gradually decreases when this
occurs
• Eg- the number of drops of saliva decreases over unpaired trials

16. Why does extinction occurs?
Pavlov thought of conditioning in terms of 2 opposing tendencies
• Excitation – more imp during acquisition
• Inhibition- builds up to supress conditioned responding
During extinction, the CS is no longer paired with the US , the CS ceases
to be a signal for US, the CS becomes a neutral stimulus as before.

17. SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY
• Sometimes there is the weak appearance of a previously extinguished
response
• This shows that extinction procedure while decreasing the magnitude
of CR does not entirely remove the tendency to response to the CS
• Eg- the day after the extinction CS is presented to the dog –
magnitude of CR will probably be much greater than it was at the end
of extinction day before

18. STIMULUS GENERALIZATION
• CR occurs to stimuli that have never been paired with a specific US
• EG- Pavlov discovered that if he conditioned an animal to salivate at
the sound of the bell , it would also salivate at the end of a buzzer or
the beat of a metronome
• Eg- development of irrational fear or phobias in children. Little albert
experiment.

19. STIMULUS DISCRIMINATION
• Process of learning to make one response to one stimulus, and a
different response or no response to another stimulus
• Eg- an CS+ is paired with an US but CS- is not.
• As more trials are given, strong conditioned response are produced by
the CS+ and little conditioning occurs to CS-

20. TYPES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING:
• FORWARD CONDITIONING:
• During forward the onset of the conditioned stimulus (CS) precedes the
onset of unconditioned stimulus(US)
• Learning the fastest in forward conditioning.
Two Types:
• Delay Conditioning
• Trace conditioning

21. TYPES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING:
Delay conditioning
• The conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented and is overlapped by the
presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (US).
Trace conditioning
• The conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented and a brief period is
allowed to elapse during which no stimulus is presented and then the
unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented.

22. Backward Conditioning:
• Backward conditioning occurs when a conditional stimulus (CS)
immediately follows an unconditional stimulus (US).

23. S-R THEORY WITH REINFORCEMENT

24. OPERANT CONDITIONING
• Also called Instrumental conditioning.
• This term was coined by B.F. Skinner.
• Term coined to indicate that when a response operates on the
environment, it may have consequences that can affect the likelihood
that the response will occur again.

25. OPERANT CONDITIONING
• REINFORCER/REINFORCEMENT:
• An environmental event that is the consequence of an instrumental
response and that makes that response more likely to occur again.
• Positive reinforcer: stimulus or event which increases the likelihood
that the response will be made again.Eg-mother praises her son for
doing his homework.

26. • Negative reinforcer: stimulus which, when its cessation or
termination is contingent, increases the likelihood that the response
will occur again.
Eg- a child does the dishes in order to stop mother's nagging.

27. OPERANT CONDITIONING- PUNISHMENT
• Stimulus or event which, when its onset is contingent on a response,
decreases the likelihood that the response will occur again.
• Eg- a child touches hot stove and feels pain
• Responses followed by punishers tend not to be repeated, while
those followed by negative reinforcers tend to be repeated.

28. OPERANT CONDITIONING
OMISSION OF REINFORCEMENT :
• Positive reinforcement is withdrawn following a response.
• To decrease the likelihood of the response that led to the removal of
positive reinforcement.
Eg- parents turning off the television (+) and sending a child to his/her
room following some behavior.

29. OPERANT CONDITIONING
TYPES OF REINFORCEMENT AND PUNISHMENT

30. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
• THORNDIKE'S EXPERIMENT: cats in a puzzle box- 1st
systematic study
• Hungry cat locked in a puzzle box made of slats through
which could see a dish of food on the floor outside.
• String from the door latch led over a pulley to a wire loop
hanging in the box.
• If the cat clawed at the loop- door open
• First few trials- accidentally pulled the loop.
• Eventually escaped as soon as put in the box.

31. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
• SKINNER'S EXPERIMENT: rats and pigeons in an operant chamber.
• An operant chamber is a simple box with a device at one end that can
be worked by the animal in the box.
• For cats, monkeys- lever
• For pigeons- key which can be pecked
• Positive reinforcement is contingent upon pressing the lever or the
key.
• Since the responses are positively reinforced, they increase in
frequency.

32. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
• First step- delivery of food pellets by the examiner from a push button switch
outside.
• Next step- the rat is left alone in the box with the lever, which will release the
pellets.
• After a period of inactivity, presses the lever accidentally- food pellet released.
• Usually after the 4th or 5th press the rat begins to press the lever more
rapidly- operant behavior in full swing.

35. EXTINCTION
• The procedure of not reinforcing a particular response
• If it continues long enough-likelihood of a response will decrease to
about its level before it was reinforced.
• Eg- rat will gradually decrease its rate of responding if it is not fed,
until it only occasionally presses the lever.

36. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT :
• PRIMARY REINFORCERS:
• Positive reinforcers who work the first time they are made contingent
on a response with no previous special training.
• CONDITIONED/SECONDARY REINFORCERS:
• The learner must have had experience
• Ability to reinforce depends on learning
• Stimuli become conditioned reinforcers by pairing with primary
reinforcers.

37. OPERANT CONDITIONING
• STIMULUS GENERALISATION
• STIMULUS DISCRIMINATION

38. SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT
• SCHEDULES
1. CONTINOUS
2. INTERMITTENT

40. OPERANT CODITIONING
• ESCAPE LEARNING- based on negative reinforcement.
• Attempt is to terminate the unpleasant stimulus.
• Eg- compartment A (painted white and has floor of metal rods
through which mild electric shock can be delivered)
• Compartment B (plain wooden floor and is painted black)
• More trials: leap over the other hurdle soon after shock (learns to
make the response that terminates the noxious stimulus)
• Eg- fire beaks out in a building and one exits

41. OPERANT CODITIONING
• AVOIDANCE LEARNING:
• A noxious stimulus (shock) is avoided by the response.
• Eg- in the previous example, buzzer is on for a few seconds before the
floor is electrified.
• If the rat jumps the hurdle between compartments within 5secs
between buzzer and shock, buzzer is turned off and shock is avoided.
• <5secs- avoidance learning
• Eg- fire breaks out but the alarm rings before it spreads

42. PUNISHMENT
• Refers to the use of punishers to suppress or stop a response from
occurring in the future.
• Because punishers stop the behavior leading to them, they promote
the learning of what not to do.

43. PUNISHMENT
• The stronger the response tendency being punished, the less effective
a given strength of punishment will be.
• People and animals adapt to punishment, and this may weaken its
effectiveness.
• Punishment can be effective if it is used to suppress one behavior
while at the same time, positive reinforcement is used to make
another behavior more likely to occur.

45. LIMITATIONS OF BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES
• One-dimensional approach to understanding human behavior.
• Behavioral theories do not account for free will or internal influences
such as moods, thoughts, and feelings.
• People and animals can adapt their behavior when new information is
introduced, even if that behavior was established through
reinforcement.

46. COGNITIVE THEORIES
• Gestalt Theory
• Social-cognitive learning theory
• Tolman’s Sign Learning
• Information-Processing theories

47. COGNITIVE LEARNING
• Menzel experiment :
• 4 young chimpanzees- Belle, Bandit, Bido and Gigi.
• Experiment began with an experimenter picking up one of thechimps and
carried it around the field while another hid food tidbits in 18 places while the
chimp watched.
• The experimental animal ran into the nearby hiding places and found the food.
• Did not wander around in haphazard fashion.

48. COGNITIVE LEARNING
• The theorist eventually determined that individuals develop cognitive
maps of the environment that formulate the basis for perceptions and
expectations.
• Cognitive mapping involves the psychological processes that develop
one's viewpoints about relative locations and attributes in one's
environment.

49. COGNITIVE LEARNING
• Cognition refers to the processing of the information about the environment
that is received through the senses.
• Cognitive process involve:
• The selection of information
• The making of alterations in selected information.
• The association of items of info with each other.
• The elaboration of info in thought.
• The storage of information.
• Retrieval

50. LATENT LEARNING
• Learning that occurs but is not evident in behaviour until later, when
conditions for its appearance are favourable
• Said to occur without reinforcement of particular responses and
seems to involve changes in the ways information is processed.

51. INSIGHT LEARNING THEORY
• Learning is the development of insight, which is primarily concerned
with the nature of perception.
• 3 major characteristics :
• The solution comes suddenly after a period during which various
response strategies are tried.
• Perceptual rearrangement plays a great deal
• The solution can be generalized to other, similar number of problems.

52. INSIGHT LEARNING THEORY
• Wolfgang Kohler :
• A food morsel was placed outside the
cage at a distance too far for the chimp
to reach.
• Inside the cage- short stick, another
loner stick outside.
• After some trial and error, it visually
surveys the sticks and the food and
solves the problem using the short stick
to rake in the longer stick and then the
food.

54. LIMITATIONS
• Abstract nature of thoughts and the difficulty in defining them.
• Use of laboratory experiments by cognitive psychology has low
ecological validity and creates an artificial environment due to the
control over variables.
• In information processing theory, the approach is reductionist as it
does not consider emotions and motivation, which influence the
processing of information and memory.

55. BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT

56. Social learning theory
• BANDURA AND WALTERS:

57. SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
• Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of
continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, an
environmental influences.
• 4 Step Pattern - Attention, Retention, Production and Motivation.

58. CONSTRUCTIVISM
• Constructivism is a theory that equates learning with creating
meaning from experience (Bednar et al., 1991).
• Constructivism is considered to be a branch of cognitivism (both
conceive of learning as a mental activity)

59. • It distinguishes itself from traditional cognitive theories in many ways
• Most cognitive psychologists think of the mind as a reference tool
tothe real world; constructivists believe that the mind filters input
from the world to produce its own unique reality
• Learning is based on how individual interprets and creates meaning of
their individual experiences.

60. LIMITATIONS
• Lack of structure or disorganized.
• The process of learning becomes individualized, so general
assessment become redundant.
• Difficult to experimentally demonstrate becomes difficult as well.

61. FIELD THEORY OF LEARNING
• Kurt Lewin (1890-1947)
• He proposed that human behavior is a function of both the person
and the environment in which the behavior takes place, including the
social parameters.

62. • Lewin has classified learning into the following categories:
• 1. Learning is a change in cognitive structure.
• 2. Learning is a change in motivation, i.e., in valences and values.
• 3. Learning is acquisition of skills.

63. IN DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHIATRIC
DISORDERS
• Anxiety disorders: fear conditioning and social learning
• Phobias: maintained by Mowrer's 2 stage model, Rachman's model to fear
development
• Panic disorders: alarm theory
• OCD
• PTSD
• Substance use disorders: operant and classical conditioning Depressive
disorder: learned helplessness
• Conduct disorder: observational learning
• Suicide: social learning

64. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• TYPES
• Systematic desensitization: process of reducing non-adaptive anxiety
responses through responses competitive with anxiety.
• Flooding: Confronting the stimulus that elicits an undesirable
behaviour/ response.
• Aversive Therapy: Noxious stimuli coupled with undesired behaviour
eg in paraphilia

65. OPERANT CONDITIONING
• Reinforcement
• Token economy: Tokens (stars, tickets) given in response to specific
target behaviors that can be exchanged for a variety of other rewards.
• Differential reinforcement: Contingent application of reinforcement
to designated target behaviour + withholding reinforcement for other
designated behaviours

66. OPERANT CONDITIONING
• Shaping: Initially simple response is reinforced as mastery develops
reinforcement given to more complex tasks
• Covert sensitization: Both target behavior & consequences are
imagined by client. Eg drinking alcohol, stealing
• Punishment

67. SOCIAL LEARNING
MODELING:
• Learning target behaviours by observing demonstrations of behaviour
(live, pictorial or imagined) and its consequences.

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