Learning

QUICK REVIEW:

Whatever is good to know, is hard to learn – Greek Proverb

•Learning:  Relatively permanent change in behavior that is brought about by experience

•Behaviorism:  The theory of learning that focuses solely on observable behaviors

TYPES OF LEARNING:

•Classical Conditioning

•Operant Conditioning

•Social/Observational Learning

•Cognitive Factors in Learning

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Ivan Pavlov

Classical Conditioning: Type of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to elicit a

response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally brings about that response

OPERANT CONDITIONING 

•Operant Conditioning: Learning through positive and negative reinforcement: A form of learning that takes place when an instance of spontaneous behavior is either reinforced by a reward or discouraged by punishment

Behavior Followed by a Consequence

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY – OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

Monkey See, Monkey Do

•Observing and Imitating Another’s Behavior

Social/Observational Learning

•Occurs when an observer’s behavior changes after viewing the behavior of a model

INSTINCT LEARNING

Kohler Experiment Insight/Instinct Learning

In the 1920’s, German psychologist Wolfgang Kohler exposed chimpanzees to novel learning tasks and concluded that they were able to learn by insight

SULTAN

Instinict/Innate Versus Learned Behavior

Instinct is innate, meaning that instinctive behaviors and responses are present and complete within the individual at birth. In other words, the individual does not have to undergo any experience to acquire such behaviors. For example, fish have an innate ability to swim, whereas most mammals must learn how to walk. It is fairly easy to identify innate behavior when an animal exhibits it at birth, but in some cases innate behavior manifests only later in life (Science Clarified, 2016).

• Inborn, unlearned, goal directed behavior that is characteristic of an entire species
• Human behavior is not easily explained by instincts because:

–Important Human behavior is learned

–Human behavior is rarely inflexible

References:

Bernstein, D.A. & Nash, P.W. (2008). Essentials of psychology (4th ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Feldman, R. (2013). Essentials of understanding psychology (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Friedman, H.S. & Schustack, M.W. (2012), Personality: classic theories and modern research (5th ed). Boston: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.

McGraw-Hill.McGraw Hill Higher Education (2013), The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.

Ryckman, R. M. (2013). Theories of personality (10th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Science Clarified, Real Life Biology, Vol. 3 – Earth Science, Vol. 1/Instinct and Learning