CHP-6

LEARNING

NATURE OF LEARNING
In simple terms, learning can be defined as “any relatively permanent change in
behavior or in the potential for behavior brought about through experience.”

Features of Learning
● The first feature is that learning always involves some kinds of experience -
For example, one learns that if the bell rings in the hostel after sunset, then
dinner is ready to be served. Sometimes a single experience can lead to
learning. A child strikes a matchstick on the side of a matchbox, and gets
her/his fingers burnt. Such an experience makes the child learn to be careful
in handling the matchbox in future.
● Behavioral changes that occur due to learning are relatively permanent- For
instance, A child strikes a matchstick on the side of a matchbox, and gets
her/his fingers burnt. Such an experience makes the child learn to be careful
in handling the matchbox in future. This understanding will be carried
onward to future situations and will be considered to be more or less
permanent in nature.
● Learning is an inferred process and is different from performance- Suppose
you are asked by your teacher to memorize a poem. You read that poem a
number of times. Then you say that you have learned the poem. You are
asked to recite the poem and you are able to recite it. The recitation of the
poem by you is your performance. On the basis of your performance, the
teacher infers that you have learned the poem

PARADIGMS OF LEARNING

Learning takes place in many ways.

1. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
- This type of learning was first investigated by Ivan P. Pavlov.
- He was primarily interested in the physiology of digestion.
- Pavlov designed an experiment to understand this process in detail in
which dogs were used once again.
- In the first phase, a dog was placed in a box and harnessed. The dog
was left in the box for some time. This was repeated a number of
times on different days. In the meantime, a simple surgery was
conducted, and one end of a tube was inserted in the dog’s jaw and the
other end of the tube was put in a measuring glass.
- In the second phase of the experiment, the dog was kept hungry and
placed in harness with one end of the tube ending in the jaw and the
other end in the glass jar sounded and immediately thereafter food
(meat powder) was served to the dog. The dog was allowed to eat it.
- For the next few days, everytime the meat powder was presented, it
was preceded by the sound of a bell. After a number of such trials, a
test trial was introduced in which everything was the same as the
previous trials except that no food followed the sounding of the bell.
The dog still salivated to the sound of the bell, expecting the
presentation of the meat powder as the sound of the bell had come to
be connected with it.
- This association between the bell and food resulted in acquisition of a
new response by the dog, i.e. salivation to the sound of the bell. This
has been termed as conditioning.
- Classical conditioning is a type of learning that happens
unconsciously. It is learning through association between stimulus and
a response.
- Food is thus an Unconditioned Stimulus (US) and salivation which
follows it, an Unconditioned Response (UR). After conditioning,
salivation started to occur in the presence of the sound of the bell. The
bell becomes a Conditioned Stimulus (CS) and saliva secretion a
Conditioned Response (CR). This kind of conditioning is called
classical conditioning.
- It is also known as S-S conditioning or respondent conditioning.
Determinants of Classical Conditioning

1. Time Relations between Stimuli :

The classical conditioning procedures, discussed below, are basically of four types
based on the time relations between the onset of conditioned stimulus (CS) and
unconditioned stimulus (US). The first three are called forward conditioning
procedures, and the fourth one is called backward conditioning procedures. The
basic experimental arrangements of these procedures are as follows:
- Simultaneous conditioning- a classical conditioning technique in which the
conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus are presented at the
same time.
- Delayed conditioning- a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus is
presented, and remains present, for a fixed period (the delay) before the
unconditioned stimulus is introduced.
- Trace conditioning- a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus is
presented, and remains present, for a fixed period (the delay) before the
unconditioned stimulus is introduced.
- Backward conditioning- is a behavior conditioning method that presents the
stimuli in a reverse order.

2. Type of Unconditioned Stimuli : The unconditioned stimuli used in studies

of classical conditioning are basically of two types, i.e. appetitive and
aversive. Appetitive unconditioned stimuli automatically elicits approach
responses, such as eating, drinking, caressing, etc. These responses give
satisfaction and pleasure. On the other hand, aversive US, such as noise,
bitter taste, electric shock, painful injections, etc. are painful, harmful, and
elicit avoidance and escape responses.
 3. Intensity of Conditioned Stimuli : This influences the course of both
appetitive and aversive classical conditioning. More intense conditioned
stimuli are more effective in accelerating the acquisition of conditioned
responses. It means that the more intense the conditioned stimulus, the fewer
are the number of acquisition trials needed for conditioning.

2. OPERANT/INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING
- This type of conditioning was first investigated by B.F. Skinner.
- Operants are those behaviors or responses, which are emitted by animals and
human beings voluntarily and are under their control.
- Conditioning of operant behavior is called operant conditioning.
- Skinner conducted his studies on rats and pigeons in specially made boxes,
called the Skinner Box.
- A hungry rat (one at a time) is placed in the chamber, which was so built that
the rat could move inside but could not come out. In the chamber there was a
lever, which was connected to a food container kept on the top of the
chamber. When the lever is pressed, a food pellet drops on the plate placed
close to the lever. While moving around and pawing the walls (exploratory
behavior), the hungry rat accidentally presses the lever and a food pellet
drops on the plate. The hungry rat eats it. In the next trial, after a while the
exploratory behavior again starts. As the number of trials increases, the rat
takes less and less time to press the lever for food. Conditioning is complete
when the rat presses the lever immediately after it is placed in the chamber.
It is obvious that lever pressing is an operant response and getting food is its
consequence.

Determinants of Operant Conditioning

- Operant or instrumental conditioning is a form of learning in which behavior
is learned, maintained or changed through its consequences.
- Such consequences are called reinforcers. A reinforcer is defined as any
stimulus or event, which increases the probability of the occurrence of a
(desired) response.
- A reinforcer has numerous features, which affect the course and strength of a
response. They include its types – positive or negative, number or frequency,
quality – superior or inferior, and schedule – continuous or intermittent
(partial). All these features influence the course of operant conditioning.

1. Types of Reinforcement
"Reinforcement" refers to any stimulus or event that increases the
likelihood that a response will occur. Reinforcement can include anything
that strengthens or increases a behavior. In a classroom setting, for example,
types of reinforcement might include giving praise, letting students out of
unwanted work, or providing token rewards, candy, extra playtime, or fun
activities.
Reinforcement may be positive or negative.
- Positive reinforcement: refers to the introduction of any stimulus or
event that increases the likelihood that a response will occur, such
as giving a piece of candy to a child after they clean their room.
- Negative reinforcement: refers to the removal of any stimulus or
event that increases the likelihood that a response will occur, such
as canceling a quiz if students turn in all of their homework for the
week. By removing the aversive stimulus (the quiz), the teacher hopes
to increase the desired behavior (completing all homework).

2. Number of Reinforcement and other Features

- Amount of reinforcement means how much reinforcing stimulus (food
or water or intensity of pain causing agent) one receives on each trial.
- Quality of reinforcement refers to the kind of reinforcer.

3. Schedules of Reinforcement
- A schedule of reinforcement is basically a rule stating which
instances of behavior will be reinforced.
- When a desired response is reinforced every time it occurs we call it
continuous reinforcement.
- In contrast, in intermittent schedules responses are sometimes
reinforced, sometimes not. It is known as partial reinforcement and
 has been found to produce greater resistance to extinction – than is
found with continuous reinforcement.

3. Delayed Reinforcement
- Delayed reinforcement occurs when the reward for the target behavior is not
provided immediately after the behavior.

Key Learning Processes

1. Reinforcement- "Reinforcement" refers to any stimulus or event that
increases the likelihood that a response will occur. Reinforcement can
include anything that strengthens or increases a behavior. In a classroom
setting, for example, types of reinforcement might include giving praise,
letting students out of unwanted work, or providing token rewards, candy,
extra playtime, or fun activities.
Reinforcement may be positive or negative.
- Positive reinforcement: refers to the introduction of any stimulus or
event that increases the likelihood that a response will occur, such
as giving a piece of candy to a child after they clean their room.
- Negative reinforcement: refers to the removal of any stimulus or
event that increases the likelihood that a response will occur, such
as canceling a quiz if students turn in all of their homework for the
week. By removing the aversive stimulus (the quiz), the teacher hopes
to increase the desired behavior (completing all homework).
2. Extinction - Extinction means disappearance of a learned response due to
removal of reinforcement from the situation in which the response used to
occur. Learning shows resistance to extinction. Extinction happens when the
behavior no longer occurs after the stimulus is carried out. In the same
example, when Pavlov stopped providing food after ringing the bell, over time,
the dogs stopped salivating when they would hear the bell.
3. Generalisation and Discrimination- The process of responding similarly to
similar stimuli is known as generalisation. The process of responding
differently to similar stimuli is known as discrimination. For example, if a
student learns how to zip up their jacket and then is able to zip up their
backpack, then the skill of using a zipper has been generalized. For example, at
traffic signals responding differently to different lights(red,yellow,green).
 4. Spontaneous Recovery- Spontaneous recovery can be defined as the
reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period or period of
lessened response.The longer the duration of time lapsed, the greater is the
recovery of learned response.

3. OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
- Observational learning is learning that occurs through observing the
behavior of others.
- Earlier this form of learning was called imitation.
- In this kind of learning, human beings learn social behaviors, therefore, it is
sometimes called social learning.
- Modeling means learning by copying the behavior of someone else.
- In order to understand the nature of observational learning we may refer to
the studies conducted by Bandura. In one of his well-known experimental
studies, Bandura showed a film of five minutes duration to children. The
film shows that in a large room there are numerous toys including a large
sized ‘Bobo’ doll. Now a grown-up boy enters the room and looks around.
The boy starts showing aggressive behavior towards the toys in general and
the bobo doll in particular. He hits the doll, throws it on the floor, kicking it
and sitting on it. This film has three versions. In one version a group of
children see the boy (model) being rewarded and praised by an adult for
being aggressive to the doll. In the second version another group of children
see the boy being punished for his aggressive behavior. In the third version
the third group of children are not shown the boy being either rewarded or
punished.
- After viewing a specific version of the film all the three groups of children
were placed in an experimental room in which similar toys were placed
around. The children were allowed to play with the toys. These groups were
secretly observed and their behaviors noted. It was found that those children
who saw aggressive behavior being rewarded were most aggressive; children
who had seen the aggressive model being punished were least aggressive.
Thus, in observational learning observers acquire knowledge by observing
the model’s behavior, but performance is influenced by the model's behavior
being rewarded or punished.
4. COGNITIVE LEARNING
- In cognitive learning, there is a change in what the learner knows rather than
what s/he does.
- This form of learning shows up in insight learning and latent learning.

Insight Learning
- Insight learning – the process by which the solution to a problem suddenly
becomes clear.
- Kohler demonstrated this model of learning by performing a series of
experiments with chimpanzees that involved solving complex problems.
- Kohler placed chimpanzees in an enclosed play area where food was kept
out of their reach. Tools such as poles and boxes were placed in the
enclosure. The chimpanzees rapidly learned how to use a box to stand on or
a pole to move the food in their direction. In this experiment, learning did
not occur as a result of trial and error and reinforcement, but came about in
sudden flashes of insight. The chimpanzees would roam about the enclosure
for some time and then suddenly would stand on a box, grab a pole and
strike a banana, which was out of normal reach above the enclosure.

Latent Learning
- Another type of cognitive learning is known as latent learning.
- Latent learning refers to knowledge that only becomes clear when a person
has an incentive to display it.
- Tolman made an early contribution to the concept of latent learning.
- Tolman put two groups of rats in a maze and gave them an opportunity to
explore. In one group, rats found food at the end of the maze and soon
learned to make their way rapidly through the maze. On the other hand, rats
in the second group were not rewarded and showed no apparent signs of
learning. But later, when these rats were reinforced, they ran through the
maze as efficiently as the rewarded group
- Tolman contended 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 provided. Instead, the rats developed a
cognitive map of the maze, i.e. a mental representation of the spatial
locations and directions, which they needed to reach their goal.
4. VERBAL LEARNING
- Verbal learning is different from conditioning and is limited to human
beings.
- Learning about objects and events in terms of words is called Verbal
Learning.
- It can be done through a method of paired-associate learning, serial learning,
and free recall.
- The main determinants of verbal learning are:

1. Paired-Associates Learning :
- First, a list of paired-associates is prepared. The first word of the pair is used
as the stimulus, and the second word as the response.
- The first members of the pairs (stimulus term) are nonsense syllables
(consonant vowel-consonant), and the second are English nouns (response
term). The learner is first shown both the stimulus-response pairs together,
and is instructed to remember and recall the response after the presentation
of each stimulus term.
- After that a learning trial begins. One by one the stimulus words are
presented and the participant tries to give the correct response term. In case
of failure, s/he is shown the response word. In one trial all the stimulus terms
are shown. Trials continue until the participant gives all the response words
without a single error

2. Serial Learning
- First, lists of verbal items, i.e. nonsense syllables, most familiar or least
familiar words, interrelated words, etc. are prepared.
- The participant is presented the entire list and is required to produce the
items in the same serial order as in the list.
- In the first trial, the first item of the list is shown, and the participant has to
produce the second item. If s/he fails to do so within the prescribed time, the
experimenter presents the second item. Now this item becomes the stimulus
and the participant has to produce the third item that is the response word. If
s/he fails, the experimenter gives the correct item, which becomes the
stimulus item for the fourth word.
 - This procedure is called the serial anticipation method. Learning trials
continue until the participant correctly anticipates all the items in the given
order.

3. Free Recall :
- In this method, participants are presented a list of words, which they read
and speak.
- Each word is shown at a fixed rate of exposure duration.
- Immediately after the presentation of the list, the participants are required to
recall the words in any order they can.
- Words in the list may be interrelated or unrelated. More than ten words are
included in the list.
- This method is used to study how participants organize words for storage in
memory.
- Studies indicate that the items placed in the beginning or end of the lists are
easier to recall than those placed in the middle, which are more difficult to
recall.

Determinants of Verbal Learning

- Features of the verbal material - Length of the list to be learned(The length
should have more than ten words), The type of list of words to be
used(nonsense, familiar, unfamiliar, unrelated), the type of method to be
used(serial, free recall, paired associate). Also,the more time it takes to
learn, the stronger the learning becomes.
- Category clustering means the subjective organization is the main
determinant of verbal learning
- Verbal learning is usually intentional but a person may learn some features
of the words unintentionally or incidentally.

5. CONCEPT LEARNING
- Learning occurs in the form of concept, i.e., in terms of category.
- A concept involves a set of features connected with a rule or instruction.
A feature is any characteristic or aspect of an object or event or living
organism that is observed in them, and can be considered equivalent to some
features observed or discriminated against in the objects. Rules that are used
 to connect the features to form a concept may be very simple or complex. A
rule is an instruction to do something.
- Concepts are of two types – natural or artificial.
Natural concepts are those that are ill-defined and difficult to learn. Ex-
Geometrical shapes.
Artificial concepts on the other hand are those that are well defined and easy
to learn. For ex- clothes, tools, houses etc.

6. SKILL LEARNING
- Learning or acquisition of skills is Skill learning.
- A skill is defined as the ability to perform some complex task smoothly and
efficiently. Car driving, airplane piloting, ship navigating,shorthand writing,
and writing and reading are examples of skills.
- Skill learning passes through different phases.According to Fitts, skill
learning passes through three phases, viz. cognitive, associative and
autonomous
- In the cognitive phase of skill learning, the learner has to understand and
memorize the instructions, and also understand how the task has to be
performed.
- The second phase is associative. It is the practice stage. With each attempt at
learning the skill the performance becomes better at better.With continued
practice, errorless performance begins.
- Then the third phase, i.e. autonomous phase, begins. In this phase, two
important changes take place in performance: the attentional demands of the
associative phase decrease & automaticity emerges.

FACTORS FACILITATING LEARNING

1. Continuous vs Partial Reinforcement- . In continuous reinforcement the
participant is given reinforcement after each target response.Since the
organism is getting reinforcement on each trial, the effectiveness of that
reinforcer is reduced. In schedules where reinforcement is not continuous,
some responses are not reinforced. Hence, they are called partial or
intermittent reinforcement. It has been found that extinction of a response is
more difficult following partial reinforcement than following continuous
reinforcement.
 2. Motivation- Motivation is a mental as well as a physiological state, which
arouses an organism to act for fulfilling the current need. In other words,
motivation energizes an organism to act vigorously for attaining some
goal.Motivation is a prerequisite for learning. The more motivated you are,
the more hard work you do for learning. Your motivation for learning
something arises from two sources. You learn many things because you
enjoy them (intrinsic motivation) or they provide you the means for attaining
some other goal (extrinsic motivation).
3. Preparedness for Learning - Learning preparedness refers to how well
equipped a pupil is to learn, including circumstantial and environmental
factors. A student with a low preparedness to learn may be encumbered by
difficult personal circumstances in his or her life, or a lower emotional or
physical maturity.

LEARNING DISABILITIES
Learning disability is a general term. It refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders
manifested in terms of difficulty in the acquisition of learning, reading, writing,
speaking, reasoning, and mathematical activities. The sources of such disorders are
inherent in the child. It is presumed that these difficulties originate from problems
with the functioning of the central nervous system.

Symptoms of Learning Disabilities

There are many symptoms of learning disabilities.
1. Poor space orientation and inadequate sense of time are common symptoms.
Such children do not get easily oriented to new surroundings and get lost.
2. Learning-disabled children have disorders of attention. They get easily
distracted and cannot sustain attention on one point for long. More often
than not, attentional deficiency leads to hyperactivity.
3. Learning-disabled children have poor motor coordination and lack of
balance.
4. These children fail to understand and follow oral directions for doing things.
5. Learning-disabled children usually show perceptual disorders.
6. These children fail to understand and follow oral directions for doing things.
7. They misjudge relationships as to which classmates are friendly and which
ones are indifferent. They fail to learn and understand body language.
 8. Dyscalculia-A person with Dyscalculia has difficulty understanding and
using math concepts and symbols.
9. Dyslexia- difficulty in reading.
10.Dysgraphia- difficulty in writing.
11.Dyspraxia- difficulty in body movements & coordination.
12.Dysphasia- difficulty in production and comprehension of speech.

It must be noted that learning disabilities are not incurable. Remedial teaching
methods go a long way in helping them to learn and become like other students.
Educational psychologists have developed appropriate techniques for correcting
most of the symptoms related to learning disabilities.