Theories of learning - Research Paper Example

? Theories of learning Learning is a change in behavior or mental processes that is adopted from experience or practice (Huffman, K 2001). In a lay mans language, everyday learning refers to learning how to talk, riding a bike, playing the piano or reading. In psychology, learning is relatively permanent in behavior or mental processes (Huffman, K 2001). If one has learnt how to eat from a spoon, he/she will be able to use this skill for the rest of their life. However, what is learned can be suppressed or even unlearned. For e.g. love, hatred, generosity are feelings that can be changed every easily. There is a process of learning between an environmental stimuli and behavioral processes in everyday life. Cognitive social learning and biological factors build the foundations of the theories of learning. Classical conditioning is the learning that takes place from a neutral stimulus that associates itself with an unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response. This is one the theories of learning and Ivan Pavlov and John Watson have contributed in the development of this theory. To answer a very popular and commonly experienced craving or attitude towards food Pavlov conducted an experiment. Pavlov wanted to know whether dry food required more saliva or moist food. He demonstrated classical conditioning with the help of dogs. Every time he would feed the dogs he would also ring a bell and eventually, whenever he would ring the bell the dogs would salivate in anticipation of being fed.  He conditioned the dogs to connect the ringing of the bell with being fed. There was an accidental part of the discovery that the dogs salivated before the food was even placed in their mouth. The salivation is an involuntary reflex to an external stimulus. He concluded that the salivation is not inborn and occurred through learning. Before the conditioning, the neutral stimulus (NS) was the tone and the meat powder (unconditioned stimulus) lead to an unconditioned response (salivation). However, after repeatedly pairing the NS with the UCS, the tone became a conditioned stimulus; meat powder became an unconditioned stimulus and salivation a conditioned response. Picture 1: Pavlov’s Dog (2011) Classical conditioning has been shown to be the most basic way that animals and human learn new responses, emotions and approaches. John Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1920, 2000) demonstrated how the emotion of fear can be conditioned with the help of an experiment. Albert, an eleven month old baby was tested in a lab at John Hopkins University. He was first allowed to play with rats and like most infants inquisitively reached for the rat. Most infants are naturally afraid of loud noises (UCR) and therefore Watson banged a steel bar with a hammer when the baby reached for the rat. Watson kept repeating this act and the baby began to cry when just the rat was given to him without the loud noise. Albert’s fear is the conditioned response and therefore Watson proved that most emotions are classically conditioned. However, this experiment violates ethical conducts as Watson and Rayner ended their experiment without removing the fear in Albert. Another criticism regarding their experiment is the subjective accountability of fear. Albert’s fear was not objectively measured so it raises doubts about the degree of fear conditioned. Watson concluded that such emotions are impossible to study objectively and are observable behaviors only. Moreover, this study helped in the progress of eliminating extreme emotions such as phobias. Certain principles rose with the concept of classical conditioning. Stimulus generalization, stimulus discrimination, extinction, spontaneous recovery, and high order conditioning are important principles. Stimulus generalization is a learned response to stimuli that resembles the original conditioned stimulus. In Watson’s experiment, not only did Albert fear rats but also other objects that had rat like features including a rabbit, dog etc. stimulus discrimination is just the opposite. It is learning how to distinguish between the stimuli and not to respond to similar stimuli. Albert would gradually learn the difference between a rat and a dog. Therefore a conditioned response would only pertain to specific stimuli. Extinction, as the name suggests, is the gradual suppression of a response. For instance, in Pavlov’s experiment, he repeated the tone constantly without the food and salivation in the dogs gradually declined. It is important to note that extinction is not the same as unlearning but instead occurs when the response rate declines. If the stimuli is presented again, the response rate is much faster. Therefore, the sudden appearance of a response after extinction is known as spontaneous recovery. It is quite common to feel excited after meeting an old friend from school. Higher order conditioning usually occurs in children faster. It is when a NS becomes a CS through repeated associations with a previously CS. Children often want to stop and eat after sighting the golden arches of Mc Donald’s. They first learn to associate food with Mc Donald’s and then the gold arches as well. Their desire to eat at a cafe after viewing a symbol is a perfect example of higher order conditioning. Another theory of learning is Operant Conditioning. Operant conditioning is where voluntary responses are controlled by their consequences (Huffman, K 2001). Reinforcement or punishment influence whether the response will occur again or not. The learner basically ‘operates’ on the environment and produces effects. The effects will determine whether the behavior will be repeated or not. To differentiate, classical conditioning relates to involuntary responses whereas operant conditioning refers to involuntary responses. To begin with, Edward Thorndike and B.F. Skinner initiated an experiment to check how voluntary behaviors are influenced by their consequences. Thorndike placed a cat inside a box and the only way the cat could get out of it was by pulling on a rope or stepping on a pedal. The cat would try to figure out a way to get out through trial and error and with every attempt, the cat became more motivated and finally found a way to open the door. Thorndike introduced the ‘law of effect’ which was a rule that the chances of an action are strengthened when it is followed by a pleasing consequence. The punishment and reward comes in after the voluntary behavior and a rewarded behavior strengthens the chances of reoccurrence. The cat kept on trying because each trial was rewarding and it was motivated. Thorndike’s law of effect showed how voluntary behaviors can be modified by their consequences. Skinner, on the other hand was a strict behaviorist. He made Thorndike’s discovery more complex and said that words like pleasant, desired and voluntary should not be used as they make assumptions about what an organism feels. Skinner used a pigeon and trained it to push a lever to receive food. The animal received food every time it pushed the lever and the number of responses were recorded. He emphasized that reinforcement increases the likelihood of a response and punishment decreases it. Receiving a months’ salary is always a motivator after work has been performed all month. However sometimes, reinforcements can be misjudged or misunderstood. Some people might not be reinforced by what is thought as reinforcement. For instance some women might be allergic to roses and that may be a punishment for them as roses are generally thought to be liked by everyone. There are primary and secondary reinforcers that increase the strength of a behavior. Primary reinforcers are unlearned and satisfy a biological need such as food, water etc. secondary reinforcers are learned and increase response because of their value such as money or material possessions. A negative reinforcement takes away and strengthens behavior. If a baby is crying and one hugs him he will eventually stop crying. Here, the hugging is a negative reinforcer because the crying stops or is ‘taken away’ through hugging. Negative inforcement is not to be thought of as punishment because reinforcement always strengthens behavior and punishment weakens it. Skinner also found that learning is rapid if the response was reinforced each time it occurred. However, in reality an A grade is not always the result of every hard work done or rewards are not always awaiting ones way. Although continuous rewards are a faster way of learning, they’re not practically feasible in the long run. Partial reinforcement usually avoids extinction (Huffman, K 2001) and helps in maintaining a behavior. Punishment on the other hand reduces the probability of a response. Positive punishment is addition of stimulus to decrease the chance of a response and negative punishment is the reduction of a stimulus to decrease the chance of a response. If a child is given more work to do, parents are increasing workload and apply positive punishment. If a student is not allowed to sit in class if he/she is late then negative punishment is applied. Punishment should be continuous and constant in order to maintain rules and orders. Once delayed, the undesirable behavior is likely to be reinforced. Unfortunate side effects of punishment are frequent and it can increase aggression, create passive aggression, create learned helplessness and a suppression. A lot of times car drivers only slow down when they see a police officer around and otherwise don’t care to break the rules. Teenagers often use subtle techniques of aggression like waking up late, eating disorders, emotional dissatisfaction and not responding etc. Another famous theory of learning is the Cognitive-Social Theory that depicts the roles of thinking and social learning in attitudes and behavior. According to this theory, humans and animals have beliefs, expectations and emotions that affect learning. Kohler and Tolman conducted the study of insight and latent learning. Kohler placed a banana in front of a monkey’s cage and to reach the banana, the chimp would have to use a stick kept near the cage. The chimp could not figure out the situation and it was observed that the chimp used to think about the solution. In a flash of insight (sudden understanding) the chimp picked up the stick and got the banana. Kohler depicted that some mental event described as ‘insight’ hinted the chimp to conduct the act. On the other hand, Tolman allowed a group of rats to wander a maze with no reinforcement. The second group was reinforced with food every time they would figure how to reach the end. The third group wasn’t rewarded initially but they were on the 11th day. The first and third groups were slow at learning but the second group showed a steady motivation. This experiment proved that the rats had already built cognitive maps in their mind during their aimless exploration but were their latent learning showed up when they were motivated with food. Albert Bandura has experimented with observational learning which is another theory. Bandura wanted to know if children get aggressive after watching others do the same, he allowed children to watch an aggressive show and shout at a large inflated Bobo doll. Children were allowed to play in the same room as well and he noticed that children who has seen the show were more aggressive with the Bobo doll than children who hadn’t seen aggression. It is not mean that humans simply copy others whereas, attention, retention and reinforcement play a major role in following something just seen or experienced. Carl roger devised the experiential learning theory that shows the inclusion of feelings and emotions in education. Roger was interested in learning that leads to personal expansion and maturity, as was Maslow. His 1983 book, Freedom to Learn for the 80's presented his full theory of experiential learning. His beliefs included that the personal involvement at both the sentimental and cognitive levels, were self-initiated that could change attitudes, behavior, and in some cases, even the personality of the learner. Rogers outlined some facilitators of learning which were realness, prizing the learner and empathic understanding. To conclude the theories can be grouped into 4 broad categories namely: (Theories of learning) 1. Behaviorism – focus on behavior (Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike, Skinner) 2. Cognitive - learning through mental processes (Kohler) 3. Humanistic - emotions play a role (Carl Rogers) 4. Social - humans learn best in group activities (Albert Bandura) References Fernandez, B. (n.d.). Pavlova€™s Dogs A« Grammar Wench. Grammar Wench. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://grammarwench.wordpress.com/2011/02/05/pavlovs-dogs/ Huffman, k. (2001). Psychology in action . S.l.: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Theories of Learning. (n.d.). Massage CE Continuing Education Home Study NCBTMB, NCCAOM Ethics Fibromyalgia TMJ Acupressure TCM. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://www.lifecircles-inc.com/Learningtheories/learningmap.html Read More