Types of Learning from Aversive Contingencies - Essay Example

Topic: Learning from aversive contingencies Introduction Learning is a daily occurrence both in animals and human beings. The process has been variously defined by leading experts. For instance, McGeoch & Iron (1952) define learning as a change in performance which occurs under the conditions of practice, as cited in Pierce & Cheney (2004). According to Kimble (1961) also cited in Pierce & Cheney (2004), learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour potentiality which occurs as a result of reinforced practice. Available research findings show that a great portion of human as well as animal behaviuor is influenced by learning especially from aversive contingencies. It is therefore from this supposition that this essay is based. Types of learning from aversive contingencies Learning theorists have come up with numerous conflicting views as to how many types of leaning are available. Gagne (1965) as cited in Pierce & Cheney (2004) names eight categories of human learning. According to him, classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning are the simplest of the known learning types. In fact, classical (respondent) conditioning involves eliciting of responses that are caused by a specific stimulus (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). It was first studied by Ivan Pavlov who demonstrated that dogs could be conditioned to respond to a neutral stimulus and thus produce a response that would otherwise be evoked by only a specific natural stimulus like the presence of meat in the mouth (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). Instrumental (operant) conditioning on the other hand may mean any kind of activity by an animal on its environment to evoke a response, as explained by (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). Thus a highly operant animal learns faster than a subtle one. This type of learning was first studied by B. F. Skinner who trained rats to feed themselves through bar-press activities. Operant learning is found to be concerned with the voluntary behaviour of a subject (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). For effective learning of operant behaviour, the application of the treatment must be contingent to the expected outcome, otherwise learning may not occur. Motor chaining as another type of learning involves the learning of the psychomotor skills such as the sequences of movements that have to be performed together to execute a given task. This is a common occurrence in human learning because we are constantly involved in performing duties that require sequencing of movements that have to be practiced (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). Learning how to unlock a door with a key, starting a car engine or training dog to restrain a thief all require practice trials with reinforcements. Verbal chaining is a bit complex since it involves the forming of verbal associations particularly in language development in young children and other animal species. The complexity of this category arises from the fact that it is purely theoretical rather than practical. The basic format of verbal chains involves the presentation of an item accompanied by verbal instructions (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). Discrimination learning is a kind of learning in which a subject learns to discriminate correct from incorrect internal or external stimuli. This type of learning was clearly demonstrated by the rat in the Skinner box where only bar-press responses were followed by reinforcement with rewards of food as indicated by Pierce & Cheney (2004). Accordingly, the stimulus that results in a reward is reinforced while that which does not suffers extinction. Other types of learning include rule learning which involves the learning of principles in the animal and it is basically applicable in schools as well as in the training of behaviour formation in cats and dogs according to Pierce & Cheney (2004). There is also concept learning and problem solving which are both mostly found in learning institutions. Evidence that the named types of learning occur in animal behaviour Learning from aversive contingencies has been observed occurring in animal behaviour naturally. Majority of animals of prey pay a lot of attention to any sudden sound in their surrounding particularly when they are grazing and will reflexively run away after a slight ruffling of the grasses (Pierce & Cheney, 2004) and thereby escape predation. This is a respondent conditioning and presents a survival value to most animal species including humans. It has also been observed that newborns of most animal species in their natural environments always follow their mothers as they move about. A young calf will most likely literally follow its mother instinctively wherever she goes in an effort to learn the cow behaviour (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). Instilling of fear in baby Albert by Watson (Pierce & Cheney, 2004) is a case that has been demonstrated in animal behaviuor. An animal like a rat in confinement will naturally manifest fear by jumping around or even urinating and producing characteristic sounds in an effort escape from an aversive stimulus (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). The same reactions have been observed in larger mammals like dogs and cats that have resorted to aggression when there was no option for escape particularly with increased intensity of the aversive event (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). The animals usually attack the subject in the offensive. Applications of learning from aversive contingencies to human behaviour According to (Pierce & Cheney, 2004), learning from aversive contingencies have widely been applied in the areas of education, animal training, medicine, environmental protection and industry. As earlier mentioned, motor chaining has greatly been applied in schools to train children how to sequence movements to develop psychomotor skills in performing such tasks as writing and playing games. Modern lifestyles demand for the development of certain behaviours such as driving a car, talking on the phone or typing on the keyboard of the computer all as a result of operant conditioning (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). Culturally, infants are able to learn through conditioning from the society. The infants first attempts to learn language is reinforced by its parents or caregivers. A familiar sound from the infant is often repeated and stressed thereby reinforcing it while unfamiliar sounds are usually ignored (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). Eventually through discrimination, the baby learns to talk like other people in its culture. Similarly, operant conditioning has been applied in the area of medicine in correcting swallowing dysfunctions (Pierce & Cheney, 2004) in young children who could not suck after birth. Research findings by Pierce & Cheney (2004) indicate that children with swallowing dysfunctions were conditioned to develop a swallow reflex after presentation of an eliciting stimulus. Finally, animal training particularly for those individuals who value pets very much has become a necessary activity. Training behavior formation in dogs and cats has become a human pre-occupation due to the rising demand for well behaved pets (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). Animal trainers agree that operant conditioning is very crucial in this task as attested by the Pavlovian studies. Ethical issues in the application of aversive contingencies to human behaviour Ethically, it is wrong to carry out research on behaviour patterns using human subjects. This can be partly attributed to the fact that certain behavioural aspects may infringe on human rights. Additionally, environments can be controlled with the same ease and manner as the experiences of animal subjects (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). Moreover, observation of behaviour changes in human subjects may take too long than in animal subjects. For these reasons, the use of non human subjects in the study of behaviour analysis and learning has been the norm worldwide. The application of aversive stimulus like shock to elicit a response in a subject can only be tenable in non-human animal subjects such as rats. To increase the operant level of an animal through deprivation of food can only be applicable in animal subjects without raising a lot of fuss. Animals like the dolphins and pigeons have in recent times been used in most inhumane ways (Pierce & Cheney, 2004) to help man combat crime through surveillance exercises after undergoing rigorous training. These and many other examples raise ethical concerns in the application of aversive contingencies to human behaviour. References Pierce, W. D & Cheney, C. D (2004). Behavior analysis and learning, Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. Read More