LEARNING
Objectives
• To give the basic concept of ‘Learning’
• Use the principles of learning to
enhance their own learning skills
• To enable them to make use of learning
principles in clinical settings
Outline
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What is Learning
Types of learning
Classical Conditioning
Operant/Instrumental Conditioning
Use of Learning Principles in Clinical
Setting
What is Learning?
• “A relatively permanent change in an
organism’s behavior due to experience”.
• Allows us to adapt to changing
environments
• We learn primarily by experiencing
events, observing relationships
between those events.
• Achieve goals & solve problems
Types of learning
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Classical Conditioning
Operant conditioning
Observational Learning
Perceptual Learning
Latent Learning
Insight Learning
Conditioning
•
The acquisition of specific
patterns of behavior in the
presence of well-defined
stimuli.
• Types of Conditioning
1. Classical Conditioning
2. Operant Conditioning
Classical
Conditioning
• Classical condition is
learning by association
– Also called
“reflexive learning”
• The Russian
physiologist, Ivan
Pavlov,1905
• Experiments with dogs
Pavlov’s Experiment
Analysis of Pavlov’s Study
Classical
Conditioning Terms
• Unconditioned stimulus (US):
– A stimulus that always elicits a
specific response in the absence of
any training.
• Unconditioned response (UR):
– A response that is always elicited by a
specific stimulus in the absence of
any training.
Classical
Conditioning Terms
• Neutral stimulus:
– A stimulus that does not elicit a
specific response.
• Conditioned stimulus (CS):
– A neutral stimulus that acquires the
ability to elicit a specific response
• Conditioned response (CR):
– A response similar to the UR that is
elicited by the CS.
Common Examples of
Classical Conditioning
• Classical conditioning is involved in many
of our behaviors
• Too much alcohol. Afterwards even the
sight of alcohol can nauseous.
•
UCS = too much alcohol
•
UCR = getting sick
•
CS = sight of alcohol
• Phobias - Irrational fears
• Conditioned food (taste) aversion Classically conditioning a novel flavor to
illness
Classical Conditioning
in Humans
• J. B. Watson classically conditions
“Little Albert” to fear white rabbit.
Little Albert example
• Presented a little
baby with a rabbit.
Everytime the
rabbit was
presented a loud
‘clang’ behind
Albert’s head
causing him to
startle.
• The child then became afraid of the
rabbit.
Classical Conditioning
in Humans
• Jones reconditions “Robert” to not fear
rabbits
• This procedure evolved into
desensitization therapy.
Operant
Conditioning
• Operant
conditioning is
learning from the
consequences of
behavior
• Organisms make
responses that have
consequences
–The consequences serve to
increase or decrease the
likelihood of making that
response again
Operant/Instrumental
Conditioning
• We put coins in a machine
to obtain food
• But we refrain when an Out
of Order sign is placed on
the machine
• Operant behaviors are different
from the responses involved in
classical conditioning
–They are voluntarily emitted
–Those in classical conditioning
are elicited by stimuli.
Operant Conditioning
Terms
• Reinforcer:
– An event or stimulus that makes the
behavior it follows more likely to occur
again.
Primary and
Secondary
Reinforcers
• Primary reinforcer:
– A reinforcer that is rewarding in itself,
such as food, water, and sex.
• Secondary reinforcer:
– A reinforcer that acquires its
reinforcing power through association
with a primary reinforcer.
Operant Conditioning
Terms
• Punisher:
– Any event that decreases the
likelihood that the behavior preceding
it, will occur again.
What Is Punishment?
• The aim of punishment is to decrease
the likelihood that an ongoing behavior
will recur.
• Punishment must be swift, sufficient,
and certain for it to be effective.
Differences Between
Classical and
Operant Conditioning
• Classical conditioning is passive on the
part of the learner.
• Operant conditioning relies on the
learner to actively participate in the
learning process.
• In operant conditioning reinforcers act
as incentives for learning.
• Classical conditioning, on the other
hand, does not provide incentives.
Cognitive Learning
• Cognitive learning:
–Learning that depends on mental
processes that are not directly
observable
• Latent learning:
– Learning that is not immediately
reflected in a behavioral change
Insight Learning
• Insight:
– Learning that occurs rapidly as a
result of understanding all the
elements of a problem.
Insight
Learning Sets
• The ability to become increasingly more
effective in solving problems as more
problems are solved.
– i.e., “learning how to learn”
Social Learning
Theory
• A view of learning
that emphasizes the
ability to learn by
observing a model
without firsthand
experience by the
observer.
• Role Model
Use of Learning
Principles in Clinical
Setting
• Acquisition of fear and anxiety about
hospitals
• Chemotherapy for treating cancer
• Treatment of phobias
• Unhealthy Lifestyles
• Reactions to illness
• Discontinue bad habits