LEARNING

1. discuss the definition and theories of

learning,
2. recognize the role of learning in human
behavior,
3. distinguish the advantages and
disadvantages of reward and punishment in
shaping behavior, and
4. value the importance of knowing the proper
way of shaping behaviors.
Learning
is defined as a relatively
permanent change in
behavior that occurs as a
result of experience. It does
not include behavior changes
that are due to maturation or
temporary conditions of the
organism, such as fatigue or
drug-induced states.
1. Classical Conditioning

is a type of learning in
which a neutral
stimulus comes to
bring about a
response after it is
paired with a stimulus
that naturally brings
about the response.
 A. Principle of acquisition

 excitation states
that repeated
pairing of the
conditioned
response and
unconditioned
stimulus elicit
conditioned
response.
B. Principle of extinction

 states that the inhibitory

process occurs when,
after establishing the
conditioned responses, a
new stimulus is presented
at the same time with the
conditioned stimulus.
C. Principle of spontaneous recovery

 states that a
conditioned
response, after being
extinguished, will
reoccur or reappear
without further
conditioning.
2. Operant Conditioning

 is the basis for many

of the most important
kinds of human and
animal learning. It is a
kind of learning in
which a voluntary
response is
strengthened or
weakened, depending
on its favorable of
unfavorable
consequences.
Reinforcement

 is a process by
which a stimulus
increases the
probability that a
preceding behavior
will be repeated.
 Reinforcer
-refers to any
stimulus that
increases the
probability that a
preceding behavior
will occur again.
 positive reinforcer
- is a stimulus added to
the environment that
brings about an
increase in a preceding
response.
 Example:
If food, water, money, or praise is
provided after a response, it is
more likely that that response will
occur again in the future.
• negative reinforcer
- refers to an unpleasant
stimulus whose removal
leads to an increase in
the probability that a
preceding response will
be repeated in the future.
 Example:
If your iPad volume is so loud that it hurts your
ears when you first turn it on, you are likely to
reduce the volume level. Lowering the volume
is negatively reinforcing and you are more apt
to repeat the action in the future when you
first turn it on.
 Punishment

- refers to a
stimulus that
decreases the
probability that
a prior behavior
will occur again.
1. Positive punishment

 (“positive” means
adding something).
 weakens a response
through the
application of
unpleasant
stimulus.
 For instance, spanking a child from
misbehaving or spending ten years in
jail for committing a crime is positive
punishment.
2. Negative punishment

 (“negative” means
removing
something).
 Negative
punishment consists
of the removal of
something pleasant.
 For instance, when a teenager is
told she is “grounded” and no
longer be able to use the family car
because of her poor grades is
negative punishment.
 In operant conditioning, schedules of
reinforcement are an important component if
the learning process.
 When and how often we reinforce a behavior
can have a dramatic impact on the strength
and rate of the response.
 Certain schedules of reinforcement may be
more effective in specific situations. There are
two types of reinforcement schedules:
 which is done when a behavior is
reinforced everytime it occurs
 wherein a
response is
reinforced
only part of
the time.
FOUR SCHEDULES OF PARTIAL
REINFORCEMENT
1. Fixed-ratio schedules

 occurs when
a response is
reinforced
only after a
specified
number of
responses.
 Examples include
workers who are paid for
the number of baskets of
fruits picked or reports
written. This type of
fixed-ratio payment is
commonly referred to as
“piecework”
2. Variable-ratio schedules
 reinforcement occurs after a varying
number of responses rather that after a
fixed number.
 Example:
Gambling and lottery
games are good examples
of a reward based on a
variable ratio schedule.
One never knows when
he might hit the jackpot,
and a high response rate
is likely to occur.
3. Fixed-interval schedules

 occur when the

first response is
rewarded only
after a specified
amount of time
has elapsed..
 Example:
Employees who
are paid an hourly
or daily wage or a
weekly or monthly
salary are being
reinforced on this
schedule
4. Variable-interval schedules

 occurs when a
response is
rewarded after
an unpredictable
amount of time
has passed.
 For example, a worker is paid on the
average of one month, but the exact
time depends on when the owner does
the payroll.
 An approach to
the study of
learning that
focuses on the
thought processes
that underlie
learning.
1. Concept learning
 Concepts are
generalized symbolic
responses to represent
similar stimuli or
situations.
 Concepts are either
abstract or concrete
(Ariola, 2000)
2. Insight Learning
 is a mental process
marked by sudden and
expected solution to a
problem, a
phenomenon often
called the “ah-ha!”
experience.
3. Observational learning
 is learning by observing the behavior of
another person or a model.
 Psychologist formulate the laws of learning
to make learning effective when properly
used. Some of these laws are described
below. Edward Lee Thorndike proposed the
primary laws of learning (laws of effect,
readiness and exercise). Other psychologists
proposed the laws of apperception,
association, frequency and recency, intensity,
and the law of forgetting (Ariola, 2000).
A. The law of Effect
 states that if the
responses are
rewarded and the
reward is satisfying
or pleasant, the
connection or
behavior is
strengthened.
B. The law of Readiness
 states that when an
individual is ready (matured)
to act, doing it is satisfying;
not doing it is annoying or
when an individual is not
ready (not matured) to act,
trying to do it is annoying
and frustrating.
C. The law of Exercise
 states that the more connections are
exercised, the stronger the connections
become.
D. The law of apperception
 states that when a new experience is
connected or integrated with the past
experiences, learning is effective.
E. The law of association
 It points out that the
more experiences are
associated or related to
each other to form new
connections, the better
is the learning.
F. The law of frequency
 states that the more frequent a
response is made, the easier is the
stimulus recalled while the law of
recency stresses that if there are several
responses made to a stimulus, the more
recent one is easily learned of recalled.
G. The law of intensity
 states that the more
intense is the
connection, the
stronger is the
connection, and
consequently
learning is effective.
H. The law of primacy
 states that the first
learned act will be
better remembered
that acts learned later.
I. The law of forgetting
 states that
meaningful stimuli
are easily learned and
less likely forgotten
than non-meaningful
stimuli