BEHAVIORAL

LEARNING THEORY
WHAT IS LEARNING?

Learning is permanent change in behaviour brought about by experience and practice. It’s a
process of memory; without a ability to remember what happens one cannot learn anything.
( once something is learned it’s always present somewhere in memory).

Learning from experience : you hit the rock with leg, it hurts and pain. From this new
experience you learn you won’t hit that rock again.

Learning from practice: Practice speaking and listening a new language regularly will let
you learn a new language.
 BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORY

Behavioral learning theory is concerned with observable results. It emphasizes the

role of environmental factors in influencing behavior, to the near exclusion of innate or
inherited factors.

Types of Behavioral learning theory :

Operant Conditioning – Learning through consequences (B.F Skinner)

Classical Conditioning- Learning through association (Ivan Pavlov)
Observational Learning- Learning through observation (Bandura)
 OPERANT CONDITIONING

Operant conditioning can be described as a process that attempts to modify behavior through
the use of reinforcement and punishment. Through operant conditioning, an individual
makes an association between a particular behavior and a consequence

Skinner used the term ‘Operant’ to refer to any active behavior that operates upon the
environment to generate consequences.
 TYPES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

Reinforcement: To increase the desired behavior or strengthened

the behavior.

Positive reinforcement: It is adding a pleasant stimulus to

enhance the desired behavior.

E.g., A mother gives her daughter a toy (Pleasant stimulus) for

doing homework (desired behavior).

A father praises his son for getting first position in class.

Negative reinforcement: Removing an aversive stimulus to enhance the desired
behavior.

E.g., To stop his mother’s nagging (aversive stimulus) Ali does his chores (desired
behavior).

To avoid teacher anger student will submit assignment on time.

Punishment : It is used to reduce an undesired behavior.

Positive Punishment: It is adding an aversive stimulus to stop undesired behavior.

E.g., Mom gives child a time out (aversive stimulus) for lying (Undesired behavior).

Ahmed was assigned extra home work because he was late to school.

Negative Punishment: It is removing a pleasant stimulus to stop undesired behavior.

E.g., Saba T.V time was cut by 20 mint (pleasant stimulus) because she did not listen to
her mom (Undesired behavior).

A child does not put his bike away so the parents lock it up for a certain time.
 Reinforcement VS Punishment

Add/Remove Stimulus
Behavior

Positive Reinforcement Add Pleasant stimulus Enhance

Desired behavior

Negative Reinforcement Remove Aversive stimulus Enhance

Desired behavior

Positive Punishment Add Aversive stimulus Decrease

Undesired behavior

Negative Punishment Remove Pleasant stimulus Decrease

Undesired behavior
 WHAT IS CLASSICAL CONDITIONING?

A form of learning in which one stimulus is paired with another so that

the organism learns a relationship between the stimuli. In simple terms two
stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response in a person or
animal.
 PAVLOV’S DOG EXPERIMENT

Pavlov paired the meat powder with various stimuli such as the ringing of a bell. After
the meat powder and bell (auditory stimulus) were presented together several times, the bell
was used alone. Pavlov’s dogs, as predicted, responded by salivating to the sound of the bell
(without the food). The bell began as a neutral stimulus (i.e. the bell itself did not produce
the dogs’ salivation). However, by pairing the bell with the stimulus that did produce the
salivation response, the bell was able to acquire the ability to trigger the salivation response.
Pavlov therefore demonstrated how stimulus-response bonds are formed. 
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): is one that unconditionally, naturally, and automatically triggers a
response. In other words, the response takes place without any prior learning. E.g., when you smell one
of your favorite foods, you may immediately feel hungry. In this example, the smell of the food is the
unconditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned response: is an unlearned response that occurs naturally in reaction to the

unconditioned stimulus. E.g., if the smell of food is the unconditioned stimulus, the feeling of hunger in
response to the smell of food is the unconditioned response.

Conditioned Response (CR): The conditioned response is the learned response to the previously
neutral stimulus. A response elicited by an initially neutral stimulus, the conditioned stimulus (CS) after
it has been paired repeatedly with an unconditioned stimulus (US).

Conditioned Stimulus (CS): It is a neutral stimulus that triggers some sort of response when paired or
associated with an unconditioned stimulus (natural stimulus).  An initially neutral stimulus that comes
to elicit a new response due to pairings with the unconditioned stimulus.
Example : Suppose that the smell of food is an unconditioned stimulus, a feeling of hunger
in response to the smell is an unconditioned response, and the sound of a whistle when you
smell the food is the conditioned stimulus. The conditioned response would be feeling
hungry when you heard the sound of the whistle.
 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

Observational Learning Theory: A process through which we watch how others behave
and learn from their examples.

Behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning.
Children observe the people around them behaving in various ways. Individuals that are
observed are called models. In society, children are surrounded by many influential models,
such as parents within the family, characters on TV, friends within their peer group and
teachers at school. 
SCIENTIFIC METHOD: CAN CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
ESTABLISH AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE?

Method : “Little Albert”a normal, 9-month-old infant was presented with a white rat. When Albert
reached out to touch the creature, a researcher struck a steel bar with a hammer, producing a loud,
startling noise. This pairing (rat + loud noise) was repeated several times.

Results: Little Albert showed intense fear the moment the rat came into view. Albert also exhibited
fear of other furry animals, like this rabbit.

Conclusion: Classical conditioning can establish strong fearful responses. This may provide insight
into how some phobias develop.
SCIENTIFIC METHOD: CAN CHILDREN LEARN TO BE AGGRESSIVE
THROUGH OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING?

Method: Two groups of children were each shown a different short film of an adult
playing with a large inflatable “Bobo” doll. In one video the adult played quietly with the
doll. In the other the adult hit and kicked the doll.

Results : When children were allowed to play with the doll later, those who had seen the
aggressive play were much more likely to hit and kick the doll, as they had seen the adult
do.

Conclusion: Observational learning can have a powerful effect on aggression, violence

and other social behaviors.