Learning Class 11 Psychology

Learning

The definition of learning can be described as a "long-lasting modification in behavior or potential behavior that is the result of an individual's experiences."

• Learning can be demonstrated by changes in behavior or potential behavior that are relatively permanent and due to practice and experience.

Features of learning

• The process of learning has specific characteristics.
• Learning in Psychology always involves experiences. We go through events in a certain order repeatedly. When an event occurs, it may be followed by others. For instance, if a bell rings in the hostel after sunset, dinner is ready. Repeated satisfaction from doing something in a particular way forms a habit. Sometimes, a single experience can lead to learning. A child burns their fingers while striking a matchstick, teaching them to be cautious with matchboxes in the future.
• Behavioral changes resulting from learning are lasting.
• These changes are different from temporary changes due to fatigue, habituation, or drugs. For example, fatigue can make you stop reading or driving temporarily, which is not considered learning. Habituation occurs when continuous exposure to stimuli weakens reflexes until they vanish. Such changes are not learning. Changes in behavior caused by sedatives, drugs, or alcohol are temporary and related to physiological effects.
• Learning comprises a series of psychological events.
• If psychologists wanted to understand how a word list is learned, they would follow a specific experiment sequence: (i) conduct a pre-test to assess initial knowledge, (ii) present the word list to be memorized for a set time, (iii) process the word list for acquiring new knowledge, (iv) acquire new knowledge (learning) after processing, and (v) recall the processed information after some time elapses. Comparing the person's knowledge before and after learning confirms the occurrence of learning, which is distinct from performance.

Paradigms of learning

• Learning Methods: Different methods are employed to learn simple and complex responses.
• Conditioning:
  • Classical Conditioning: Learning by associating a neutral stimulus with a significant stimulus to elicit a response.
  • Instrumental/Operant Conditioning: Learning through rewards and punishments to reinforce or diminish behaviors.
• Observational Learning: Learning by observing and imitating others’ actions and behaviors.
• Cognitive Learning: Involves mental processes like thinking, remembering, and problem-solving.
• Verbal Learning: Acquiring information through language and verbal communication.
• Skill Learning: Learning physical or cognitive skills through practice and repetition.

• Types of conditioning

Classical Conditioning

• The conditioned stimulus (CS) is a stimulus that has been learned through prior experience. It is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) to elicit an unconditioned response (UCR). Over time, the CS becomes associated with the UCS and comes to elicit a conditioned response (CR) that is similar to the UCR.
• Classical conditioning is based on the temporal association between a neutral stimulus and a response that is already elicited. The CS becomes a signal that predicts the occurrence of the UCS, and as a result, the previously neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response.

• Determinants of Classical Conditioning:
  The speed and strength of learning a conditioned response in classical conditioning depend on various factors.

Time Relations between Stimuli:

• Simultaneous Conditioning: CS and US presented together.
• Delayed Conditioning: CS precedes US with some overlap.
• Trace Conditioning: CS precedes US with a gap.
• Backward Conditioning: US precedes CS (rare).
• Delayed conditioning is the most effective for acquiring a CR.

Type of Unconditioned Stimuli:

• Appetitive: Elicits approach responses.
• Aversive: Elicits avoidance responses.
• Appetitive conditioning is slower, aversive conditioning is quicker.

Intensity of Conditioned Stimuli: More intense CS accelerates conditioned response acquisition.

Operant Conditioning

This refers to a type of learning in which the consequences of a behavior bring about changes in the likelihood of its occurrence. Positive reinforcement increases the probability of a response by providing a positive outcome for the behavior. Primary reinforcers are innately reinforcing, while secondary reinforcers are learned through classical conditioning. Fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval are the four reinforcement schedules that lead to different patterns of behavior. Shaping involves the positive reinforcement of responses that increasingly resemble the desired response. Negative reinforcement occurs when the avoidance or removal of a negative event serves as a reinforcing consequence. Punishment is a process that reduces the frequency of a behavior by providing an aversive outcome for the behavior.

Skinner Box

B.F. Skinner conducted studies on operant conditioning using rats and pigeons in specially designed environments known as Skinner Boxes. These boxes allowed the animals to move around but prevented them from escaping. Inside the box, there was a lever connected to a food dispenser.

Skinner's Experiment:

1. Initial Setup:

   • A hungry rat is placed in the Skinner Box.
   • The box contains a lever and a food container that dispenses food pellets when the lever is pressed.

2. Exploratory Behavior:

   • The rat moves around the box, exploring its surroundings.
   • Accidentally, the rat presses the lever, causing a food pellet to drop onto a plate near the lever.
   • The rat eats the food pellet, satisfying its hunger.

3. Learning Process:

   • Through repeated trials, the rat continues to explore the box and occasionally presses the lever.
   • Over time, the rat learns to press the lever more quickly and efficiently to obtain food.
   • Eventually, the rat presses the lever immediately upon being placed in the box, indicating that the conditioning is complete.

In this experiment, pressing the lever is an operant response, and receiving food is the consequence of that response. This type of learning is called operant conditioning because the response (lever pressing) is instrumental in obtaining a reward (food).

Determinants of Operant Conditioning

Operant or instrumental conditioning is a type of learning where behavior is influenced by its consequences. These consequences are termed reinforcers, which are stimuli or events that increase the likelihood of a response occurring. Reinforcers come in various types such as positive or negative, differing in frequency, quality, and schedule.

Types of Reinforcement

• Positive reinforcement: Involves stimuli with pleasant outcomes that strengthen desired responses, such as food, praise, or money.
• Negative reinforcement: Includes stimuli that help organisms escape or avoid unpleasant situations, not to be confused with punishment.

Number of Reinforcement and other Features: Refers to the number of reinforcement trials and the quality of the reinforcer, which can impact the speed of conditioning.

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Reinforcement schedules affect the learning process, with continuous reinforcement reinforcing every response and partial reinforcement making responses more resistant to extinction.

Delayed Reinforcement

• Delayed reinforcement negatively impacts the effectiveness of reinforcement, leading to lower performance levels.

Key Learning Processes

• Classical vs. Operant Conditioning: The distinction lies in the control of responses by stimuli in classical conditioning and by the organism in operant conditioning.
• Learned Helplessness: A phenomenon where continuous failure leads to reduced persistence and performance, often seen in cases of depression.
• Reinforcement: Administering reinforcers to increase desired responses, with positive reinforcers enhancing response rates.
• Extinction: Disappearance of learned responses due to the absence of reinforcement.
• Generalisation and Discrimination: Processes where organisms respond to similar or different stimuli based on learned associations.
• Spontaneous Recovery: Reappearance of extinguished responses after a period, influenced by the duration of the extinction session.

Observational Learning

• In the past, it was known as imitation.
• The phenomenon of observational learning was studied by Albert Bandura and his colleagues.
• Observational learning is also known as social learning or modelling.
• They conducted a well-known experiment called the "Bobo doll" experiment.
• Observers learn by observing the model's behavior, but their performance is influenced by whether the model's behavior is rewarded or punished.
• Children often learn behaviors by observing and imitating adults.

Cognitive Learning

• Learning can result in a change in both knowledge and behavior, as seen in insight learning and latent learning.
• Insight learning refers to the sudden realization or understanding of a problem that leads to a solution without the need for trial-and-error learning.
• Kohler's experiment on chimpanzees demonstrated the occurrence of insight learning in animals.
• A sudden solution to a problem is a characteristic of insight learning.
• In insight learning, there is a specific cognitive relationship between the means and the end of a problem-solving task.

Insight Learning:

• Kohler demonstrated a model of learning that couldn't be easily explained by conditioning. 
•  He conducted experiments with chimpanzees involving solving complex problems. 
•  Food was placed out of reach in an enclosed play area with tools like poles and boxes. 
•  Chimpanzees learned to use a box to stand on or a pole to move the food. 
•  Learning occurred in sudden flashes of insight, not through trial and error. 
•  Insight learning involves sudden clarity in problem-solving without gradual progress. 
•  Once a solution is found, it can be immediately repeated in similar situations. 
•  Insight learning involves understanding the relationship between means and ends. 
•  This type of learning can be applied to other similar problem scenarios.  

Latent learning

• Learning a new behavior that is not demonstrated until reinforcement is provided is called latent learning.
• Tolman conducted an experiment on rats and made significant contributions to the study of cognitive psychology.
• In Tolman's experiment, rats learned to create cognitive maps, which is a mental representation of their environment.

Verbal Learning

Verbal Learning refers to the process of acquiring knowledge about objects and events through words. This can be achieved through various methods, such as paired-associate learning, serial learning, and free recall. The effectiveness of verbal learning is influenced by the following factors:

• The meaningfulness of the material being learned and the amount of time spent on learning it.
• Category clustering, which refers to the organization of information based on subjective categories, is a key determinant of verbal learning.

What is a Concept?

Learning can occur in the form of concepts, which involve a set of features connected with a rule or instruction. There are two types of concepts: natural and artificial.

• Natural concepts are ill-defined and difficult to learn.
• Artificial concepts are well-defined and easy to learn.

Methods used in Studying Verbal Learning

1. Paired-Associates Learning

This method is akin to stimulus-stimulus (S-S) conditioning and stimulus-response (S-R) learning. It is particularly useful for learning foreign language equivalents of native language words.

Procedure:

• A list of paired-associates is prepared, where the first word of the pair is the stimulus and the second word is the response.
• The pairs can be from the same language or different languages.
• For example, the list might include pairs where the stimulus term is a nonsense syllable (like "GEN") and the response term is an English noun (like "LOOT").
• The learner is shown both the stimulus and response terms together and asked to recall the response after seeing the stimulus.
• Learning trials continue until the participant can recall all response terms correctly without errors.
• Measure of Learning: The total number of trials needed to reach this criterion.

2. Serial Learning

This method investigates how participants learn and recall lists of verbal items in a specific sequence.

Procedure:

• Lists of items (nonsense syllables, familiar words, etc.) are prepared.
• Participants are presented with the entire list and required to recall the items in the exact order.
• The process involves showing the first item and requiring the participant to produce the second item. If they fail, the correct item is given, becoming the stimulus for the next item.
• This is called the serial anticipation method.
• Learning trials continue until the participant can correctly anticipate all items in the given order.

3. Free Recall

This method examines how participants recall words from a list in any order.

Procedure:

• Participants are presented with a list of words, which they read and then recall in any order.
• Words may be related or unrelated.
• More than ten words are usually included in the list, and the presentation order varies from trial to trial.
• This method is used to study how participants organize words for memory storage.
• Findings: Items at the beginning or end of the list are recalled more easily than those in the middle, known as the serial position effect.

Determinants of Verbal Learning

Verbal learning is influenced by several factors, primarily the features of the verbal material.

1. Length of the List: Longer lists take more time to learn.
2. Meaningfulness of Material:
   • Measured by the number of associations elicited in a fixed time.
   • Familiarity and frequency of usage.
   • Relations among words in the list.
   • Sequential dependence of each word on preceding words.

Generalizations:

• Total Time Principle: A fixed amount of time is necessary to learn a fixed amount of material, regardless of the number of trials.
• Organization in Free Recall: In free recall, participants often organize words in a new order or sequence rather than the order of presentation. This is known as category clustering, where words from the same category are recalled together.
• Intentional vs. Incidental Learning: Verbal learning can be intentional or incidental. Participants may notice features like rhyming, starting letters, or vowel similarities unintentionally.

Skill Learning

Nature of Skills

• A skill is the ability to perform tasks smoothly and efficiently.
• Examples of skills include driving, piloting, navigating, shorthand writing, and reading.
• Skills are acquired through practice and exercise.
• A skill involves a series of perceptual motor responses or S-R associations.

Phases of Skill Acquisition

• Skill learning involves several distinct phases.
• Performance improves with each attempt, becoming more automatic.
• Transitions between phases include performance plateaus and improvements.

Cognitive Phase

• Learners understand and memorize instructions in this initial phase.
• Consciousness is focused on external cues, instructional demands, and response outcomes.

Associative Phase

• Sensory inputs are linked with appropriate responses.
• Errors decrease, performance improves, and time taken is reduced with practice.

Autonomous Phase

• Attentional demands decrease, and external interference reduces in this final phase.
• Skilled performance becomes automatic with minimal conscious effort.

Practice is emphasized as the key to skill learning. Improvement and automaticity come with continued exercise and practice.

Factors Facilitating Learning

 In the previous section, we explored factors such as the timing of presenting conditioned and unconditioned stimuli in classical conditioning, reinforcement aspects in operant conditioning, model characteristics in observational learning, learning procedures in verbal learning, and perceptual features in concept learning.

Continuous vs Partial Reinforcement:

• Continuous Reinforcement: Reinforcement is provided after each desired response, leading to high response rates. However, when reinforcement stops, responses decrease rapidly, and the learned behaviors extinguish quickly.
• Partial Reinforcement: In this type, only some responses are reinforced, leading to intermittent reinforcement. This can result in high response rates, especially with ratio reinforcement, making it challenging to distinguish between when reinforcement is present or not.
• Partial Reinforcement Effect: Behaviors learned under partial reinforcement are more resistant to extinction compared to those under continuous reinforcement.

Motivation: Motivation is a psychological and physiological state that drives organisms to act towards fulfilling their needs. It is essential for learning as it energizes individuals to pursue goals until needs are met.

Preparedness for Learning: Different species have varying sensory abilities and learning capacities. The concept of preparedness suggests that organisms can more easily learn associations they are genetically predisposed for, with varying difficulty levels across species.

Learning Disabilities

• Learning disability is a broad term that encompasses a diverse range of disorders that lead to challenges in acquiring skills related to reading, writing, speaking, reasoning, and mathematics. These difficulties are inherent in the child.
• The root cause of learning disabilities can be traced back to issues in the central nervous system, and they can occur in combination with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, or intellectual disabilities, or without any of these.
• It is possible to treat learning disabilities.

Symptoms of learning disability

• Writing letters, words, and phrases, reading text aloud, and speaking can be challenging for individuals with learning disabilities.
• Children with learning disabilities often have attention disorders.
• Common symptoms include poor spatial orientation and a limited sense of time.
• Limited manual dexterity and poor motor coordination are also common.
• These children struggle to comprehend and follow oral instructions.
• They may have difficulty distinguishing between friendly and indifferent classmates.
• They struggle to understand nonverbal communication.
• Perceptual disorders are often seen in children with learning disabilities.
• Dyslexia is a frequently occurring condition in individuals with learning disabilities.

What is a Learning Curve?

Psychologists have contrasting views on whether learning occurs through neural connections between specific stimuli and responses or through changes in cognition. Evidence supporting the cognitive perspective includes Tolman's research on place learning and latent learning, Kohler's studies on insight learning, and Bandura's work on modeling. 

The learning curve, a graphical representation of the relationship between changes in performance and the duration of the learning experience, can be explained in the following steps:

• The learning curve is a graph.
• The graph illustrates the relationship between changes in performance and the duration of the learning experience.
• The horizontal axis of the learning curve represents the number of practice trials.
• The vertical axis represents the degree of learning, measured in terms of the number of errors, correct responses, time taken, and other relevant measures.