LEARNING THEORIES RELEVANT TO PSYCHOLOGY.pptx

Learning theories in psychology

1. LEARNING THEORIES

2. INTRODUCTION LEARNING IS A KEY PROCESS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOUR RELATIVELY PERMANENT CHANGE IN BEHAVIOUR THAT OCCURS AS A RESULT OF PRACTICE OR EXPERIENCE 3 ELEMENTS Change in behaviour , for better or worse Change that takes place through practice or experience Change must be relatively permanent

3. Types : Based on the way of acquiring

4. BASED ON ACTIVITY

5. PROCESS OF LEARNING MOTIVE OR DRIVE: Dynamic force that energizes behaviour and compels an individual to act GOAL: A definite goal makes learning purposeful and interesting OBSTACLE/BLOCK/BARRIER: Equally imp in the process of learning

6. THEORIES 3 MAIN CATEGORIES: BEHAVIOURAL: focuses on objectively observable aspect of learning COGNITIVE: looks beyond behaviour to explain brain based learning CONSTRUCTIVISM: process where learner actively builds new ideas

7. BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES

8. BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES 2 CATEGORIES: S-R (STIMULUS-RESPONSE) THEORY WITHOUT REINFORCEMENT: Classical conditioning S-R (STIMULUS-RESPONSE) THEORY WITH REINFORCEMENT: Trial and error theory Operant conditioning

9. S-R (STIMULUS-RESPONSE) THEORY WITHOUT REINFORCEMENT :

10. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING EXPLAINED THROUGH THE CLASSICAL EXPERIMENTS OF IVAN P PAVLOV CALLED RESPONDANT CONDITIONING OR PAVLOVIAN CONDITIONING DEFINITION: A type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus

11. ACQUISITION OR LEARNING OF CONDITIONED RESPONSES TO MEASURE HOW MUCH A DOG’S MOUTH WATERS IN RESPONSE TO FOOD OR OTHER THINGS IN THE ENVIRONMENT

12. Principles of classical conditioning

13. EXTINCTION Occurs when the CS is presented alone without the US for a number of trials The strength or the magnitude of CR gradually decreases when this occurs Eg - the number of drops of saliva decreases over unpaired trials

14. Why does extinction occurs? Pavlov thought of conditioning in terms of 2 opposing tendencies Excitation – more imp during acquisition Inhibition - builds up to supress conditioned responding During extinction, the CS is no longer paired with the US , the CS ceases to be a signal for US, the CS becomes a neutral stimulus as before.

15. SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY Sometimes there is the weak appearance of a previously extinguished response This shows that extinction procedure while decreasing the magnitude of CR does not entirely remove the tendency to response to the CS Eg - the day after the extinction CS is presented to the dog – magnitude of CR will probably be much greater than it was at the end of extinction day before

16. STIMULUS GENERALIZATION CR occurs to stimuli that have never been paired with a specific US EG- Pavlov discovered that if he conditioned an animal to salivate at the sound of the bell , it would also salivate at the end of a buzzer or the beat of a metronome Eg - development of irrational fear or phobias in children. Little albert experiment.

17. STIMULUS DISCRIMINATION Process of learning to make one response to one stimulus, and a different response or no response to another stimulus Eg - an CS+ is paired with an US but CS- is not. As more trials are given, strong conditioned response are produced by the CS+ and little conditioning occurs to CS-

18. TYPES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: FORWARD CONDITIONING : During forward the onset of the conditioned stimulus (CS) precedes the onset of unconditioned stimulus(US) Learning the fastest in forward conditioning. Two Types: Delay Conditioning Trace conditioning

19. TYPES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: Delay conditioning The conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented and is overlapped by the presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (US). Trace conditioning The conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented and a brief period is allowed to elapse during which no stimulus is presented and then the unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented.

20. Backward Conditioning: Backward conditioning occurs when a conditional stimulus (CS) immediately follows an unconditional stimulus (US).

21. S-R THEORY WITH REINFORCEMENT

22. OPERANT CONDITIONING Also called Instrumental conditioning. This term was coined by B.F. Skinner . Term coined to indicate that when a response operates on the environment, it may have consequences that can affect the likelihood that the response will occur again.

23. OPERANT CONDITIONING REINFORCER/REINFORCEMENT: An environmental event that is the consequence of an instrumental response and that makes that response more likely to occur again. Positive reinforcer : stimulus or event which increases the likelihood that the response will be made again.Eg -mother praises her son for doing his homework.

24. Negative reinforcer : stimulus which, when its cessation or termination is contingent, increases the likelihood that the response will occur again. Eg - a child does the dishes in order to stop mother's nagging.

25. OPERANT CONDITIONING- PUNISHMENT Stimulus or event which, when its onset is contingent on a response, decreases the likelihood that the response will occur again. Eg - a child touches hot stove and feels pain Responses followed by punishers tend not to be repeated, while those followed by negative reinforcers tend to be repeated.

26. OPERANT CONDITIONING OMISSION OF REINFORCEMENT : Positive reinforcement is withdrawn following a response. To decrease the likelihood of the response that led to the removal of positive reinforcement. Eg - parents turning off the television (+) and sending a child to his/her room following some behavior.

27. OPERANT CONDITIONING TYPES OF REINFORCEMENT AND PUNISHMENT

28. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT THORNDIKE'S EXPERIMENT : cats in a puzzle box- 1st systematic study Hungry cat locked in a puzzle box made of slats through which could see a dish of food on the floor outside. String from the door latch led over a pulley to a wire loop hanging in the box. If the cat clawed at the loop- door open First few trials- accidentally pulled the loop. Eventually escaped as soon as put in the box.

29. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT SKINNER'S EXPERIMENT : rats and pigeons in an operant chamber. An operant chamber is a simple box with a device at one end that can be worked by the animal in the box. For cats, monkeys- lever For pigeons- key which can be pecked Positive reinforcement is contingent upon pressing the lever or the key. Since the responses are positively reinforced, they increase in frequency.

30. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT First step- delivery of food pellets by the examiner from a push button switch outside. Next step- the rat is left alone in the box with the lever, which will release the pellets. After a period of inactivity, presses the lever accidentally- food pellet released. Usually after the 4th or 5th press the rat begins to press the lever more rapidly- operant behavior in full swing.

31. EXTINCTION The procedure of not reinforcing a particular response If it continues long enough-likelihood of a response will decrease to about its level before it was reinforced. Eg - rat will gradually decrease its rate of responding if it is not fed, until it only occasionally presses the lever.

32. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT : PRIMARY REINFORCERS : Positive reinforcers who work the first time they are made contingent on a response with no previous special training. CONDITIONED/SECONDARY REINFORCERS : The learner must have had experience Ability to reinforce depends on learning Stimuli become conditioned reinforcers by pairing with primary reinforcers .

33. OPERANT CONDITIONING STIMULUS GENERALISATION STIMULUS DISCRIMINATION

34. SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES CONTINOUS INTERMITTENT

35. OPERANT CODITIONING ESCAPE LEARNING- based on negative reinforcement. Attempt is to terminate the unpleasant stimulus. Eg - compartment A (painted white and has floor of metal rods through which mild electric shock can be delivered) Compartment B (plain wooden floor and is painted black) More trials: leap over the other hurdle soon after shock (learns to make the response that terminates the noxious stimulus) Eg - fire beaks out in a building and one exits

36. OPERANT CODITIONING AVOIDANCE LEARNING : A noxious stimulus (shock) is avoided by the response. Eg - in the previous example, buzzer is on for a few seconds before the floor is electrified. If the rat jumps the hurdle between compartments within 5secs between buzzer and shock, buzzer is turned off and shock is avoided. <5secs- avoidance learning Eg - fire breaks out but the alarm rings before it spreads

37. PUNISHMENT Refers to the use of punishers to suppress or stop a response from occurring in the future. Because punishers stop the behavior leading to them, they promote the learning of what not to do.

38. PUNISHMENT The stronger the response tendency being punished, the less effective a given strength of punishment will be. People and animals adapt to punishment, and this may weaken its effectiveness. Punishment can be effective if it is used to suppress one behavior while at the same time, positive reinforcement is used to make another behavior more likely to occur.

39. LIMITATIONS OF BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES One-dimensional approach to understanding human behavior. Behavioral theories do not account for free will or internal influences such as moods, thoughts, and feelings. People and animals can adapt their behavior when new information is introduced, even if that behavior was established through reinforcement.

40. COGNITIVE THEORIES Gestalt Theory Social-cognitive learning theory Tolman’s Sign Learning Information-Processing theories

41. COGNITIVE LEARNING Menzel experiment : 4 young chimpanzees- Belle, Bandit, Bido and Gigi . Experiment began with an experimenter picking up one of thechimps and carried it around the field while another hid food tidbits in 18 places while the chimp watched. The experimental animal ran into the nearby hiding places and found the food. Did not wander around in haphazard fashion.

42. COGNITIVE LEARNING The theorist eventually determined that individuals develop cognitive maps of the environment that formulate the basis for perceptions and expectations. Cognitive mapping involves the psychological processes that develop one's viewpoints about relative locations and attributes in one's environment.

43. COGNITIVE LEARNING Cognition refers to the processing of the information about the environment that is received through the senses. Cognitive process involve: The selection of information The making of alterations in selected information. The association of items of info with each other. The elaboration of info in thought. The storage of information. Retrieval

44. LATENT LEARNING Learning that occurs but is not evident in behaviour until later, when conditions for its appearance are favourable Said to occur without reinforcement of particular responses and seems to involve changes in the ways information is processed.

45. INSIGHT LEARNING THEORY Learning is the development of insight, which is primarily concerned with the nature of perception. 3 major characteristics : The solution comes suddenly after a period during which various response strategies are tried. Perceptual rearrangement plays a great deal The solution can be generalized to other, similar number of problems.

46. INSIGHT LEARNING THEORY Wolfgang Kohler : A food morsel was placed outside the cage at a distance too far for the chimp to reach. Inside the cage- short stick, another loner stick outside. After some trial and error, it visually surveys the sticks and the food and solves the problem using the short stick to rake in the longer stick and then the food.

47. LIMITATIONS Abstract nature of thoughts and the difficulty in defining them. Use of laboratory experiments by cognitive psychology has low ecological validity and creates an artificial environment due to the control over variables. In information processing theory, the approach is reductionist as it does not consider emotions and motivation, which influence the processing of information and memory.

48. BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT

49. Social learning theory BANDURA AND WALTERS:

50. SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, an environmental influences. 4 Step Pattern - Attention, Retention, Production and Motivation.

51. CONSTRUCTIVISM Constructivism is a theory that equates learning with creating meaning from experience (Bednar et al., 1991). Constructivism is considered to be a branch of cognitivism (both conceive of learning as a mental activity)

52. It distinguishes itself from traditional cognitive theories in many ways Most cognitive psychologists think of the mind as a reference tool tothe real world; constructivists believe that the mind filters input from the world to produce its own unique reality Learning is based on how individual interprets and creates meaning of their individual experiences.

53. LIMITATIONS Lack of structure or disorganized. The process of learning becomes individualized, so general assessment become redundant. Difficult to experimentally demonstrate becomes difficult as well.

54. FIELD THEORY OF LEARNING Kurt Lewin (1890-1947 ) He proposed that human behavior is a function of both the person and the environment in which the behavior takes place, including the social parameters.

55. Lewin has classified learning into the following categories: 1. Learning is a change in cognitive structure. 2. Learning is a change in motivation, i.e., in valences and values. 3. Learning is acquisition of skills.

56. IN DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS Anxiety disorders: fear conditioning and social learning Phobias: maintained by Mowrer's 2 stage model, Rachman's model to fear development Panic disorders: alarm theory OCD PTSD Substance use disorders: operant and classical conditioning Depressive disorder: learned helplessness Conduct disorder: observational learning Suicide: social learning

57. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING TYPES Systematic desensitization : process of reducing non-adaptive anxiety responses through responses competitive with anxiety. Flooding : Confronting the stimulus that elicits an undesirable behaviour / response. Aversive Therapy : Noxious stimuli coupled with undesired behaviour eg in paraphilia

58. OPERANT CONDITIONING Reinforcement Token economy : Tokens (stars, tickets) given in response to specific target behaviors that can be exchanged for a variety of other rewards. Differential reinforcement : Contingent application of reinforcement to designated target behaviour + withholding reinforcement for other designated behaviours

59. OPERANT CONDITIONING Shaping : Initially simple response is reinforced as mastery develops reinforcement given to more complex tasks Covert sensitization : Both target behavior & consequences are imagined by client. Eg drinking alcohol, stealing Punishment

60. SOCIAL LEARNING MODELING: Learning target behaviours by observing demonstrations of behaviour (live, pictorial or imagined) and its consequences.

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