Learning theories

Sr. Le Thi Phuong Nhu Fundamental Psychology November 4th, 2015 Prof. Mae R. Rafaran LEARNING THEORIES What is learning? According to behaviorists, learning is defined is a relatively permanent change in behavior that results from experience. According to cognitive theorists, learning is the process by which organisms make relatively permanent change in the way they represent the environment because of practice or experience. There are 3 types of learning: Classical Conditioning, Social Conditioning and Operant Conditioning. 1. Classical Conditioning Definition: Classical Conditioning is a simple form of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to evokethe response usually evoked by another stimulus by being paired repeatedly with the other stimulus. Stimulus ia an environment condition theat elicits a response. This type of learning is contributed by Ivan Pavlov who is Russian Scientist ( 1849­1936). While studying digestion in dogs, he noted that the dogs would often start to salivate even before they saw food. There are four main elements of classical conditioning: Unconditioned stimulus: an original stimulus that elicits a certain reaction. Unconditioned response: a natural response to that original stimulus. Conditioned stimulus: a new stimulus that, through pairings, later comes to elicit a desired response. Conditioned response: the response that occur to newly conditioned stimulus. 2. Operant Conditioning ( instrumental conditioning) Definition: Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which behaviour is controlled by rewards or positive reinforcers, or by unpleasant or aversive stimuli. Page 1 of 3 Sr. Le Thi Phuong Nhu Fundamental Psychology November 4th, 2015 Prof. Mae R. Rafaran Another definiton: operant conditioning is simple form of learning in which an organism learns to engage in behavior because it is reinforced. Operant conditioning is coined by B.F.Skinner who has theory “Reinforcement”. Besides, Edward L. Thorndike also contributed this type with theory “Law of Effect. Law of Effect : Thorndike inferred “ law of effect” from experiment of “cat with puzzle box”. Cat would learn how to escape outside of puzzle box. This theory have 2 main terms: ­ Punishment which is an unpleasant stimulus that suppresses the behavior it follows. ­ Reward which a plesant stimulus that increases the frequency of the behavior it follows. Reinforcement is taken out experiment’s “ Project Pigeon”. Sinner created a missile that could use pigeons to guide the missile to its target during the world war II. Reinforcement have two types: positive and negative reinforcer. Positive reinforcers increase the probability that abehavior will occur when they are applied ( eg: food). Negative reinforcers increase the probability that behavior will occur when the reinforcers are removed. 3. Social –Cognitive Theory Definition: Learning occur as a result of watching someone else perform some action and experience reinforcement or punishment. Another definition is social learning occurs when we observe the behavior of others, as well as environmental outcomes of the behavior we observe. In social learning, we do not learn directly, but rather vicariously. Therefore, learning of this type also is called observational or modeling learning. This type is contributed by Albert Bundura. He has suggested that 4 conditions are necessary for social learning to take place: Attention to the behavior on which the learning might be based. Retension of the observed scene when opportunity arise later to exploit the learning. Motivation to reproduce the observed behavior. Potential reproduction of the behavior . Page 2 of 3 Sr. Le Thi Phuong Nhu Fundamental Psychology November 4th, 2015 Prof. Mae R. Rafaran REFERENCES 1. Sternberg, Robert J, PhD. ( 1997). Introdution to Psychology. Harcourt Brace and Company. ( p.89­97) 2. Helen Bee and Denise Boyd. ( 2002). Lifespan Development, 3th edition. Allyn & Bacon. ( p.33­36) 3. Rathus, Spencer A. ( 2014). Psychology, 3th edition. Cengage Learning. ( p. 111­129) 4. Eysenek, Michael W. ( 2002). Simply Psychology, 2nd edition. Part 2, Behaviourist Approach. ( p. 96­100) 5. Santrock, John W. ( 2003) Psychology Essentias 2. Higher Education. ( p. 194 ­227) Page 3 of 3 ... - tailieumienphi.vn