QUESTION 9
Discuss the following theories of learning
a) Operant conditioning
b) Classical learning
c) Observational learning
Question 9b
Classical conditioning
It is the ability acquired by the stimulus to cause a response that was previously caused by another
stimulus. It forms an association between two stimuli i.e. an association between a conditioned
stimulus and unconditioned stimulus to produce a desired response in an organism.
An example of classical conditioning was exhibited by Russian’s physiologist,
Ivan Pavlov, where a dog was subjected to a bell and food to trigger salvation.
In Pavlov experiment, the bell was a neutral stimulus while the food was unconditioned stimulus.
The food triggered salivation unconditionally.
Before conditioning, the bell was a neutral stimulus and did not trigger salvation in the dog however
during conditioning the bell was rang and food was given to the dog immediately. This was repeated
several times.
Over period of time, the bell alone began to trigger salvation in the dog even before the food is
provided hence it became a conditioned stimulus and salvation by the dog became conditioned
response.
Classical conditioning is thus important as it is fundamental to learning about relationship among
environmental events, allowing exploration of the nature of associative learning.
Classical conditioning operates under the following principles
Acquisition; Is the stage when the stimulus in question generates a condition response. It is the
initial stage of learning when responses are established and gradually strengthened as result of
repeated pairing.
Extinction; is the process of unlearning a conditioned response by weakening it, leading to its
disappearance.
Spontaneous recovery; is the relearning of an extinct response. For example a person who left
smoking would feel like smoking at a sight of someone else smoking.
Discrimination; is the process by which an organism learns to restrict it response to one specific
stimulus, differentiating between similar stimuli.
Higher order conditioning; Is a process by which already conditioned stimulus is repeatedly paired
with a neutral stimulus and ultimately the neutral stimulus begins to evoke the same response as the
original stimulus.
Classical conditioning is applied to our everyday life in the following ways; Negative and positive
emotional response, psychotherapy, advertising, conditioned drug response and over eating.
It is applied in counseling for example use of attractive learning aid, encouraging client and smiling at
them when they come for counseling, etc.
Question 9a
Operant conditioning
It is a form of learning in which the consequence of a behavior leads to change in a probability that a
behavior will occur. It forms an association between a behavior and a consequence. Consequences
have to be immediate or directly linked to behavior. For example one tells a friend that he will buy
her supper because she helped him with a course work.
Consequence is divided into two i.e. reinforcement and punishment
Punishment is a consequence that decreases the probability that a behavior will occur. It is also
divided into positive and negative punishments.
Reinforcement is the consequence that increases the probability that a behavior will occur. It is also
divided into positive and negative reinforcement.
Reinforcement is further divided in schedules which include the following;
Fixed ratio schedule
Variable ratio schedule
Fixed variable schedule
Variable interval schedule
Question 9c
Observation learning
It is also called cognitive approach to learning.
It is a form of learning as a result of observing and imitating others people’s behavior and
characteristics. It involves four processes; attention, retention, production and motivation.
Attention; To imitate a model’s behavior one must pay attention to what the model is doing or
saying. For example, if one wants to copy who his friend is walking, he must observe him and
carefully do what he is doing.
Retention; One requires to memorize the model’s actions for future retrieval in order to produce the
similar action.
Production; students must be physically capable of producing the model’s actions; they need to
practice and coach before they reproduce the model’s actions.
Motivation; the students must be motived to demonstrate the model’s actions. Thus reinforcement
can be used in observation learning, for example, when a teacher buys a sweet for the best student
in class, the others can learn though observation.
Observation learning is applicable in counseling through the following ways;
Use of high achieving and successful peers as models.
Demonstrate and teach good behavior, etc.
It can also be applied in real life situations such as overcoming fear in children, assertive training,
treating fear of medical treatment and surgery, classroom performance among others.
Learning gender roles, adopting new fashion, drug abuse etc. can also be learnt through observation
of others performing the same act.