MODULE 2: LEARNING

What Is Learning?

• Think about the time you learned to ride a

bicycle. What was that like?

• How did this affect your thoughts, emotions,

and behavior?

• What was the difference between before and

after learning?

• How did things change between the 1st, 10th,

and 100th time you rode?

• Pair up and write your own definition of learning

based on this reflection.
Definition of Learning

• Learning is a relatively permanent change in

behavior brought about by experience or
practice.

• Let’s break that definition down and understand

each part.
Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior
brought about by experience or practice.

• When we learn, the brain develops new neural

connections — a process called
neuroplasticity.

• These changes help us retain and recall what

we’ve learned.

• Learning and memory are interconnected:

memory stores what learning produces.

• Example: You can still ride a bicycle after a long

break because your brain retains the skill.
Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior brought
about by experience or practice.

• Learning can start as a mental process

• Give an example

• Example: knowing smoking is harmful

• Learning is complete when it results in a change

in behavior (e.g., choosing not to smoke)
Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior brought
about by experience or practice.

• What happens when a child throws a wrapper

on the ground, gets a stern look from their
mother and she makes them pick it up
everytime?

• Learning isn’t just about an action—it’s about

learning the action and its consequences
(desirable and undesirable).

• This reflects learning through experience.

• Example: A child throws a wrapper and is

corrected. They learn not to do it again.
Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior brought
about by experience or practice.

• What happens if you don’t ride your bicycle for a long

time?

• Without practice, learning may fade or become harder

to retrieve.

• That’s why the change is considered ‘relatively’

permanent—if you don’t use it, you can forget it.

• Practice strengthens memory, improves skill, and

builds confidence.

• Experience alone isn’t enough—consistent repetition

is essential.
Is Walking a Learned Behavior?
Do Experience and Practice enable Learning?

• Walking first requires maturation (changes

controlled by a genetic blueprint) —brain
development, balance, and muscle strength.

• Once these are in place, practice and

experience help refine the ability to walk.

• This shows how learning interacts with physical

development and repetition.
Nature of Learning

• Change in behaviour (maybe desirable or

undesirable)
• Change in behaviour must be relatively
permanent
• Change in behaviour must be based on
practice, experience or training (not due to
maturation)
• Reinforcement (practice must be reinforced for
learning to occur)
• Learning in reflected in behaviour (and
behaviour potentiality – the likelihood or
potential of an individual to exhibit a particular
behaviour in a situation)
Other Definitions of Learning

• According to E.R. Hilgard, “Learning is a

relatively permanent change in behaviour that
occurs as a result of a prior experience.”

• According to [Link] Gehee, “Learning has taken

place if an individual behaves, reacts, responds
as a result of experience in a manner different
from the way he formerly behaved.”
Types of Learning

• Motor Learning
• Involved in most day-to-day activities (like
walking, running, skating, driving, climbing,
etc)
• All these activities involve muscular
coordination, balance.
• Verbal Learning
• Involves the language we speak, the
communication devices we use.
• Signs, pictures, symbols, words, figures,
sounds, etc, are the tools used in such
activities.
• Let’s do an activity!
• Some of these cards belong to a
category based on a rule. Your task is to
figure out the rule.
• Tell me which of these cards you think
belong to a group, I will give you
feedback on your answer in the form of
‘yes’ or ‘no’
Types of Learning

• Concept Learning
• The process by which individuals learn to
categorize objects, events, or ideas into mental
groupings based on shared characteristics
• Requires higher order mental processes like
thinking, reasoning, intelligence, etc.
• We learn different concepts from childhood. For
example, when we see a dog and attach the
term ‘dog’, we learn that the word dog refers to
a particular animal.
• Concept learning involves two processes, viz.
abstraction and generalisation.
• This learning is very useful in recognising,
identifying things.
Types of Learning

• Discrimination Learning

• Since concepts have a list of features

associated with them, they also help us
understand what is not a part of the concept

• Discrimination learning is differentiating

between stimuli and showing an appropriate
response to these stimuli

• Example, sound horns of different vehicles like

bus, car, ambulance, etc
 1. Lantern
Let’s do an activity!
2. Voyage
3. Elastic
• I will read out 15 words to you at the rate of
4. Fragile
one word per second. You have to listen to
5. Harvest
the words carefully.
6. Tunnel
• Once I am done reading, you will have two 7. Ancient
minutes to write down as many words as you 8. Whisper
remember, the order of the words is not 9. Compass
important. 10. Thunder
11. Marble
• How many did you remember?
[Link]
• Why is it that although the testing conditions
13. Candle
were same for everyone, your performance
14. Ladder
varied? 15. Fabric
Factors Affecting Learning

• Intelligence
• Spearman – general factor and specific factors
• Thurstone – seven primary mental abilities
(verbal comprehension, verbal fluency,
inductive reasoning, spatial visualization,
number, memory and perceptual speed)
• Gardener (theory of multiple intelligences)
• Different kinds and definitions of intelligence
exist
• The intelligence on which one is higher will
determine what one learns, how well one learns
and how they seek engagement
Factors Affecting Learning

• Aptitude
• Specific capacities to do a task well
• For example, some are good at math while
others are good at language
• A stable ability of an individual, that is readily
available as a resource, which can be applied to
specific tasks requiring this ability, thereby
enhancing the potential for learning
• Different jobs require different skills and
corresponding aptitudes
• Knowledge about various types of aptitudes
enables us to maximise learning
• For example, employer can select employees
with specific aptitude and send them for
advanced training
Factors Affecting Learning

• Goals
• A goal is an outcome or attainment that an
individual sets and strives to accomplish
• They can be short-term, long-term or personal
or societal in nature and tangible or abstract
• Goals play a significant role in learning since
they give strength and direction to it
• The more long term a goal, the stronger and
more permanent the learning will be

• Some types of goals in the context of education

- learning goals, performance goals and
work avoidance.
Factors Affecting Learning

• Interests

• Interest is one of the most important factors

which mediates learning and which motivates to
act

• Interest may be defined as a learnt or acquired

motive stemming from some inherent needs of
the individual

• For example, if an individual has high social

needs, they will be interested in learning
activities that allow them to interact with
people such as learning to play a team sport
Factors Affecting Learning

• Readiness to Learn and Maturation

• There is an optimal or most appropriate time
for each individual to learn a specific skill or
concept with ease and efficiency
• The appropriate time depends upon ones
physical, neural and intellectual aspects of
development
• For example, a seven month old child cannot
walk since it lacks the physical maturation or
level of development required to promote
walking.
• Maturation can be best interpreted as
relatively permanent change in an individual -
be it cognitive, emotional or physical, that
occurs as a result of biological ageing,
regardless of personal experience.
Factors Affecting Learning

• Self – Concept

• Self-concept is an individual's perception of

their abilities and worth

• A positive self-concept can enhance learning by

fostering confidence and resilience

• For example, a student who believes in their

ability to learn mathematics will approach
challenges with confidence, whereas a student
with a poor self-concept may give up easily
when faced with difficulties
Factors Affecting Learning

• Attitudes and Values

• Attitudes are the learner's feelings and

predispositions towards learning, while values
are the beliefs that guide their behavior and
decision-making.

• A student who values education and has a

positive attitude towards school will be more
engaged and persistent in their studies
compared to a student who does not see the
value in education.
Factors Affecting Learning

• Level of Aspiration

• Level of aspiration refers to the learner's

ambition or the standards they set for
themselves.

• A student aspiring to graduate with honors will

likely adopt rigorous study habits and seek out
challenging coursework, aiming to meet high
academic standards, in turn having an effect on
what they decide to learn.
Factors Affecting Learning
• Learning Style

• Learning styles are the preferred ways in which

individuals absorb, process, and retain
information, such as visual, auditory, kinesthetic,
and reading/writing preferences

• For example, a visual learner may benefit from

diagrams, charts, and videos, while an auditory
learner might prefer listening to lectures and
participating in discussions Kinesthetic learners
learn best through hands-on activities and
experiments while those that prefer
reading/writing might benefit from taking
methodical notes
Factors Affecting Learning
• Socio - Cultural Determinants

• Socio-cultural determinants include the social and

cultural factors that influence learning, such as
family background, socioeconomic status, and
cultural values.

• A student from a supportive family that values

education is more likely to receive encouragement
and resources necessary for learning.

• Conversely, a student from a socioeconomically

disadvantaged background may face challenges
like limited access to educational materials and
opportunities.
Classical Conditioning
• Ivan Pavlov
• Studying the digestive system of dogs
• Built a device to measure the amount of saliva
produced by dogs when they were fed some
amount of food
• Reflex (an unlearned, involuntary response that is
not personal control or choice) of salivary glands
releasing saliva at the sight of food
• But, something surprising – some dogs would
salivate at the sight of lab assistant bringing food,
sound of clatter of food bowl, at the time of day • Stimulus: any object, event
when they were usually fed or experience that causes a
response
• Pavlov spent the rest of his career studying
classical conditioning – learning to elicit (to • Response: reaction of an
draw forth) an involuntary, reflex like response to organism
a stimulus other than the original, natural stimulus
that normally produces the response
Elements of Classical Conditioning
• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): naturally
occurring stimulus that leads to an unlearned,
involuntary response. E.g.: food
• Unconditioned Response (UCR): the
automatic, involuntary response which occurs
because of genetic “wiring” in the nervous
system. E.g.: salivation to the food
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): any kind of
stimulus could become associated with the
UCS if it is paired with the UCS often enough.
E.g.: the food dish or the bell were initially a
Neutral Stimulus (NS) because it had no
effect on salivation. After repeated pairing with
food, NS became CS. Repeated pairing of NS
with UCS is called acquisition (organism is in
the process of acquiring learning)
• Conditioned Response (CR): the response Refer to the experiment in the textbook and write about it in your answer
given to the CS which is a learned response.
E.g.: salivating at bell sound

The responses (CR and UCR) are very similar – salivation, the difference is the strength of response and
the stimuli to which they are responding
 Link to video on Classical Conditioning:

[Link]
 Classical Conditioning

• Now, let’s do an activity!

• Get in pairs. Think of a realistic everyday situation (not from the textbook) where classical
conditioning might take place.

• Identify and label:

• Neutral Stimulus

• Unconditioned Stimulus

• Unconditioned Response

• Conditioned Stimulus

• Conditioned Response
Basic Principles: Classical Conditioning

• The CS must come before the UCS

• The CS and UCS must come very close together in time, ideally no more than 5 seconds apart

• The NS must be paired with UCS several times for conditioning to take place

• The CS must be a distinctive stimulus that stands out from other competing stimuli. E.g.: don’t
use a bell as a CS in a classroom where it will ring once every half hour.
 Procedures of Classical Conditioning

• Alteration of timing between stimulus and response

• Delay Conditioning

• The conditioned stimulus is presented before the unconditioned stimulus and continues until the
food is given

• This is the most effective procedure

• E.g.: Bell rings --- continues to ring while food is given --- dog salivates

• Trace Conditioning

• The conditioned stimulus is presented and ends before the unconditioned stimulus is shown.

• A ‘trace interval’ exists where the dog must remember the bell.

• E.g.: Bell rings --- stops, short pause --- food is given --- dog salivates
 Procedures of Classical Conditioning

• Simultaneous Conditioning

• The conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus are presented at the same time.

• Learning occurs but it is usually weaker than trace or delay conditioning

• E.g.: Bell rings while food is being placed --- dog salivates

• Backward Conditioning

• The unconditioned stimulus is presented before the conditioned stimulus.

• This is the least effective procedure

• E.g.: Food is presented --- dog eats --- bell rings

 Procedures of Classical Conditioning - Examples

• Trace Conditioning

• Human learning involving conscious thought

• This conditioning is important to understand how memory and memory related parts of the brain
function

E.g., a doctor says “This might sting” (CS) → few seconds later, gives an injection (US)
The patient still flinches next time the phrase is said.

During a thunderstorm, you first see the lightening, then there is a pause and then you hear the
thunder.
 Procedures of Classical Conditioning - Examples

• Simultaneous Conditioning

• In many real life situations, it may not be possible to present CS and US in an order
Advertising
A product (CS) is shown at the same time as attractive imagery/music (US)
They happen together—no time gap—but associations still build over repeated exposure.
Emotional conditioning
A student sees a math problem (CS) while feeling test anxiety (US)
These happen simultaneously, but a negative association forms over time.
 Procedures of Classical Conditioning - Examples

• Backward Conditioning

• In many real life situations, it may not be possible to present CS and US in an order
Fear inhibition
A loud thunderclap (US) happens → then the storm clouds appear (CS)
The clouds might signal that the scary part is over.
Instead of triggering fear, the CS signals relief or safety.
Safety cues in trauma treatment
A trauma survivor may associate calm music played after a distressing event with a sense of
recovery or grounding.
The CS (music) follows the US (distress) but becomes linked to emotional regulation.
 Principles of Classical Conditioning

• Stimulus Generalization and Discrimination

• For e.g., dog salivates to the sound of the bell used to call the
lab assistant, similar to the ticking of the metronome
• Similar sounds produce a similar conditioned response;
strength is not as strong as to the original one. But, more
similar the sound, more similar the strength.
• The tendency to respond to a stimulus that is similar to the
original conditioned stimulus is called stimulus
generalization

• Dogs did not receive food after every different ticking sound. They learned to stop
responding to the ‘fake’ ticking sounds
• They learned to tell the difference between fake ticking and conditioned stimulus ticking
• The tendency to stop making a generalized response to a stimulus that is similar to the
original conditioned stimulus because the similar stimulus is never paired with the
unconditioned stimulus is called stimulus discrimination
 Principles of Classical Conditioning

• Extinction
• When the metronome ticking or the bell is repeatedly
presented in the absence of food, the salivation stops
• The disappearance or weakening of a learned response
following the removal or absence of the unconditioned
stimulus or the removal of a reinforcer is called extinction
• Presentation of CS alone leads to new learning that CS no
longer predicts UCS. So, dog stops salivating to CS
• Once conditioning is acquired, CS and CR always come before
the UCS.
• The UCS appearing serves as a reinforcer or strengthener
• Remove the UCS, CR will disappear or weaken, for some time
• However, extinction doesn’t mean the response is gone
forever.
 Principles of Classical Conditioning

• Spontaneous Recovery
• Pavlov waited a few weeks, put the metronome away.
• He put a pause on the training sessions, dogs were not
exposed to the ticking sound
• Later, when Pavlov took out the metronome again, the dog
began to salivate
• The brief recovery of the response, although weak, suggests
that it is still there (remember, relatively permanent change)
• The response is inhibited by a lack of association with the
unconditioned stimulus
• The reappearance of a learned response after extinction has
occurred is called spontaneous recovery
 Principles of Classical Conditioning

• Higher Order Conditioning

• It occurs when a strong conditioned stimulus is paired with a
neutral stimulus, causing the neutral stimulus to become a HIGHER
second conditioned stimulus
• What would happen if Pavlov snapped his fingers just before
the metronome sound or the bell?
• The sequence would now be:
• snap --- ticking --- salivation --- food
• NS ------ CS ------- CR --------- UCS
• This is paired enough times, finger snap will produce
conditioned response
• UCS has to be presented every now and then to maintain
original conditioned response
Activity

Imagine you have to train a person to do a specific behavior—but you’re not allowed to tell
them what to do. You can only use rewards or consequences to shape their actions.

- Select a target behaviour

- Answer the following questions:

- What is the target behaviour?

- How will you shape the behaviour gradually?

- Are you giving a reward or a punishment?

- What is it?

- How is this different from classical conditioning?

- While classical conditioning involves learning of involuntary, automatic responses,

operant conditioning is about learning voluntary responses.
 Operant Conditioning
• E.L. Thorndike: Puzzle Box and Cats
• Placed a hungry cat inside a “puzzle box” from which the
only escape was to press a lever located on the floor of the
box.
• A dish of food outside the box, so the hungry cat is highly
motivated to get out.
• Thorndike observed that the cat would move around the
box, pushing and rubbing up against the walls in an effort
to escape.
• Eventually, the cat would accidentally push the lever,
opening the door. Upon escaping, the cat was fed from a
dish placed just outside the box.
• This happened multiple times in which Thorndike moved
the position of the lever as well.

• Stimulus: Lever, Response: Pushing Lever

• Consequences: Food and Escape

 Operant Conditioning
• Laws of Learning

• The law of Effect states that if an action is followed by a

pleasurable consequence, it will tend to be repeated, and if
followed by an unpleasurable consequence, it will tend not to
be repeated.

• The law of Readiness states that learning is more effective

when the learner is ready and willing to learn. It is also more
effective when learner is able to connect new information to
prior experiences.

• The law of Exercise states that the strength of a connection

between a stimulus and response depends on the frequency of
their association. This law emphasizes the need for repetition.
 Operant Conditioning

• Law of Exercise subdivided into two:

• Law of Use – When a modifiable connection is made between a situation and response, that
connection’s strength is, other things being equal, increased.

• Strengthening of a connection with practice

• Law of Disuse – When a modifiable connection is not made between a situation and response, during a
length of time, that connection’s strength is decreased.

• Weakening of connection or forgetting when practice is discontinued

Operant Conditioning

• B.F. Skinner

• Proponent of Behaviourism after John Watson

• Learning of voluntary behaviour: Operant Conditioning

• Voluntary behaviour is what people and animals do to operate

in the world, to operate on their environment to get what they
want

• Operant conditioning looks at the effect of consequences on

behaviour

• While classical conditioning is about what comes before the

response, operant conditioning depends on what happens
after the response
 Operant Conditioning: Concept of Reinforcement

• Reinforcement is any event or stimulus, that when following

a response, increases the probability that the response will
occur again
• Reinforcement is the pleasurable consequence in Thorndike’s
law of effect. What was the reinforcement for the cat?
• In Skinner’s view, the reinforcement is the reason why the cat
learned anything at all
• Two kinds of reinforcers:
• Primary reinforcers fulfil basic needs like hunger, thirst or
pleasure
• Secondary reinforcers get their reinforcing properties from
being associated with primary reinforcers in the past
• For example, money, praise, grades etc
• Secondary reinforcers get their reinforcing power from the
process of classical conditioning
 Activity

Sort the following into Primary and Secondary Reinforcers

• Water
• A hug
• Salary
• Applause
• Ice cream
• Scholarship
• A warm blanket
• A good grade
• Social media likes
• Candy
• A certificate
• Wi-Fi access
 Operant Conditioning: Positive and Negative
Reinforcement
• The reinforcement of a response by addition or experiencing of
a pleasurable stimulus is positive reinforcement.
• The reinforcement of a response by the removal, escape from
or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus is negative
reinforcement.
• Sort the next few statements into the correct kind of
reinforcement:
 Operant Conditioning: Positive and Negative
Reinforcement

• Every time a machine operator notices a warning light indicating overheating, they immediately adjust
the machine’s settings to cool it down. Once the machine returns to normal operating temperature,
the warning light turns off. The operator now regularly monitors and adjusts the machine proactively
to avoid the irritating warning light.

• Whenever Priya finishes her daily reading practice, her music app unlocks a new playlist of her favorite
songs as a reward. She enjoys listening to the new songs and continues her reading habit every day.

• To encourage users to stay active, a fitness app removes a persistent notification badge only after the
user completes a certain number of steps for the day. The absence of the badge gives the user a
sense of relief and motivates them to keep walking daily.

• During exam preparation, Ravi studies consistently because whenever he procrastinates, he feels a
growing sense of anxiety and guilt. By completing his study schedule on time, he avoids this
unpleasant feeling of guilt, which reinforces his habit of studying regularly.
Operant Conditioning: Positive and Negative
Reinforcement

Important: Both positive and negative reinforcement increase the

likelihood of the behaviour they follow. The word reinforcement means
to strengthen or increase a behaviour.
 Operant Conditioning: Schedules of Reinforcement

• Consider the following scenario:

• Alicia’s mother agrees to give her a quarter every night she
remembers to put her dirty clothes in the clothes hamper.
Bianca’s mother agrees to give her a dollar at the end of the
week, but only if she has put her clothes in the hamper every
night.
• Who will learn the behavior quicker? Why?
• After a time, the mothers stop giving the girls the money.
Which child is more likely to stop putting her clothes in the
hamper?
 Operant Conditioning: Schedules of Reinforcement

• Partial Reinforcement Effect is the tendency for a response

that is reinforced after some, but not all correct responses to
be very resistant to extinction
• While, continuous reinforcement is the reinforcement of
each and every correct response
• Partial reinforcement is more realistic
• There are 4 kinds of schedules of reinforcement:
Operant Conditioning: Schedules of Reinforcement

Please refer to the definitions and examples given in the textbook as well.
 Operant Conditioning: Schedules of Reinforcement

• Unpredictability of variable schedule makes responses more or

less continuous
• Two contributing factors that make reinforcement effective:
• 1. Timing: Reinforcement must be giving as immediately as
possible after the desired behaviour
• 2. It is important to only reinforce the desired behaviour
 Operant Conditioning: Punishment

• Consequences involve things we like and also things we don’t

like
• Punishment is the opposite of reinforcement
• Punishment is any event or object that, when following a
response, makes that response less likely to happen again
• Punishment by application (Positive Punishment) is
punishment of a response by addition or experiencing of an
unpleasant stimulus
• Punishment by removal (Negative Punishment) is
punishment of a response by the removal of a pleasurable
stimulus
Operant Conditioning

Important:
Both positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood of the
behaviour they follow. The word reinforcement means to strengthen or
increase a behaviour.
On the other hand, both positive and negative punishment decrease the
likelihood of the behaviour they follow. The word punishment means to
weaken or decrease a behaviour.
Positive means something is added to the environment
Negative means something is subtracted from the environment
 Operant Conditioning: Punishment

• Ways to make punishment more effective:

1. Punishment should immediately follow the behaviour it is
meant to punish
2. Punishment should be consistent. If a parent says that a
certain punishment will follow a behaviour, then it should.
Also, punishment for a particular behaviour should stay the
same in intensity. It can slightly increase, but should never
decrease
3. Punishment of the wrong behaviour should be paired,
whenever possible, with reinforcement of the right behaviour.
It also teaches the desired behaviour than just suppressing
the undesired one
 Insight Learning

• Cognitive Learning Theory talks about the influence of

thoughts, feelings and expectations on observable behaviour

• Wolfgang Kohler, one of the theorists conducted research on

animal learning

• Kohler’s experiment on insight learning: Sultan the Chimp

• Insight is the sudden perception of relationships among

various parts of a problem, allowing the solution to the
Another of Köhler’s chimpanzees,
problem come quickly
Grande, has just solved the problem
of how to get to the banana by
stacking boxes.
 Applications of Learning

• In behavioral training, organizations utilize learning principles to modify employee behavior and
improve skills. By implementing reinforcement strategies, such as providing incentives for achieving
milestones and offering corrective feedback for errors, companies can enhance employee
performance and ensure skill development.
• In the educational sector, teaching methods are designed to engage students and improve
learning outcomes. Strategies that incorporate positive reinforcement and experiential learning help
in maintaining student motivation and promoting deeper understanding. For instance, praise and
rewards for completed assignments encourage student participation, while problem-solving activities
foster critical thinking.
• Therapeutic interventions also leverage learning principles to address mental health challenges.
Techniques that modify behavior patterns and encourage new coping mechanisms are employed to
help individuals overcome issues such as phobias or negative habits. These interventions use
principles of learning to create lasting behavioral changes and promote mental well-being.
• In advertising and marketing, learning theories are applied to influence consumer behavior and
create positive associations with products or brands. Effective advertisements evoke positive
emotions and memorable experiences related to the product, leveraging learning principles to build
brand loyalty and drive consumer choice.
 Applications of Learning

• Customer service training incorporates learning theories to enhance interactions between staff and
customers. Training programs that use feedback and rewards help improve service quality and
customer satisfaction. By reinforcing positive behaviors and addressing areas for improvement,
organizations can ensure a high standard of customer care.
• Workplace management systems use learning principles to motivate employees and enhance
productivity. Performance management strategies, including performance reviews and recognition
programs, are designed to reinforce desirable behaviors and encourage high performance,
contributing to a productive work environment.
• In problem-solving and innovation, learning principles facilitate creative solutions and new ideas.
By encouraging exploration, experimentation, and learning from trial and error, organizations foster
an environment that supports innovation and continuous improvement.
• For personal development, individuals apply learning principles to self-improvement and habit
formation. Setting personal goals and using rewards to reinforce progress, along with learning from
setbacks, helps in achieving personal growth and developing new skills.