CHAPTER THREE
LEARNING AND THEORIES
OF LEARNING
3.1. Definition
Learning is any relatively
Permanent change in behavior
occurring as result of practice or
experience through interaction
with the environment.
Cont`d
Learning is also a process of
acquiring and modifications in
existing knowledge, skills,
habits, or tendencies through
practice, or exercise.
Cont`d
1)Learning is relatively
permanent change in behavior.
2)It does not include change due
to illness, fatigue, maturation
and use of intoxicant.
Cont`d
3) The learning is not directly
observable but manifests in
the activities of the individual.
4) Learning depends on practice
and experience.
3.1.2. Characteristics of learning
1) Learning is continuous
modification of behavior
throughout life.
2) Learning is purposeful
/goal oriented/.
Cont`d
4) Learning depends on
maturation, motivation and
practice.
5) Learning is responsive to
incentives.
Cont`d
5) Learning is all about
adaptation or self adjustment.
6) Learning is active Process
Principles of Learning
Individuals learn best when they
are physically, mentally, and
emotionally ready to learn.
Students learn best and retain
information longer when they
have meaningful practice and
exercise.
Cont`d
Learning is strengthened when
accompanied by a pleasant or
satisfying feeling and vice
versa.
Things learned first create a
strong impression in the mind
that is difficult to erase.
3.2. Factors Affecting Learning
1. Motivation:-The stronger and clearer the
motives for learning, the greater are the
effort to learn.
When the motives of learning are
high, the learner becomes
enthusiastic(eager).
2. Maturation:
Neuro-muscular coordination is
important for learning a given task.
3. Health Condition of the learner
The learner should be in a good
health status to learn.
Example- Sensory defects,
malnutrition, toxic conditions of
the body, loss of sleep and fatigue
hinder effective learning.
Cont`d
Cont`d
4. Psychological wellbeing of the
learner: individual‘s psychological
states like worries, fears, feelings of
loneliness and inferiority hinders
learning.
Whereas self-respect, self-reliance,
and self-confidence are necessary
for effective learning.
Cont`dconditions:
5. Good working
Absence or presence of:
fresh air, light,
comfortable surroundings,
moderate temperature,
absence of distractions
determine learning effectiveness.
6. Background experiences:
All related facts and
understandings from a
previously learned course
should be brought to new
learning.
Cont`d
7. Length of the learning period:
Learning periods should neither be
too short nor too long.
Cont`d
8. Massed and distributed
learning: Learning that spreads
across time with reasonable
time gaps brings better results
compared with crammed
learning that occurs at once or
within short span of time.
.
9. Time Management
10. Technologies
3.3. Theories of Learning
A learning theory is an
attempt to:
describe how people and
animals learn,
helping us to understand the
inherently complex process
of learning.
Learning theories can be applied:
to change unhealthy habits.
build constructive
relationships.
develop effective behavior.
Major Theories of Learning
1) Behavioral Learning theory
2) Social /Observational/
Learning theory
3) Cognitive Theory of learning
1) Behavioral Learning
Theories
View learning as the product
of the association between
stimulus conditions (S) and
the responses (R).
Behaviourists believe that:
Learning is manifested by a
change in behaviour
(observable ).
Environment shapes behaviour.
By controlling the environment,
one’s learning can be controlled.
Behaviorist Learning Theories
a) Classical conditioning (Ivan
Pavlov)
b) Operant conditioning (B.F.
Skinner)
a) Classical Conditioning
It was developed by the Russian
physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1927)
while he was studying the
salivary reflex in laboratory
dogs).
Cont`d
Humans and animals can be
trained to act involuntarily to a
stimulus that previously had no
effect or a very different effect
on them.
Cont`d
A Neutral stimulus (NS) is paired
with a naturally occurring
unconditioned or unlearned
stimulus (UCS) and unconditioned
response (UCR).
Basic Terms of Classical Condition
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
• Unconditioned response (UCR)
• Neutral Stimulus(NS)
• Conditioned stimulus (CS)
• Conditioned response (CR)
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
It is a natural stimulus that
leads to an involuntary
response.
e,g, Food(meat)
Unconditioned means unlearned
or naturally occurring.
Unconditioned response (UCR)
It is an involuntary response
to a naturally occurring or
unconditioned stimulus.
e.g, dog`s salivation
Neutral Stimulus(NS)
It comes to bring a response
after it is paired with a
stimulus that naturally brings
that response.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
A stimulus that becomes able
to produce a learned reflex
response by being paired with
the original unconditioned
stimulus.
Conditioned response (CR)
It is a response given after
neutral stimulus is
conditioned.
Dog`s salivation for bell only.
Cont`d
-
Cont`d
Basic Principles of the C/Conditioning
1) Extinction: the disappearance or
weakening of a learned response
following the removal or absence of
the unconditioned stimulus.
2) Spontaneous Recovery:
It is the reappearance of a learned
response after extinction has
occurred.
4) Stimulus generalization:- is the
tendency to respond to a stimulus that
is only similar to the original
conditioned stimulus with the
conditioned response.
5) Stimulus discrimination:- is the
tendency to stop making a
generalized response to a stimulus
that is similar to the original
conditioned stimulus.
b) Operant Conditioning
It was developed by an
American psychologist B.F.
Skinner.
It is the learning of voluntary
behavior through the effects of
pleasant and unpleasant
consequences.
Cont`d.
The learner must operate, or perform
a certain behavior, before receiving a
reward or punishment.
It is a deliberate form of learning in
which the organism actively attempts
to change its environment to produce
a desirable outcome.
Cont`d.
It describes learning as
strengthening or weakening
voluntary response, depending
on its positive or negative
consequences.
Cont`d.
We are pulled as well as
pushed by events in our
environment.
The response is made first,
then consequences follows.
Basic Terms in Operant Conditioning
A/ Reinforcements
It is anything which
strengthens or increases the
probability of the occurrences of
a specific response preceding it.
Types of Reinforcement
A) Positive Reinforcement
B) Negative Reinforcement
A) Positive Reinforcement
It is any factors whose
presentation or application
increases the reoccurrence of
the responses.
e,g. Praise, Money, Promotion,
and Rewards.
B) Negative Reinforcements
They are conditions or factors
(mostly aversive) whose termination
or elimination increases the likelihood
of the occurrence of the behaviours
preceding them again.
e.g, Getting up from the bed to avoid a
noisy alarm.
For example:
Getting up from the bed to avoid a
noisy alarm.
Leaving early from the house to
avoid traffic jam/block/.
Study hard for exam to avoid scoring
low grade.
Buying plane ticket early to avoid
being sold out.
C) Punishment
It is the presentation of an
adverse event or unpleasant
stimulus that decreases the
probability of the occurrence of a
preceding behavior.
Punishment weakens behavior.
D) Shaping
It is the process of teaching
behavior by rewarding closer
and closer approximation of
the desired behavior.
Scheduling of Reinforcement
It is an arrangement to
determine when
to reinforce behaviour.
It is all about when and how
to give reinforcement.
Cont`d
For example, do we apply the
positive reinforcement every
time a child does something
positive?
Do we punish a child every
time he does something
negative?
Cont`d
The two main schedules of
reinforcements are:
a) Continuous reinforcement
b) Partial reinforcement.
a) Continuous Schedule of
reinforcement
It is when a reward is given to
every instance of the desired
behaviour.
Giving the reinforcement every
time the behaviour occurs
b) Partial/Intermittently Schedule
of Reinforcement.
• It involves reinforcing only
some responses, not all the
time.
• Once a response has become
reliable, it will be more resistant
to extinction.
It has four types
i) Fixed-interval
ii) Variable Interval
iii) Fixed Ratio
iv) Variable ratio
i) Fixed-interval
The learner is reinforced after
regular time intervals; For
example: say every 5munites.
A day labour get his
payment after every 2 weeks.
ii) Variable-interval
• The reinforcement is given on
average not precisely.
Itiii)
has four types
Fixed-ratio
The learner is reinforced after a
regular number of desired
responses.
For example:
If you catch 1 fish, you will get 50
birr, if 4 200 birr, etc.
It has four types
iv) Variable-Ratio
The number of responses
needed for reward is
varies/different/.
It is the most partial
reinforcement schedule.
e.g, Gambling, lottery, etc.
Cont`d
This schedule creates a high
steady rate of responding.
Gambling and lottery games
are good examples of a reward
based on a variable ratio
schedule.
Cont`d
In a lab setting, this might
involve delivering food pellets to
a rat after one bar press, again
after four bars presses, and then
again after two bar presses.
Summary
ontinuous reinforcement
produces the quickest learning.
Partial reinforcement
produces learning which lasts
longer in the absence of
reinforcement.
Cont`d
Operant conditioning
emphasizes on extrinsic
rewards and external
incentives and promotes
materialism rather than self-
initiative, a love of learning,
and intrinsic satisfaction.
2) Social Learning Theory
It is learning new behavior by
watching a model perform that
behavior.
New behaviors can be acquired by
observing and imitating others.
By observing the behaviors of others,
people develop similar.
3) Self-Reinforcement:
Controlling your reinforcers.
We value and enjoy our
growing competence.
According to Bandura, learning
by observation involves four
necessary processes:
Four Processes
a) Attention
b) Retention/Memory
c) Imitation/Reproduction
d) Motivation
Cont`d
a) Attention:- the learner must
first pay attention to the model.
b) Retention/Memory:- The
learner must also be able to
remember the memory of what
was done.
c) Imitation/Reproduction
The person must have the
necessary motor skills.
The learner must be capable of
reproducing, or imitating, the
actions of the model.
d) Motivation:- the desire to
perform the action.
3) Cognitive Learning Theory
It is a style of learning that focuses
on more effective use of the brain.
It aims to chart the learning
process for optimal thinking,
understanding and retention of
what we learn.
It teaches you to maximize :
your brain`s potential
makes it easier to connect new
information with existing ideas,
deepening the memory and
retention capacity.
Cont`d
Cognitive learning may take
two forms:
1) Latent learning
2) Insight learning
1) Latent learning
Latent‘ means hidden.
It is said to occur without
reinforcement of particular
responses and seems to involve
changes in the way information
is processed.
2) Insight Learning
It is a cognitive process
whereby we reorganize our
perception of a problem.
Cont`d
Sometimes, for example,
people even wake up from sleep
with a the solution suddenly to
a problem comes that they had
not been able to solve during
the day.
CHAPTER FOUR
HUMAN MEMORY
AND FORGETTING