Theories of Learning

• This technique is especially important to break down traditional stereotypes.
• Learning Theories are sets of conjectures and hypothesis that explain the process of learning or how learning takes place.
• Behaviorism is a theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning.
• Behavioral learning has contributed to predicting and managing behavior and to understanding how individuals learn.
• Theory of Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning.
• Behaviorism operates on the principle of “stimuli-response” and prefers actual behavior as an indicator of learning.
• Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, a Russian Physiologist, is well known for his work in Classical Conditioning or Stimulus Substitution.
• Classical Conditioning is a process where a previously neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus until a neutral stimulus evokes a conditioned response.
• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) in Classical Conditioning automatically produces an emotional or physiological response.
• Unconditioned Response (UCR) in Classical Conditioning is a natural occurring emotional or physiological response.
• Neutral Stimuli (NS) in Classical Conditioning are stimuli that does not elicit a response.
• Conditioned stimulus (CS) in Classical Conditioning evokes an emotional or physiological response after being conditioned.
• Conditioned Response (CR) in Classical Conditioning is a learned response to a previously neutral condition.
• Principles of Learning in Classical Conditioning include Acquisition, Stimulus-Generalization, Stimulus-Discrimination, Extinction, and Spontaneous Recovery.
• John Watson, the first American psychologist to work with Pavlov’s ideas, considered that humans are born with a few reflexes and the emotional reactions of love and rage.
• Edward Lee Thorndike, an influential psychologist often referred to as the Founder of Modern Educational psychology, gave us the original S-R framework of behavioral psychology.
• Thorndike’s theory on Connectionism, states that learning has taken place when a strong connection or bond between stimulus and response is formed.
• Multiple Responses in Connectionism refers to a variety of responses that would lead to a conclusion or arrival of an answer.
• Law of Set and Attitude in Connectionism explains that prior instruction/experience affects given task.
• Law of Readiness in Connectionism explains that interfering with oral directed behavior causes frustration and making someone to do something that he or she does not want to do is also frustrating.
• Law of Exercise in Connectionism explains learning by doing.
• Law of Use in Connectionism states that connections between stimulus and response are reinforced as they are used.
• Law of Disuse in Connectionism states that connections between a stimulus and response are weakened when practice is discontinued.
• Cognition plays a role in learning, according to Social Learning Theory.
• Modeling provides an alternative to shaping for new behaviors, according to Social Learning Theory.
• Social learning theory can be considered a bridge or a transition between behaviorist learning theories and cognitive learning theories.
• Albert Bandura is a Canadian-born American psychologist and originator of Social Cognitive Theory who is probably best known for his modeling study on aggression, referred to as the “Bobo Doll” experiment, which demonstrated that children can learn behaviors through the observation of adults.
• Social Learning Theory focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context and considers that people learn from one another, including such concepts as observational learning, imitation and modeling.
• Moral thinking and moral behavior are influenced by observation and modeling, according to Social Learning Theory.
• Awareness and expectations of future reinforcements or punishments can have a major effect on the behaviors that people exhibit, according to Social Learning Theory.
• People can learn by observing the behavior of others and the outcomes of those behaviors, according to Social Learning Theory.
• Students often learn a great deal simply by observing other people, according to Social Learning Theory.
• Law of Effect in Connectionism explains that reward reinforces a behavior, whereas punishment decreases its occurrence.
• Modeling influences the frequency of previously learned behaviors, according to Social Learning Theory.
• Teachers should expose students to a variety of other models, according to Social Learning Theory.
• Learning occurs through a dynamic and reciprocal interaction of the learner, environment, and behavior within a social context, according to Social Learning Theory.
• Modeling may encourage previously forbidden behaviors, according to Social Learning Theory.
• Modeling increases the frequency of similar behaviors, according to Social Learning Theory.
• Describing the consequences of behavior can effectively increase the appropriate behaviors and decrease inappropriate ones, according to Social Learning Theory.
• The four phases of Observational Learning are: Attention, Retention, Motor Reproduction Process, and Motivational Process.