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What is Learning?
Chapter 1
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Learning
“To gain knowledge, comprehension, or mastery
through experience or study” (American Heritage
Dictionary).
The terms knowledge, comprehension, or mastery
are vague (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2004).
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Learning: Psychology
Learning simply refers to changes in observable and
potential behavior. But before we get into the
details of how psychology looks at learning let us
study kinds of behavior.
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Kinds of Behaviors
There are two kinds of behaviors; innate (unlearnt,
inherited, genetically controlled) and learnt
(practiced, experienced, reinforced) behaviors.
Behavior
Innate
Learnt
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Innate Behaviors
Innate or unlearnt behaviors are inflexible,
preprogrammed, genetically determined and
controlled by our biology.
Innate Behaviors/Mechanisms
Homeostatic Mechanisms
Tropic behaviors
Sensory Adaptation
Reflexes
Sensory Potentiation
Instincts
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Homeostatic Mechanisms
Mechanisms (not really behaviors) that keep many
physiological functions like body temperature, pH
balance, blood glucose levels, stabilized.
These mechanisms optimize body’s internal
environment when changes in the external
environment take place.
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Sensory Adaptation
Sensory adaptation refers to lowered
responsiveness (in receptors) due to continued
and prolonged stimulation.
Band aid’s itchiness on your skin does not last
long. Receptors (Meissner’s corpuscles) in the skin
quickly adapt to prolonged stimulation from the
band aid and make you unaware of its presence.
static.howstuffworks.com
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Sensory Potentiation
Sensory potentiation refers to heightened
responsiveness due to increased sensitivity in
receptors.
Rubbing sandpaper on his fingers a thief increases
receptor sensitivity, thus heightens his
responsiveness to crack open a safe.
www.nancyricaschiff.com
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Tropic Behavior
Tropic (taxic) behaviors refer to organism’s
orientation to a direction. Fish engage in
rheotropic behaviors to move upstream to their
spawning grounds. Sunflowers trace the sun in the
sky using heliotropic behavior.
www.redorbit.com
i.pbase.com
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Reflex Behaviors
An involuntary reaction (behavioral, skeletal, and
glandular) to a specific stimulus. Sneezing, knee
jerk, and salivary reflex are examples of reflexes.
img.tfd.com
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Instinctive Behaviors
Instincts are complex pre-programmed genetically
controlled behaviors also called Fixed Action
Pattern (FAP). Migration and nest building, are
but some examples.
i.pbase.com
www.paulnoll.com
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Characteristics of Instincts
1. Instincts are under innate genetic control. All
geese roll the egg in the same way.
2. Instincts require little or no feedback. If
hatchlings are lost, dominant “paternal instinct”
leads cardinal to feed gapping minnows.
www.cerebromente.org.br
www.cerebromente.org.br
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Characteristics of Instincts
3. Instincts can be triggered by stimulating brain
“trigger” cells.
4. Instincts require coordination of many muscles
thus more complex than simple reflex actions.
www.dkimages.com
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Instincts in Humans
Humans also show many instinctive behaviors,
e.g., smiling, crying, frowning, kissing, cuddling
and aggressive behaviors. Included in these is the
the “Eyebrow-flash” during smiling (Eibl-Eibesfeldt
& Hass, 1972; 1990).
erl.ornithol.mpg.de
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Learnt Behaviors
Learnt behaviors are flexible, change over
development or time, are interactive with
environment and based on experience.
Learnt Behaviors
Habituation
Conditioning
Sensitization
Observational learning
Imprinting
Insightful learning
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Habituation
When organisms become less responsive to
continued stimulation with changes in the central
nervous system or nerve ganglia it is termed as
habituation.
A dog may habituate to a sudden loud sound if it
continually occurs.
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Sensitization
A process that makes the animal more responsive
to certain stimuli. This heightened responsiveness
produces change in the nervous system.
A cat may not respond to a light, but may become
sensitive to it when paired with shock.
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Differences
AdaptationPotentiation
HabituationSensitization
Receptors
Central Nervous System
Peripheral Process
Central Process
Unlearnt Responsiveness
Learnt Behavior
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Imprinting
Imprinting is a process that modifies instinctive
behaviors. Includes filial (following mother or a
substitute) and sexual (courting member of
another specie) imprinting.
Konrad Lorenz and
filial imprinting (1938)
Konrad Lorenz and
sexual imprinting (1938)
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Classical Conditioning
Modification of reflex behaviors through an
association of neutral stimuli with biologically
significant stimuli in eliciting the response.
Discovered by Pavlov (1895).
www.sott.net
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Operant Conditioning
A learning process in which animals and humans
shape their actions to receive reinforcements.
Pioneered by Thorndike (1913), elaborated by
Skinner (1930).
www.scottsdalecc.edu
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Observational Learning
Observational learning or modeling refers to
behaviors that are learnt by observing others
(Bandura, 1960s). Present in both humans and
animals.
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Insightful Learning
Refers to learning that
involves problem solving.
Present in humans and
animals, early animal
studies were conducted
by Wolfgang Köhler
(1925).
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Differences in Behaviors
Unlearnt Behaviors
Learnt Behaviors
Homeostatic Mechanisms
Adaptation and
Potentiation
Habituation and
Sensitization
Instincts
Imprinting
Reflex actions
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Observational Learning
Insightful Learning
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Learning: Psychology
The philosophers of epistemology were also
interested in learning (knowledge) especially how
it was acquired.
However, for psychologists, learning is a relatively
permanent change in behavior or behavior
potentiality that occurs as a result of experience
and/or practice that is reinforced (Kimble, 1961).
Let us look at this definition more closely.
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Aspects of the Definition
1. Learning leads to change in behavior or
behavior potential.
2. This change is relatively permanent.
3. Requires experience or practice
4. Must be reinforced.
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Change in Behavior
Learning cannot be observed directly, because it is
most likely a brain (or mental) process. So we
make observations and measurements of learning
indirectly, through change in behavior.
Stimulus
Organism
Initial
Behavior
Behavior
Changed
Learning
This idea is largely Skinnerian.
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Behavior Potential
Most other investigators think that learning is the
change in behavior potential that can be expressed
as behavior anytime.
Organism
Stimulus
Potential
Change
Behavior
Learning
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Relatively Permanent
Learning is relatively permanent. But it seems
contrary to what we generally experience as
forgetting in our everyday life.
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Relatively Permanent
How long does the behavior need to last before it can
be ascribed as learning?
Clearly some behavior changes are transient, are not
based on learning, and caused by fatigue, arousal and
motivation. Other behavior changes not lasting long,
like short-term memory, are called learning.
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Requires Practice
Learning improves with practice, generally referred to
as effortful learning. This was a major theme behind
formal discipline.
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Practice Trial
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Requires Experience
Many other forms of learning simply require
experience. Learning by exploration, learning
implicitly as opposed to learning by practice. Tolman
(1925) showed that animals learn mazes by exploring
them.
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Requires Reinforcement
Reinforcement leads to learning e.g., rats in an
operant chamber learn to press the lever if reinforced
with food. However, many organisms learn without
reinforcement (vicariously) simply by watching
others. Bandura (1960s) observed that children learn
to hit a bobo doll when they saw an adult hit the doll.
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Why study learning?
1. Most human and many animal behaviors are
learnt. Since learnt behaviors are flexible,
dynamic and ever changing, these provide
better chances of survival compared inflexible
innate (unlearnt) behaviors.
2. Learning is an important component of child
development.
3. Learning process is integral to the educational
system.
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Questions
4. Give the Kimble’s definition of learning.
Elucidate the definition and problems
associated with this definition.
5. Describe different learnt and unlearnt
behaviors.
6. Explain why is it important to study learning?
Why is learning important to survival?
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