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Learning
Definition:
It is the process of acquiring new knowledge and gaining from past
experience. By this process we get acquainted with objects, places,
time, persons, skills, habits, concepts and attitudes and deal effectively
with the environment.
Methods of Learning:
1) Trial and Error.
2) Imitation.
3) Insight learning.
4) Conditioning.
5) Imprinting.
6) Combination.
1) Learning by Trial and Error:
Cat in the puzzle box
• Thorndike placed a hungry cat was placed inside the puzzle box, and a
piece of fish was kept outside the box. The cat could not reach the fish
unless it opened the door. In order to escape from the box, the cat had to
perform a simple action as required by the experimenter. The cat had to
pull a loop or press a lever in order to open the door. Once the door was
opened, the cat could escape and eat the fish.
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Initially it made random movements and ineffective responses. On the
first trial, the cat struggled valiantly; it clawed at the bars, it bit; it thrust
its paws out through any opening; it squeezed itself through the bars; it
struck out in all directions. All the irrelevant responses continued for
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several minutes until the cat hit upon the correct response, by chance.
Accidentally, it pulled the loop and the door opened. The cat came out
of the box and was allowed to take a small part of the fish. It was then
put inside the puzzle box for the second trial.
• In the second trial, the time taken to pull the loop reduced a bit. Every
time the cat came out of the box and took a piece of fish, Thorndike put
the cat inside the box again. Thorndike and the cat kept up this exercise
for a while. With increasing trials, the time taken to pull the loop
(response latency) decreased. The wrong responses (errors) that the cat
was showing also decreased, as trials increased. Finally, the cat learned
the trick. As soon as it was put in the box, it pulled the loop to escape
for a well-deserved reward. The name, trial-and-error learning comes
from the fact that errors decreased over trials. The cat learned from its
errors.
2) Learning by imitation (observation- Modeling):
• A good amount of child learning is by imitation
3) Learning by imprinting:
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A form of learning in which a very young animal fixes its attention on the
first object with which it has visual, auditory, or tactile experience and
thereafter follows that object. In nature the object is almost invariably a parent.
4) Insight Learning (Cognitive Learning):
Kohler showed the power of insight learning by placing a banana above the
reach of chimpanzees and watching how they attempted to reach the food. In
the room there were several boxes, none of which was high enough to enable
the chimpanzees to reach the banana. Kohler found that the chimpanzees
spent most of their time unproductively rather than slowly working towards a
solution. They would run around, jump, and be generally upset about their
inability to snag the snack until, all of a sudden; they would pile the boxes on
top of each other, climb up, and grab the bananas.
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5) Learning by Conditioning (Associative Learning):
Learning by conditioning
Operant
Conditioning
Classical
Conditioning
Pavlov
Skinner
a. Classical conditioning:
Pavlov used a bell to call the dogs to their food and, after a few
repetitions, the dogs started to salivate in response to the bell. Pavlov called
the bell the conditioned (or conditional) stimulus (CS) because its effect
depended on its association with food. He called the food the unconditioned
stimulus (US) because its effect did not depend on previous experience.
Likewise, the response to the CS was the conditioned response (CR) and that
to the US was the unconditioned response (UR). The timing between the
presentation of the CS and US is integral to facilitating the conditioned
response. Pavlov found that the shorter the interval between the bell's ring and
the appearance of the food, the more quickly the dog learned the conditioned
response and the stronger it was.
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b. Operant Conditioning:
Operant conditioning focuses on using either reinforcement or
punishment to increase or decrease a behavior. Through this process, an
association is formed between the behavior and the consequences for
that behavior.
Four contexts of operant conditioning:
Domains of Learning:
A. Cognitive: to recall, calculate, discuss, analyze, problem solve…….etc
B. Affective: to like something or someone, love, appreciate, fear, hate....
etc
C. Psychomotor: to swim, drive a car, ride a bike……. etc
Factors affecting Learning:
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a. Individual factors :
i.
Permanent :
intelligence
good observation
accurate attention
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Healthy sensory & motor abilities
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Temporary :
Emotional state
Motivation
General health
b. Environmental Factors
i.
circumstances
ii.
Object
iii.
Methods of practice
iv.
Experience
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