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GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
Professor: Claire B. Steinberger
Course Code: SSY101.1939
Assignment: Exam 3
Name: Astrid N. Avalos-Rosales
Submitted June 3, 2008
Learning: Chapter 8
I. Describe three theories of learning.
Learning is the basic process of acquire knowledge or skills. Learning may
occurred due to study and instruction but most important, due to experience. As
David Meyers wrote “By definition, experience is key to learning” (309) Learning
is a complex process that occurs based on “association”. Without association
humans and other organisms would not be able to connect the events that
happen to them. For example, if after seeing a fresh apple, you eat some and it is
satisfying, then the next time that you see apples, your experience will make you
expect that eating some will be satisfying again. To explain the process of
learning, scientists developed different theories, such as, Classical Conditioning,
Operant Conditioning and Learning by Observation.
1. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING:
It is a form of associate learning that was studied by the Russian
physiologist Ivan Pavlov, in which an organism associates neutral stimuli with
important stimuli creating automatic responses that it does not control. As we
saw in the video Discovering Psychology: Learning, during a research on dog’s
digestion, Pavlov noticed that dogs began to salivate not only in the presence of
their food but also in the presence of the person who normally fed them. After
that, Pavlov developed his most famous experiment in which he conditioned
dogs’ salivation. These are its three phases:

Before conditioning: In this phase, an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
produces an unconditioned response (UCR), and a neutral stimulus
produces no response. In Pavlov experiment, the food in the dog’s mouth
(UCS) produces the salivation (UCR) and the tone (neutral stimulus)
produces no salivation (no response).

During conditioning: In this phase, the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is
repeatedly presented just after the neutral stimulus, and it continues to
produce an unconditioned response (UCR). In Pavlov experiment, the
food (UCS) is given to the dog just after it heard the tone (neutral
stimulus). The food (UCS) produces the salivation (UCR).

After conditioning: This is the last phase, in which the neutral stimulus
becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) because now it alone produces a
conditioned response (CR). In Pavlov experiment, the tone alone (at the
beginning the neutral stimulus, but now a CS) produces the salivation of
the dog (CR).
Other psychologists, such as, John B. Watson, based their work in
Pavlov’s experiments. As Myers says “Pavlov’s work also provided a basis for
John Watson’s idea that human emotions and behavior, though biologically
influenced, are mainly a bundle of conditioned responses.” (320)
For instance, John Watson’s most controversial experiment was the one
conducted to Little Albert. In the video Discovering Psychology: Learning, we saw
how, Watson presented Albert, an eleven month-old baby, with different animals
and objects. Albert was exposed to a white rat, a rabbit, a dog, a monkey and
some masks, showing no fear to them, in fact he was trying to touch them. Then,
every time that scientist placed the white rat in front of Albert, they produced a
frightening noise. After several repetitions of this action, Albert started to cry at
the sight of the white rat, even when there was no noise. As in Pavlov
experiment, in Little Albert’s experiment there are three phases:

Before conditioning: the loud noise (UCS) produces fear (UCR) and the
white rat (neutral stimulus) produces no fear (no response).

During conditioning: the loud noise (UCS) is made every time that the
white rat (neutral stimulus) is presented to Albert. The loud noise (UCS)
produces the fear (UCR).

After conditioning: In the last phase, the white rat alone (at the beginning
the neutral stimulus, but now a CS) produces the fear (CR).
After this experiment Albert was exposed again to the other animals and
objects: the rabbit, the monkey, the dog and the masks, and he showed the
same reaction that with the rat. He started to cry and become very distress at
their sight, apparently he generalize his fear to all the animals that he saw the
first time. The controversy on this experiment is that it probes that emotions, like
fear, can be conditioned, that humans born without fears, but their experiences
created them. Going further, that human’s behavior is learned and that is based
on their experiences. The damage caused to Little Albert was basically the
modification of his behavior. He used to have no fear of animals such rats and
rabbits, but after this experiment he “learned” to fear to these animals.
2. OPERATIONAL CONDITIONING:
It is a form of associated learning that was studied by the psychologist
Burrhus F. Skinner, in which an organism associates its behavior with
consequences. Skinner used shaping, that “is a procedure in which reinforcers
gradually guide an organism’s actions toward a desired behavior” (Myers 323).
He based his research in Edward Thorndike’s law of effect: Rewarded behavior
is likely to recur (Myers 323). In his experiments, Skinner shaped the behavior of
animals, rats and pigeons, rewarding the responses that were close to the
desired behavior. In this theory, organisms learn to produce behaviors that are
followed by reinforcing stimuli, or to suppress behaviors that are followed by
punishing stimuli.

Reinforcement: This is a consequence that causes a behavior to occur
with greater frequency. For example, when Skinner’s rats or pigeons
pressed or pecked a bottom (desired behavior) they receive food
(reinforcement). In this way, they learn to press or pecked a bottom to get
food.

Punishment: This is a consequence that causes a behavior to occur with
less frequency, reducing the unwanted behavior. For example, a rat that
receives an electrical shock (punishment) when it touches a forbidden
object. (unwanted behavior) In this way, they learn to not to touch the
forbidden object.
3. LEARNING BY OBSERVATION:
This theory says that learning occurs not only through conditioning, but
also from our observations of others. We learned behaviors by observing and
imitating different models. For example, a child that sees his mom cut her finger
whit a knife has learned not to touch it. Observational learning was studied by
the psychologist Albert Bandura. In his experiments, children tend to imitate what
a model does and says. Humans are especially likely to imitate those their
perceive as similar to themselves, as successful, or as admirable.
II.
If you were an elementary teacher could you apply Skinner’s research to
help kids learn? How could you use Bandura?
If I were an elementary teacher I would apply Skinner’s research to teach
my students the classroom’s rules, such as, follow directions, raise your hand to
speak, stay in your seat, and turn in their homework every day. I would make a
chart with the name of all my students and including all the classroom’s rules
(desired behavior) that I want them to learn. I would put the chart on the wall to
follow their progress in the week, and to show my students the progress of their
classmates. Every time that a student follows “the classroom’s rules” I would give
them 10 points (reinforcement). Every week, the five students with more points,
would be given small treats, such as, pencils, stickers, or small toys
(reinforcement). By the end of the month, the student who accumulates more
points would be awarded in the classroom and a congratulation note would be
made in their progress report (reinforcement).
In this case, Skinner’s research would be use in the shaping of the behavior by
its reinforcement (reward system) and Bandura’s research in the imitation that is
likely to happen among the students. Students would observe the different
responses of their classmates and they would learn from it. For example, one
student may observe how one of his classmates is rewarded by following the
classroom’s rules and make a comparison with others that won’t. This student
would learn by observing, that if he follows the rules he would be rewarded and
make the association that if he wants to be rewarded, he has to follow the rules.
The student would be imitating the classmate that he observed the first time.
Worked Cited
Meyer, David G. Psychology. 7th ed. New York: Worth Publishers, 2004.