Adolescence Learning Theories

• Adolescence marks a pivotal stage with rapid physical, cognitive, and social changes
• During adolescence, individuals may struggle to learn due to experiencing life changes
• Understanding learning theories and processes during adolescence is crucial for promoting students academic and personal growth

Learning Theories

• Behaviorism is a learning theory focused on observable behaviors that can be objectively and scientifically measured
• Mental and internal experiences are discounted because they cannot be scientifically measured
• Behavior is primarily determined by the environment rather than heredity, implying that behaviors are learned, not innate
• Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior resulting from experience
• Behaviorism relies on Associationism, explaining that all behaviors are built from simple associations of stimuli or stimulus response

Associative Learning

• Associative learning occurs when a connection or association is formed between to events
• Key terms in associative learning are conditioning, and a stimulus
• Conditioning is the process of learning associations
• Stimulus is anything that invokes a reaction or behavior

Two Types of Associative Learning

• Classical conditioning enables organisms to learn associations between two stimuli
• Instrumental/Operant conditioning enables organisms to learn associations between the behavior and consequence

Classical Conditioning

• Classical conditioning originated from the work of Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, a Russian physiologist
• Pavlov was inspired by Karl Ludwig, who was a Physiology professor
• Pavlov originally worked on digestion and food
• Pavlov routinely placed meat powder in a dogs mouth, causing the dog to salivate
• Pavlov discovered that the dog salivated in response to stimuli that were assocaited with food
• Pavlovs classical experiment included the sound of a bell that resulted in the dog salivating

Key Concepts in Classical Conditioning

• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is a stimulus that produces a response without prior learning
• Unconditioned response (UCR) is a learned response that is automatically elicited by an unconditioned stimulus
• Conditioned stimulus (CS) is a previously neutral stimulus that eventually elicits the conditioned response after being associated with the unconditioned stimulus
• Conditioned response (CR) is the learned response to the conditioned stimulus that occurs after pairing of a conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus

Acquisition in Classical Conditioning

• Acquisition in classical conditioning is the initial linking of stimulus-responses through the association of a neutral stimulus with the UCS, leading the CS to elicit the CR
• Acquisition involves contiguity, connectedness in time and space of stimuli
• The predictability of an event is known as it's contingency

Important Concepts of Generalization and Discrimination

• Generalization involves the tendency to a new stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus to elicit a condionted response
• Discrimination is the process of learning to respond to certain stimuli and not to others

Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery

• Extinction involves the weakening of the conditioned response in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus
• Without the use of UCS, the CS loses to ability to elicit a conditioned response
• Spontaneous recovery is the process of where the conditioned response can after after a time delay

Respondent Behaviour

• Respondent behavior is behavior produced when a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through association with an unconditioned stimulus

Instrumental Conditioning

• Edward Lee Thorndike began the term instrumental conditioning, and was made popular by B.F Skinner in his operant conditioning THEORY

About Instrumental Conditioning

• Instrumental conditiong is known as operant condition, and is a type of conditioning where reinforcement and punishment are used to increase or decrease that a behavior wil occur again
• Instrumental conditioning is called instrumental because rewards and punishments serve as instruments to bring about the desired change
• Rewards and punishments facilitate change

About Skinner

• Skinner stated that inner thoughts and incentives could not be used to explain behaviour
• Observable behaviours are what needs to be considered
• Skinner's model of operant conditioning assumes that studying a behavior's cause and consequences can help regulate the behaviour
• Skinners Theory grew from Thorndikes "Law of Effect"

Four Types of Instrumental Conditioning

• Positive Reinforcement occurs when a pleasant stimulus is introduced to increase the likelihood of the reoccurrence of a desirable behavior
• Negative reinforcement occurs when an unpleasant stimulus is removed to encourage the occurrence of a desirable behaviour
• Positive Punishment involves presenting an aversive stimulus after behaviour has occurred, also known as "punishment by application"
• Negative punishment involves taking away a pleasant stimulus after an undesirable behavior has occurred, "punishment by removal"

Negative Reinforcement vs Punishment

• Negative reinforcement increases the chances a behaviour will occur where are punishment decreases the behaviour

Reinforcement

• positive and negative reinforcements aim at increasing a behaviour and the likelihood of it occurring again
• positive and negative punishments aim at decreasing the likelihood of a behaviour occuring again

Operant Conditioning Misconception

• Reinforcers and Reinforcement are not the same in operant conditioning

What is a Reinforcer?

• Refers to any stimuli that increases the likelihood that a response will occur

Reinforcement

• Reinforcement is the effect that a reinforcer has on behavior (Skinner, 1957)

Reinforcer vs Reinforcement

• Reinforcer is a cause
• Reinforcement is the effect

Primary Reinforcement

• A type of reinforcement which is sometimes called unconditioned reinforcement
• Occurs naturally and does not require learing in order to work
• Primary reinforcers aid in the survival of a species
• Examples include food, air, water, sleep and sex

Secondary Reinforcement

• Involves stimuli that have become rewarding by being paired with another reinforcer

Positive vs Negative Reinforements

• They are seen as the main two types of reinfocements

Behaviourism Explaination

• Behavioural development states that adolescent interactions with the environment can influence adolescent behaviour when condionting occurs
• Adolescents are sees as a learners whos behaviour can then be shapped
• Altering a students environment can influence an adolescent to learn
• Praise and or a reward can improve and change behaviours in an adolescent learner
• An instructor can use rewards or punishment to shape behaviour of a student