Learning Definitions and Characteristics

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior from experience or practice.

The major characteristics include being continuous, pervasive, and involving the whole person.

Learning is a life-long process of modifying behavior.

Learning touches all aspects of human life, beyond just academics.

Learning is an active process, requiring engagement and participation.

Learning depends on motivation, which drives desire and engagement.

Behavior change in learning occurs through experiences, not just instructions.

Learning often changes the organization of an individual's experiences.

Factors like fresh air, light, and comfort that influence learning effectiveness.

Previous knowledge and experiences that impact new learning effectiveness.

Optimal learning sessions should balance time; avoid extremes of too short or too long.

Distributed learning over time yields better results than cramming in short bursts.

Learning is explained through stimulus-response associations and observable behaviors.

Learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus.

Learning through consequences, where behaviors are strengthened or weakened by rewards or punishments.

Frameworks explaining how people learn, including behavioral and cognitive theories.

Stimuli that gain reinforcement value through association with primary reinforcers.

Presentation of a stimulus increases the likelihood of behavior being repeated.

Termination of an aversive stimulus increases the likelihood of behavior being repeated.

Learning to make a response that stops an aversive stimulus.

Learning to prevent exposure to an aversive stimulus.

Learning occurs most rapidly when every instance of behavior is reinforced.

Reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of responses, leading to high rates of responding.

Reinforcement occurs after an average number of responses, varying from instance to instance.

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers an unconditioned response without prior conditioning.

An automatic, natural reaction to an unconditioned stimulus.

A previously neutral stimulus that, after conditioning, triggers a conditioned response.

A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus after conditioning.

The tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus.

The ability to distinguish between different stimuli, responding only to the conditioned stimulus.

The gradual reduction of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus.

The principle explaining the association between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli in classical conditioning.

A theory proposing that learning occurs by observing others in social contexts, not just through conditioning.

The framework of Antecedents, Behaviors, and Consequences in understanding learning processes.

A type of learning that occurs without immediate reinforcement and is not evident until conditions favor its expression.

An experiment demonstrating latent learning where rats learned maze routes without immediate rewards.

A form of cognitive learning where understanding comes all at once, often referred to as 'aha' moments.

The mental processes that affect how individuals acquire information, reason, and make decisions during learning.

Advanced thought processes that influence how humans learn and develop personality traits.

Emotional side effects extend to all similar situations, places, or people involved in punishment.

Punishment can lead to negative emotional reactions and problems like depression, low self-esteem, and violent behavior.

The effectiveness of punishment depends on the presence of the punishing person or circumstances and often fades away.

An operant conditioning process where successive approximations of a desired behavior are reinforced gradually.

Responses gradually shaped to become more similar to a final desired behavior, used in reinforcement.

Behaviors are reinforced through arrangements that promote effective teaching and learning.

Unpleasant experiences in learning can make students dislike a teacher or subject.