Learning Theories

• These notes discuss learning theories

Class outline

• The class outline covers historical context, key concepts, new directions, a research example of learned helplessness, and how learning theories address basic questions of human development

Historical Context

• Learning theories emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
• These theories sought to explain human behavior using systematic observation, objective measurement, and statistical probability
• People are behaviorally flexible and can adapt to their environment

Key Contributors

• Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist
• E.L. Thorndike, John Watson, B.F. Skinner, Clark Hull, Albert Bandura, Edward Tolman, and Walter Mischel are significant behavioralists
• They primarily aimed to find fundamental principles of learning

Classical Conditioning

• Ivan Pavlov examined reflexive responses in the digestive system of animals, noting digestive responses triggered by food-related stimuli

• Pavlov concluded that animals learn to associate unrelated stimuli with digestion

• Conditioned reflexes are learned associations and form the basis of classical conditioning

• Stimulus-response connections are a major component of classical conditioning

• In classical conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) elicits a reflexive response

• The reflexive response to the UCS is the unconditioned response (UCR)

• Classical conditioning is when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, leading to a learned response

• Higher order conditioning describes the experience a subject may have at doctors in which even without crying, they are startled due to previous association.

• Conditioning helps learners identify patterns and structures in their environment, and does not occur randomly

• A systematic relationship between two events is required for conditioning

• Explains emotional responses toward different objects, events or places

• Helps explain variability between individuals

Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery

• The relationship between conditioned stimulus (CS) and conditioned response (CR) needs regular reinforcement
• Extinction demonstrates that learning is adaptable
• Spontaneous recovery indicates that learners test the environment for permanent changes

Generalization and Discrimination

• Generalization is when a conditioned stimulus (CS) and a conditioned response (CR) are formed, and other similar stimuli can trigger a response
• Generalization helps apply learning to different situations
• Discrimination involves responding to a specific conditioned stimulus (CS) but not to similar stimuli

Operant Conditioning

• E.L. Thorndike studied animal learning with puzzle boxes
• Thorndike studied how cats learned to escape boxes

Instrumental Learning

• Instrumental learning is solving a problem or achieving a goal through repeated attempts and behavioral adjustments based on outcomes

Laws of Effect and Exercise

• Responses that are rewarded are strengthened, while responses that are not rewarded are weakened
• Law of Response says that the more you repeat a stimulus-response connection, the stronger it becomes
• When the response becomes automatic it is called a habit

Reinforcement

• Operant conditioning is a type of learning where voluntary behaviors are influenced by consequences
• Reinforcement increases the frequency of desirable behavior
• Positive reinforcement applies a stimulus and Negative reinforcement removes a stimulus
• Shaping is a method of developing a new complex response
• Example: Cleaning a bedroom

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Continuous reinforcement involves rewarding a new behavior every time it occurs
• Intermittent reinforcement involves rewarding a new behavior sometimes, but not every time
• Intermittent reinforcement learning is the most durable

Extinction and Punishment

• Extinction occurs when an expected reinforcer no longer follows a response
• Punishment is a negative consequence that follows an undesirable behavior to discourage it

Classical vs. Operant Conditioning

• Classical conditioning uses a conditioned reflex that starts from scratch, while operant conditioning requires a response to occur to be reinforced
• Classical conditioning, a response is influenced by what happens before it, while in operant conditioning, a response is influenced by what happens after it
• Classical conditioning is best for internal responses
• Operant conditioning is best for external responses
• A response in classical conditioning is non-voluntary
• A response in operant conditioning is voluntary

Social Learning Theory

• Observational or vicarious learning allows learning by observing and imitating others' behavior
• Albert Bandura earned a PhD from the University of Iowa and held a faculty position at Stanford in 1953
• Bandura was dissatisfied with learning explained only by trial-and-error and reward/punishment

Modeling

• School children watched videos of adults interacting with a large inflatable doll called Bobo
• Three groups of children: one group saw the model ignore the doll, one attacked the doll, and a third control group saw no model
• The study observed how the children then interacted with the Bobo doll

Imitation and Aggression

• Children observed a video of an adult model hitting a Bobo doll
• The first group saw the adult rewarded
• The second group saw the adult punished
• A third group saw the adult with no consequences
• A fourth group was a control that did not see a video

Influences on Imitation

• Children who saw the adult rewarded were most aggressive, followed by those with no consequences, and those who saw the adult punished were least aggressive
• The control group showed the least aggression
• Research indicates children become more generous and share more when they observe generosity or kindness

Cognitive Behaviorism and Emphasis

• Cognitive behavioralism studies internal mental activities influencing behavior, such as thoughts, attention, emotions, and motivation
• The emphasis is on a person's internal representation of the environment

Tolman's Contributions

• Edward Tolman explored variables influencing learning and introduced intervening variables, which are mental processes between a stimulus and response
• Tolman proposed the concept of a cognitive map which is a mental representation of the environment

Cognitive and Emotional Factors

• Six key cognitive and emotional factors influence behavior: encodings, expectancies and beliefs, affects, goals and values, cognitive competencies, and self-regulatory plans

Self-Efficacy

• Expectancies are cognitive assessments of one's ability, beliefs about consequences, and the meaning of events
• Self-efficacy means having a sense of confidence in performing behaviors demanded by a situation

Sources of Self-Efficacy

• Enactive attainment is a source of self-efficacy that describes past experiences and previous successes
• Vicarious information and observing someone successful are sources of self-efficacy
• Verbal persuasion and encouragement from others contribute to self-efficacy
• Physical state feelings such as confidence or anxiety are also sources
• High self-efficacy involves imagining success and mentally practicing solutions
• Low self-efficacy involves imagining failure and focusing on potential problems
• People better adjust to new situations based on self-efficacy and outcomes
• Someone with high self-efficacy that is in an unrewarding environment= try harder to succeed

New Directions in Learning Theories

• Focus is placed on social cognitive theory and experiential learning theory

Social Cognitive Theory

• SCT was proposed by Albert Bandura and is based on social learning theory and self-efficacy
• SCT proposes a dynamic view of learning and behavior based on internal personal factors, behavioral patterns of action, and environmental influences

Sense of Agency

• Social cognitive theory (SCT) highlights the importance of agency, or the ability to act with intention and purpose
• Agency involves several cognitive processes: intentionality, forethought, self-reactiveness
• Self-reactiveness involves evaluating and modifying actions
• Sensitivity to threats or positive encouragement impacts a person's motivation to achieve their goals

Social and Environmental Factors

• Albert Bandura emphasized humans are social, and learning happens through observation, and that environmental factors change beliefs

Experiential Learning Theory

• Experiential learning theory emphasizes the importance of the role experience has in the learning process
• Experiential learning theory integrates aspects of both behavioural and cognitive learning theories

Experiential Leaning Method

• The two main learning methods are concrete experience, and abstract conceptualization

Behavioral Components

• Two models are making use of knowledge: reflective observation and active experimentation
• There are types of learning styles: diverging, assimilating, converging, and accommodating
• Experiential learning theory has greatly influenced adult education and professional development courses for adults
• Theory emphasis in undergraduate and graduate coursework and has inspired trainers to integrate experiential activities

Learned Helplessness

• Learned helplessness applies to the effects of uncontrollable negative events on later learning
• Learned helplessness disrupts new learning in three main ways by reducing motivation, interfering with learning that some responses do control events, and generating fear in cases of extreme stress

Learned Resourcefulness

• Learned resourcefulness is a combination of self-regulatory or self-control strategies
• People with high learned resourcefulness are better at coping with stress
• Positive psychology highlights the pleasant emotions of happiness and joy, the cognitive outlooks of optimism and hopefulness, and the adaptive creative behaviors that result in mastery and efficacy