Learning

DEFINITION OF LEARNING
Learning is one of those concept whose meaning is
crystal clear until one has to put it in actual words
"Learning is when you learn something."
Learning is any relatively permanent change in
behaviour brought about by experience or practice.
Relatively permanent means that when people learn
anything, some part of their brain is physical changed to
record what they have learned. This is actually process
of memory, for without the ability to remember what
happens, people cannot learn anything. Research
suggests strongly that once people learn something, it is
always present somewhere in memory (Barsalou, 1992).
They may be unable to "get" to it but it's there.

Association in Learning/ Theories

Association: linking two events or stimuli that
occur together in space or time. Early theories
of learning were based on principles of
association.
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning

Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov..
Learning that results from pairing two events in the
environment.
Learn to associate a neutral event with another
event or stimulus from the environment.

Classical Conditioning
Studying the digestive system in his dogs, Pavlov had built
a device that would accurately measure the amount of
saliva produced by the dogs when they were fed a
measured amount of food. Normally, when food is placed
in the mouth of any animal, the salivary glands
automatically start releasing saliva to help with chewing
and digestion. This is a normal reflex (involuntary**
response) in both animals and humans. The food causes a
particular reaction, the salivation. A stimulus can be
defined as any object, event, or experience that causes a
response, the reaction of an organism. In the case of
Pavlov's dogs, the food is the stimulus and salivation is the
response.

Classical Conditioning
Pavlov and Salivating Dogs
When first annoyed and then intrigued Pavlov was that his
dogs began salivating when they weren't supposed to be
salivating. Some dogs would start salivating when they
saw the lab assistant bringing their food, others when they
heard clatter of the food bowl from the kitchen, and still
others when it was the time of day they were usually fed.
Pavlov spent the rest of his career studying what
eventually he termed classical conditioning, learning to
make a reflex response to a stimulus other than the
original, natural stimulus that normally produces it.

Before Conditioning

During Conditioning

After Conditioning

Conditioning Process

 Studying the digestive system in his dogs, Pavlov had

built a device that would accurately measure the
amount of saliva produced by the dogs when they were
fed a measured amount of food. Normally, when food
is placed in the mouth of any animal, the salivary
glands automatically start releasing saliva to help with
chewing and digestion. This is a normal reflex
(involuntary** response) in both animals and humans.
The food causes a particular reaction, the salivation. A
stimulus can be defined as any object, event, or
experience that causes a response, the reaction of an
organism. In the case of Pavlov's dogs, the food is the
stimulus and salivation is the response.

 Pavlov and Salivating Dogs : When first annoyed and

then intrigued Pavlov was that his dogs began salivating
when they weren't supposed to be salivating. Some dogs
would start salivating when they saw the lab assistant
bringing their food, others when they heard clatter of the
food bowl from the kitchen, and still others when it was
the time of day they were usually fed. Pavlov spent the
rest of his career studying what eventually he termed
classical conditioning, learning to make a reflex
response to a stimulus other than the original, natural
stimulus that normally produces it.

 Elements of Classical Conditioning : Neutral

Stimulus : Stimulus that has no effect on the desired
response.
Unconditional stimulus (UCS) a naturally
occurring stimulus that leads to an involuntary
response (food).
Unconditional response (UCR) a naturally
occurring stimulus that leads to an involuntary
response.
An involuntary response to a naturally occurring or
unconditional stimulus (salivation).

 Conditioned Stimulus (CS) : Stimulus that

become able to produce a learned reflex
response by being paired with the original
unconditional stimulus.
Conditioned Response (CR) : Learned
reflex response to conditioned stimulus.

Principles of Classical conditioning :

Acquisition : the process by which an
organisms learns an association in classical
conditioning is known as acquisition
(UCS).

 Stimulus Generalization : The tendency to response to a

stimulus i.e. only similar to the original conditioned stimulus
with the conditioned response.
Stimulus Discrimination :- The tendency to stop making a
generalized response to a stimulus i.e. similar to the original
conditioned stimulus because the similar stimulus is never
paired with the unconditioned stimulus.
Extinction : The disappearance or weakening of a learned
response following the removal or absence of the
unconditioned stimulus.
Spontaneous Recovery : The reappearance of learned
response after extinction has occurred.

Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning Terms:
Two parts: response (action that takes place)
stimulus (cause of action)
Response:
salivation
Stimulus:
food, bell/tone
How do we differentiate between
food/salivation and bell/salivation?

Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning Terms
Food and salivation:
a. Unconditioned Stimuli and Response
UCS (food) & UCR (salivation)
occurs naturally, automatically, unconditionally.
NOT learned, like reflex

Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning Terms
Bell and Salivation:
Conditioned Stimuli and Response
CS (tone/bell) & CR (salivation)
originally NEUTRAL stimulus, that, after
being paired with UCS, triggers CR.
learned, NOT automatic.
not naturally occurring.

Operant Conditioning/
Instrumental learning
B.F. Skinner:
Operant Conditioning:
Learning that relies on associating behavior
with its results or consequences.
Defined as operant animal is operating on
environment not passive like CC.
Highlights importance of reinforcement &
punishment in learning.

 Operant Conditioning - Skinner

The response is made first,
then reinforcement follows.

 In Operant Conditioning also referred to as

instrumental conditioning organism learns
to engage in certain behaviour because of
the effects of that behaviour. In Operant
Conditioning organisms engage in operant
behaviour that result in desirable
consequences.

Instrumental Conditioning :
Trial & Error learning.
EXPERIMENT ON CATS
Thorndike set up a problem that he called a puzzle box which he used
to study the learning in cats. The box was closed but it had a door
which could only be opened by performing an apparently
unconnected activity like pulling a string. Thorndike watched the cats
gradually learn how to get out of the box by 'trail-and-error' learning.
As the cat moved about in the box, trying to escape, sooner or later it
would accidentally pull the string, and the door would open. When the
cat was put into the box again, the time between it being put in and
finally pulling the string would gradually get shorter, until eventually
the cat would pull the string as soon as it was put in the box.
According to Thorndike, through trial and error the cat had learned the
"correct" response, which brought it the satisfaction of escape. The
cat's escape served as a reward that strengthened or "stamped in"
the correct response : other responses, which brought no reward,
were eventually "stamped out".

Skinner Box
Like Thorndike's 'puzzle box', Skinner developed a piece of
equipment for studying learning. This is called the 'Skinner
box', and is an attempt to reduce all those things that might
affect learning in different ways, down to almost nothing, so that
the actual learning can be studied in detail.
Skinner experiment, a hungry animal (usually a laboratory set)
is put into the box. Because it is hungry, it is very active, and
wanders around the box, exploring. As it wanders, at some
point it accidentally presses the lever, and a pallet of food is
delivered to the chute. Often, the rat does not find the food
immediately, but it does eventually. Very gradually, the rat
builds up a connection between pressing the lever and getting
the food reward, in the same way that Thorndike's cats learned
to let themselves out of the box. When the animal is pressing
the lever frequently, and examining the food delivery chute after
lever-pressing, then we know that it has 'learned' the activity.

Operant Conditioning
Procedure
a. Shaping:
Conditioning procedure that uses reinforcers to guide
behavior closer to desired behavior.
successive approximations

b. Reinforcer:
Anything that increases the frequency of the
preceding response or strengthens behavior.

Operant Conditioning
b. Reinforcers
i. Positive reinforcers: strengthens response by
presenting stimulus after response.
ii. Negative reinforcers: strengthens response by
removing an aversive stimulus after a response.
iii. Punishment: strengthens response by presenting
negative stimulus after a response.
Primary & Secondary Reinforcers

Schedules of reinforcement

Continuous
Intermittent
Ratio
Interval
Fixed - ratio

Fixed -interval

Variable- ratio

Variable- interval

 Fixed Interval Schedule : On a fixed-interval

schedule, rewards come the first response that is made
after a specified time has elapse. An animal on this
schedule tends to stop after it gets a reward, waiting
until near the time that it estimates a reward is due
before it responds again.
Variable Interval Schedule : In a variable-interval
schedule, organisms are rewarded for their first
response after a variable period of time has elapse since
the last reward. On such a schedule, rewards may
follow the first response after 2 minutes, then 30
seconds, then 6 minutes, then 10 seconds, and so on.

 Fixed Ratio Schedule : In a fixed ratio schedule, reinforcement is

provided after a fixed number of correct responses has been made.
The rat is reinforced according to a set pattern for example, every
fifth response, or every twentieth. A schedule of FR 6 would mean
that the rat was reinforced after every sixth response.
Variable Ratio Schedule : In a variable ratio schedule,
reinforcement is provided after a variable number of correct
responses has been made. In a 10 : 1 variable ratio schedule, the
mean number of correct responses that would have to be made
before a subsequent correct response should be reinforced is 10, but
the ratio of correct responses to reinforcements might be allowed to
vary from, say, 1:1 to 20:1 on a random basis. Animals on variableratio schedule are rewarded after a random number of responses
since the last reward.

Insight Learning
An insight is a sudden recognition of relationships
that leads to the solution of a complex problem.
Kohler's research included two classic experiments.
Experiment No. 1
In one, the "box problem" a tantalizing bunch of
bananas hung after the ceiling, beyond the grasp of
chimpanzee. No obvious tools such as sticks could
be used to reach the bananas, but some wooden
boxes lay on the floor.

Experiment No. 2
One Stick problem : In another experiment, Kohler
closed Sultan in a cage. In which Sultan could move a
little in his cage. Bananas were placed at a distance
which were clearly visible from the cage. A stick was
placed in the cage by which the bananas could be
pulled, but Sultan could not reach to bananas by his
hands. For sometime, he played with the stick and
tried to take the bananas by his hands suddenly he
had insight and he pulled the bananas with the help of
stick and was successful in has target.

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

Albert Bandura
Social learning theory combines and
integrates both behaviouristic and cognitive,
behavioural,
and
environmental
determinants. This theory agrees with some
part of behavioural and cognitive theories
but finds that these theories do not explain
the processes and elements therein fully. It
posits that learning can also take place via
vicarious or modeling.

MODELLING PROCESSES
The vicarious or modeling process essentially
involves observational learning. Learning does not
result from discrete stimulus- responseconsequence connections. Instead , learning can
take place through imitating others, called role
models. For example, Bandura, who has
contributed a lot to the development of social
learning theory, has observed that most of the
behaviours that people display are learned either
deliberately or inadvertently, through the influence
of the examples.

According to social learning theory, leaning occurs

in two steps:
1. The person observes how others act and then
acquires a mental picture of the act and its
consequences (reward and punishment)
2. The person acts out the acquired image and if the
consequences are positive, he will tend to do it
again. If the consequences are negative, the person
will not do it again.

MODELLING APPLICATIONS.
Modelling has some practical applications in
developing desirable behaviours in the
organizations. People behave not necessarily
according to the prescribed mode of behaviour but
they engage in the types of behaviour which are
demonstrated by their seniors. Here, the role of
practice is more important than precept. Luthans
and Kreitner have suggested a modeling strategy
to improve organizational performance which has
the following steps.

1. Precisely define the goal or target behaviour that will lead to

performance improvement.
2. Select the appropriate model and modeling medium (for
example, a live demonstration, a training film or a videotape).
3. Make sure the employee is capable of meeting the technical
skills requirements of the target behaviour.
4. Structure a favourable learning environment which increases
the probability of attention and reproduction.
5. Model the target behaviour and carry out supporting
activities, such as role playing; clearly demonstrate the
positive consequences of the modeled target behaviour.

Sachin Tendulkar
Role Model for
Young Cricketers

Indra Nooyi
Role Model for Young
Executives