Professional Courses
Industry-relevant training in Business, Technology, and Design to help professionals and graduates upskill for real-world careers.
Categories
Interactive Games
Fun, engaging games to boost memory, math fluency, typing speed, and English skillsβperfect for learners of all ages.
Typing
Memory
Math
English Adventures
Knowledge
Enroll to start learning
Youβve not yet enrolled in this course. Please enroll for free to listen to audio lessons, classroom podcasts and take practice test.
Interactive Audio Lesson
Listen to a student-teacher conversation explaining the topic in a relatable way.
Understanding Learning
Unlock Audio Lesson
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Lesson
Welcome everyone! Today, we will explore the definition of learning. Can anyone tell me how learning is defined?
Is it any change in behavior?
Good point! Learning is defined as any relatively permanent change in behavior or behavioral potential produced by experience. So, what distinguishes it from temporary changes?
Temporary changes could also happen due to fatigue or drugs, right?
Exactly! Changes due to drugs or fatigue are not considered learning. They are transient, while learning involves lasting effects. Let's remember this using the acronym 'PERM': Permanent, Experience, Reinforcement, Memory. Everyone got that?
Got it, PERM summarizes the key aspects!
Great! Learning is foundational in developing skills. Now, who can give an example of learning from their own life?
I learned to ride a bicycle through practice!
Perfect example! Weβll build on this concept in our next session.
Classical Conditioning
Unlock Audio Lesson
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Lesson
Let's dive into classical conditioning. Can someone tell me who introduced this concept?
Pavlov, right?
Absolutely! Pavlovβs work with dogs showed us how a neutral stimulus can become associated with an unconditioned stimulus. Can anyone give me an example of this?
When the bell rings, the dogs start salivating because they associate the sound with food.
Great example! The bell is a conditioned stimulus (CS), and the food is the unconditioned stimulus (US). What happens after conditioning is established?
The dog salivates just at the sound of the bell!
Exactly! That response is known as the conditioned response (CR). Now, to remember these terms, letβs use the acronym 'CUS' for Conditioned Unconditioned Stimulus. Everybody repeat that!
CUS!
Fantastic! Learning these terms helps us understand behavior in a scientific context.
Operant Conditioning
Unlock Audio Lesson
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Lesson
Now letβs discuss operant conditioning as introduced by Skinner. Can anyone explain what it is?
Itβs about learning through the consequences of our actions, right?
Correct! In operant conditioning, behaviors are strengthened by reinforcement. What kinds of reinforcement can you think of?
Positive reinforcement, like getting a reward!
And negative reinforcement, like avoiding something unpleasant!
Exactly! Letβs remember that with the phrase 'Reinforce to Reinvent.' This means we strengthen behaviors to promote change. Why is timing important in reinforcement?
If itβs delayed, it might not connect to the action.
Exactly. Immediate reinforcement is most effective. You all are catching on very well!
Observational Learning
Unlock Audio Lesson
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Lesson
Now, let's explore observational learning. What do we mean when we say we learn by observing others?
We imitate others' actions?
Exactly! Bandura's studies showed that we model our behavior after others. Can you think of situations in your life where you learned this way?
I learned to cook by watching my parents!
Wonderful example! Observing skills is a key component of social learning. Letβs summarize with the acronym 'MODELS' - Model, Observe, Demonstrate, Engage, Learn, and Socialize. Everyone repeat it!
MODELS!
Excellent! Now you understand how we integrate behaviors socially.
Introduction & Overview
Read a summary of the section's main ideas. Choose from Basic, Medium, or Detailed.
Quick Overview
Standard
The Key Terms section provides definitions and explanations for fundamental concepts in learning, highlighting the various forms of learning, reinforcement types, and cognitive processes involved. These terms serve as crucial references for a deeper understanding of learning paradigms.
Detailed
Detailed Summary of Key Terms in Learning
This section outlines crucial terminology related to the learning processes described in the chapter. Learning, defined as 'any relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential produced by experience,' encompasses various methodologies. Key terms include classical conditioning, operant conditioning, observational learning, and cognitive processes such as reinforcement, discrimination, generalization, and the phenomenon of learned helplessness. Understanding these terms is essential for grasping the types of learning and functioning of psychological models, serving as a foundation for further exploration in the field.
Youtube Videos
Audio Book
Dive deep into the subject with an immersive audiobook experience.
Associative Learning
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
Learning that occurs when a person or animal learns an association between two stimuli or a behavior and a stimulus.
Detailed Explanation
Associative learning refers to a type of learning where an organism learns to associate two events or stimuli with each other. This can happen through classical conditioning, where an unconditioned stimulus elicits a response that is learned to be associated with a previously neutral stimulus.
Examples & Analogies
For example, if you always feel hungry when you hear the McDonald's jingle, you've learned to associate that sound with food. Similarly, a dog might learn to salivate when it hears a bell because it has been conditioned to associate the sound with meal time.
Biofeedback
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
A method that involves using visual or auditory feedback to gain control over a physiological function.
Detailed Explanation
Biofeedback is a technique that teaches individuals to control physiological processes such as heart rate, muscle tension, and blood pressure through feedback. By providing real-time data on these functions, individuals can learn to modify their behavior and improve health outcomes.
Examples & Analogies
Think of biofeedback like having a coach who gives you immediate feedback on your performance. Just like a coach helps an athlete adjust their technique to perform better, biofeedback helps individuals adjust their physiological responses to feel calmer or reduce stress.
Cognitive Map
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
A mental representation of one's physical environment.
Detailed Explanation
A cognitive map is an internal mental layout of one's environment, which helps in navigating and recalling the locations of important places. It allows a person to visualize and understand spatial relationships between various locations.
Examples & Analogies
Imagine you have been to a new mall a few times. After a while, you can mentally visualize how to find specific stores without needing a map, just like a mental map of the mall. This ability to recall how to get around without physically seeing it is due to your cognitive map.
Conditioned Response
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
A learned reaction to a previously neutral stimulus.
Detailed Explanation
A conditioned response is the behavior that occurs after the organism learns the association between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US). After repeated pairings of a CS with a US, the CS alone will elicit the same response as the US.
Examples & Analogies
If every time you see your dog treat (CS) you also hear a can opener (US) and then your dog receives the treat, eventually, the dog will salivate (CR) at the sound of the can opener alone, expecting a treat.
Conditioned Stimulus
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
A previously neutral stimulus that, after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus, elicits a conditioned response.
Detailed Explanation
The conditioned stimulus starts as a neutral signal that does not provoke a response. However, after being associated multiple times with an unconditioned stimulus, it gains significance and begins to trigger a conditioned response.
Examples & Analogies
For example, in Pavlov's experiments, the bell was initially a neutral sound (conditioned stimulus). When paired with food (unconditioned stimulus), it eventually caused dogs to salivate (conditioned response) just by ringing the bell.
Conditioning
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
The process of learning associations between stimuli and responses.
Detailed Explanation
Conditioning is the fundamental process in learning that results from an association being formed between a stimulus and a behavior. The two main types of conditioning are classical and operant conditioning.
Examples & Analogies
For example, every time a child sees their parent putting on a coat, they might learn that it means going outside. This learned association is conditioning in action, where the sight of the coat cues the expectation of an outdoor activity.
Discrimination
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
The ability to distinguish between different stimuli and respond differently to them.
Detailed Explanation
Discrimination involves the ability of an organism to distinguish between different stimuli. This means the organism can respond differently to stimuli that are not identical, as a learned response may not apply universally across similar stimuli.
Examples & Analogies
For instance, a child might learn to fear barking dogs, but not all dogs. Through discrimination, the child differentiates between the sound of a friendly dog and a barking stray dog, allowing them to choose when to react (or feel scared).
Dyslexia
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
A learning disability that impairs reading ability.
Detailed Explanation
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that relates to reading, making it difficult for individuals to process the phonological components of language, which can severely impact reading fluency and comprehension.
Examples & Analogies
Consider a child who sees the word 'cat' but struggles to connect the sounds of the letters to form the word in their mind. Dyslexia is like a barrier that prevents smooth reading, even when the child understands the concepts being discussed.
Extinction
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
The gradual weakening of a conditioned response that can occur when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
Detailed Explanation
Extinction happens when a conditioned response is no longer reinforced, leading to a gradual decrease in the behavior. When the conditioned stimulus is presented many times without the unconditioned stimulus, the learned response fades.
Examples & Analogies
If you trained a dog to sit with treats and then stopped giving treats when it sits, over time, the dog will forget to sit on command as the response (sitting) is no longer reinforced, demonstrating extinction.
Free Recall
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
A method of testing memory where a participant is asked to recall information without specific cues.
Detailed Explanation
In free recall, individuals must retrieve and report information from memory without prompts. This method assesses the ability to retrieve learned information spontaneously, illustrating the organization and storage of memories.
Examples & Analogies
Imagine you study for a spelling test without any hints. When asked to write down everything you learned, you're using free recall, displaying how well you have stored the information based on your study methods.
Generalisation
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
The tendency to respond similarly to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus.
Detailed Explanation
Generalisation occurs when an organism responds to stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimulus, often as an automatic response without the need for retraining.
Examples & Analogies
For example, if a child learns to be afraid of a specific type of dog after being bitten, they may also experience fear when encountering similar dog breeds, even if they haven't been previously bitten by them. This response indicates generalization.
Insight
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
A sudden realization of a problem's solution that does not involve trial and error.
Detailed Explanation
Insight learning represents a moment when a solution to a previously unsolvable problem suddenly becomes clear to the person. This type of learning occurs automatically and can yield immediate results.
Examples & Analogies
Consider a student struggling with a math problem. After thinking about it for a while, they suddenly understand how to approach it, as if a light bulb just turned on in their head. This is insight at work.
Learning Disabilities
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
A group of disorders that affect the way individuals learn and process information, often not linked to intelligence.
Detailed Explanation
Learning disabilities refer to a variety of disorders that impact the ability to read, write, and perform mathematical tasks. These are not indicative of a person's overall intelligence but reflect specific difficulties in processing information.
Examples & Analogies
Imagine a bright child who struggles to read. They may understand concepts during conversations but can have a hard time pointing to words on a page due to a learning disability, similar to how someone can be skilled at cooking but struggles with math.
Mental Set
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
A tendency to approach situations in a certain way, often based on prior experiences.
Detailed Explanation
A mental set represents a predisposition to think about a problem in a particular way. It can influence how a person might solve problems, sometimes limiting creativity or solutions.
Examples & Analogies
If you always solve puzzles by following a specific pattern, your mental set may prevent you from seeing a simpler solution to a new puzzle that doesn't fit your usual approach.
Modeling
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
Learning by observing and imitating the behaviors of others.
Detailed Explanation
Modeling occurs when individuals learn behaviors, norms, or attitudes from observing others, often referred to as social learning. This is a fundamental way humans, especially children, learn.
Examples & Analogies
Think of a young child who learns to tie their shoes by watching a parent do it. Instead of reading a manual, they learn through observation and repetition, which is the essence of modeling in learning.
Negative Reinforcement
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
The removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase a desired behavior.
Detailed Explanation
Negative reinforcement involves the removal of a negative condition to reinforce a behavior, thus increasing the occurrence of that behavior in the future by associating it with relief from discomfort.
Examples & Analogies
For example, if you buckle your seatbelt to stop the annoying beeping sound in your car, the beeping is the unpleasant stimulus removed when the desired behavior (buckling the seatbelt) is performed.
Operant Conditioning
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
A method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior.
Detailed Explanation
Operant conditioning is a learning process by which the consequences of a response influence the likelihood of that response occurring again. This process involves reinforcement, which increases behavior, and punishment, which decreases behavior.
Examples & Analogies
Consider a pet that learns to sit on command. If it receives a treat for doing so, it is more likely to sit when asked in the future. This is operant conditioning at work.
Positive Reinforcement
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
The introduction of a rewarding stimulus to strengthen a behavior.
Detailed Explanation
Positive reinforcement involves introducing a positive stimulus after a desired behavior to increase the likelihood of that behavior being repeated in the future.
Examples & Analogies
If a child receives praise or a sticker for doing their homework, the praise and reward serve as positive reinforcement, making it more likely that the child will do their homework again in the future.
Punishment
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
The introduction of an undesirable stimulus or the removal of a desirable stimulus to decrease behavior.
Detailed Explanation
Punishment is a consequence that reduces the likelihood of a behavior recurring by either adding an unpleasant stimulus (positive punishment) or removing a pleasant stimulus (negative punishment).
Examples & Analogies
For example, if a child is scolded (positive punishment) for misbehaving, they are less likely to repeat that behavior. Alternatively, if they lose their video game privileges (negative punishment), they will also learn that the behavior leads to loss.
Reinforcement
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
Any stimulus that increases the likelihood of a response occurring again.
Detailed Explanation
Reinforcement can be understood as any event that follows a behavior and increases the chances that the behavior will happen again. It can be positive or negative, depending on whether it adds or removes a stimulus.
Examples & Analogies
After working hard at a task, if you treat yourself to ice cream, that treat serves as positive reinforcement, encouraging you to put in the same effort on tasks in the future.
Serial Learning
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
A method where learners recall items in the order they were presented.
Detailed Explanation
In serial learning, individuals are required to learn and recall information in the exact sequence that it was presented. It helps in understanding the organization and sequence of information.
Examples & Analogies
If you learn a song by memorizing the lyrics line by line in the order they are sung, you are engaging in serial learning. This method can help embed the sequence into your memory.
Spontaneous Recovery
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
The re-emergence of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period of rest.
Detailed Explanation
Spontaneous recovery describes the phenomenon where a conditioned response that has been extinguished reappears after some time without retraining. This can illustrate the persistence of learning even after it seems to have faded.
Examples & Analogies
Imagine a dog that previously learned to sit but seems to have forgotten it due to lack of reinforcement. After a few weeks, when the command is given, the dog might sit again spontaneously, demonstrating memory persistence while the behavior was inactive.
Unconditioned Response
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
An automatic response that occurs naturally without prior learning.
Detailed Explanation
The unconditioned response is a natural reaction to a stimulus that does not require any learning or conditioning. It occurs automatically when the unconditioned stimulus is presented.
Examples & Analogies
Consider the reflex of a personβs knee jerking when tapped by a doctor. The jerk occurs naturally and instinctively, illustrating how unconditioned responses are involuntary.
Unconditioned Stimulus
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response.
Detailed Explanation
An unconditioned stimulus is a stimulus that elicits a response without prior conditioning. This is integral to classical conditioning as it sets the stage for learning associations.
Examples & Analogies
For instance, the smell of food (unconditioned stimulus) naturally causes salivation (unconditioned response) in a hungry person without any prior training or conditioning.
Verbal Learning
Unlock Audio Book
Signup and Enroll to the course for listening the Audio Book
The process of acquiring knowledge through words and language.
Detailed Explanation
Verbal learning involves learning through language, where words serve as the primary medium for expressing thoughts and concepts. It includes methods for studying how people recall and use language effectively.
Examples & Analogies
Think about how you learn a new language. You practice vocabulary and structure through conversations and exercises, equipping you with both spoken and written skills for communication.
Definitions & Key Concepts
Learn essential terms and foundational ideas that form the basis of the topic.
Key Concepts
-
Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A previously neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, triggers a conditioned response.
-
Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A stimulus that naturally triggers an unconditioned response without prior conditioning.
-
Conditioned Response (CR): The learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.
-
Reinforcement: Any event that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a behavioral response.
-
Extinction: The reduction or elimination of a conditioned response after the absence of reinforcement.
Examples & Real-Life Applications
See how the concepts apply in real-world scenarios to understand their practical implications.
Examples
-
A child learns to fear dogs after being bitten. The dog is now a conditioned stimulus that elicits a fear response.
-
A student studies hard to get good grades and receives praise from parents, reinforcing the study behavior.
Memory Aids
Use mnemonics, acronyms, or visual cues to help remember key information more easily.
π΅ Rhymes Time
-
When learning seems confused and lost, remember CS and US are key, at what cost?
π Fascinating Stories
-
Once, in a laboratory, a scientist named Pavlov found that his dogs would salivate not just at food, but also at the sound of a bell when food was presented. This discovery led to the understanding of classical conditioning.
π§ Other Memory Gems
-
R-E-C - Recognize, Evaluate, Condition - to remember the steps in classical conditioning.
π― Super Acronyms
RISP - Reinforcement Increases Stimulus Probability - helps recall how reinforcement functions.
Flash Cards
Review key concepts with flashcards.
Glossary of Terms
Review the Definitions for terms.
-
Term: Associative learning
Definition:
Learning that involves forming associations between stimuli and responses.
-
Term: Classical Conditioning
Definition:
A learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus.
-
Term: Operant Conditioning
Definition:
A type of learning where behavior is controlled by consequences, such as reinforcement or punishment.
-
Term: Observational Learning
Definition:
Learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others.
-
Term: Reinforcement
Definition:
A stimulus or event that increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.
-
Term: Extinction
Definition:
The disappearance of a learned response when reinforcement is no longer provided.