learning

learning

What is learning?
Learning can be defined as any relatively
permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a
result of practice or experience.

Learning
Any relatively permanent
change in behavior that occurs
as a result of experience.

Learning
Learning
Involves
Involves change
change
Is
Is relatively
relatively permanent
permanent
Is
Is acquired
acquired through
through experience
experience

Definitions: Learning is:

1. a persisting change in human
performance
or performance
potential . . . (brought) about
as a result
of the learners interaction with
the environment (Driscoll, 1994, pp. 8-9).
2. the relatively permanent change in a
persons knowledge or behavior due to
experience (Mayer, 1982, p. 1040).
3. an enduring change in behavior, or in
the
capacity to behave in a given
fashion, which results from practice or
other forms of experience (Shuell, 1986, p. 412).

 Learning is an important psychological

process that-determines human behavior.
Learning can be defined as relatively
permanent change in behavior that occurs as
a result of experience or reinforced
practice".
There are four important points in the
definition of learning:
Learning involves a change in behavior,
though this change is not necessarily an
improvement over previous behavior.
Learning generally has the association of
improved behavior, but bad habits,
prejudices, stereotypes, and work
restrictions are also learned.

 The, behavioral change must be relatively

permanent. Any temporary change in
behavior is not a part of learning.
The behavioral change must be based oh
some form of practice or experience.
The practice or experience must be
reinforced in order so as to facilitate
learning to occur

 COMPONENTS OF THE LEARNING

PROCESS:

The components of learning process are:

Drive/Motives
Stimuli,
Generalization
Discrimination
Responses,
Reinforcement and
Retention.

 Drive/Motive
Learning frequently occurs in the presence of
drive - any strong stimulus that force action.
Primary energisers of behaviour. Drives are
basically of two types -primary (or physiological);
and secondary (or psychological). These two
categories of drives often interact with each other.
Individuals operate under many drives at the
same time. To predict a behavior, it is necessary to
establish which drives are stimulating the most.

 Cue (sign or signal) Stimuli

Cue stimuli are those factors that exist in the
environment as perceived by the individual. The
idea is to discover the conditions under which
stimulus will increase the probability of eliciting a
specific response. There may be two types of
stimuli with respect to their results in terms of
response concerned: generalization and
discrimination

Generalization
It is the condition when the subject is not able to
discriminate between CS and another stimulus
because of a great degree of similarity between
them.

discrimination
The process of making the subject learn how to
discriminate between two different stimuli
through practice. . Discrimination has wide
applications in 'organizational behavior. For
example, a supervisor can discriminate between
two equally high producing workers, one with
low quality and other with high quality.

 Responses
The stimulus results in responses. Responses
may be in the physical form or may be in terms of
attitudes, familiarity, perception or other
complex phenomena. In the above example, the
supervisor discriminates between the worker
producing low quality products and the worker
producing high quality products, and positively
responds only to the quality conscious worker.

 Reinforcement
Reinforcement is a fundamental condition of
learning. Without reinforcement, no measurable
modification of behavior takes place.
Reinforcement may be defined as the
environmental event's affecting the probability of
occurrence of responses with which they are
associated.

 Retention
The stability of learned behavior over time is
defined as retention and its contrary is known as
forgetting. Some of the learning is retained over a
period of time while others may be forgotten.

Theories of Learning:

1-behavioristic theory:

A- Classical Conditioning
A type of conditioning in which an individual
responds to some stimulus that would not
ordinarily produce such a response.

Key
KeyConcepts
Concepts
Unconditioned
Unconditionedstimulus
stimulus
Unconditioned
Unconditionedresponse
response
Conditioned
Conditionedstimulus
stimulus
Conditioned
Conditionedresponse
response

What is conditioning?
It is a form of learning in which the capability to
elicit or extract response is transferred from one
stimulus to another.
It is of two types:
1. Classical conditioning( Ivan Pavlov)
2. Instrumental conditioning (
B.F. Skinner)

The work of the famous Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov

demonstrated the classical conditioning process. When Pavlov
presented a piece of meat to the dog in the experiment, Pavlov
noticed a great deal of salivation. He termed the food an
unconditioned stimulus and the salivation an unconditioned
response. When the dog saw the meat, it salivated. On the
other hand, when Pavlov merely rang a bell, the dog did not
salivate. Pavlov subsequently introduced the sound of a bell
each time the meat was given to the dog. The dog eventually
learned to salivate in response to the ringing of the-bell-even
when there was no meat. Pavlov had conditioned the dog to
respond to a learned stimulus. Thorndike called this the "law of
exercise" which states that behavior can be learned by
repetitive association between a stimulus and a response.

Classical conditioning has a limited value in the study of

organizational behavior. As pointed out by Skinner,
classical conditioning represents an insignificant part of
total human learning. Classical conditioning is passive.
Something happens and we react in a specific or
particular fashion. It is draw out in response to a specific,
identifiable event. As such it explains simple and
reflexive behaviors. But behavior of people in
organizations is emit rather than elicited, and it is
voluntary rather than reflexive. The learning of these
complex behaviors can be explained or better
understood by looking at operant conditioning.

classical conditioning
It is that conditioning when the conditioned
stimulus starts evoking the similar response as
that of unconditioned stimulus

Classical Conditioning Terms

Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A stimulus that will
provoke a response without training
e.g. food

Unconditioned Response (UR): The response to an

unconditioned stimulus
e.g. salivation

Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A stimulus that is paired

with a US, and comes to provoke the same response as the
US (in the absence of the US)
e.g. tone

Conditioned Response (CR): The same response as the

UR, but now to a CS, rather than to a US
e.g. salivation

Classical Conditioning:
Pavlovs Dogs

US
(food)

UR (salivation)

pair with

CS
(tone/bell)

CR (salivation)

Instrumental conditioning
Also known as operant conditioning
Instrumental conditioning refers to an
association between our response to the event
and its consequences.

Theories of Learning (contd)

Operant Conditioning
A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary
behavior leads to a reward or prevents a
punishment.
Key
Concepts

Key Concepts
Reflexive
Reflexive(unlearned)
(unlearned)behavior
behavior

Conditioned
Conditioned(learned)
(learned)behavior
behavior
Reinforcement
Reinforcement
226

An operant is defined as a behavior that produces effects. Operant

conditioning, basically a product of Skinnerian psychology, suggests that
individuals emit responses that are either not rewarded or are punished.
Operant conditioning is a voluntary behavior and it is determined, maintained
and controlled by its consequences.
Operant conditioning is a powerful tool for managing people in organizations.
Most behaviors in organizations are learned, controlled and altered by the
consequences; i.e. operant behaviors. Management can use the operant condi
tioning process successfully to control and influence the behavior of employees
by manipulating its reward system. Reinforcement is anything that both
increases the strength of response and tends to induce repetitions of the
behavior. Four types of reinforcement strategies can be employed by managers
to influence the behavior of the employees, viz., positive reinforcement,
negative reinforcement, extinction and punishment.

Operant Conditioning Terms

Reinforcement: Increasing the frequency or
probability of a behavior by presenting or
removing a stimulus following that behavior
Punishment: Decreasing the frequency or
probability of a behavior by presenting or
removing a stimulus following that behavior

Operant Conditioning
Stimulus Added

Behavior
Increases

Behavior
Decreases

Stimulus Taken
Away

Positive
Reinforcement

Negative
Reinforcement

Positive
Punishment

Negative
Punishment

Cognitive theory:

Edward Tolman in the

field of cognitive psychology, stated that cognitive
learning consists of a relationship b/w cognitive
environmental cues and expectations.
cognition refers to an individuals ideas, thoughts,
knowledge ,interpretations and understanding about
himself and herself and his environment. Main
focused points are:
Knowledge is stored cognitively as symbols
Learning is the process of connecting symbols in a
meaningful & memorable way
Studies focused on the mental processes that
facilitate symbol connection

Cognitive theory
He tested this theory by conducting controlled
experiments on white rats. In These experiments,
rats were allowed to run through a complicated
maze in search of the food. The food were placed at
certain points in maze. When the rats came across
the food, they began to associate the presence of
food with certain cognitive cues. As a result,
learning took place.
This theory argue that the learner forms a cognitive
structure in memory, preserves and organizes
information about the various events that occur in
a learning situation.

Social learning theory

The social learning theory proposed by
Albert Bandura has become perhaps the
most influential theory of learning and
development. Bandura believed that direct
reinforcement could not account for all
types of learning.
His theory added a social element, arguing
that people can learn new information and
behaviors by watching other people. Known
as observational learning (or modeling),
this type of learning can be used to explain
a wide variety of behaviors.

Theories of Learning (contd)

Social-Learning Theory

People can learn through observation

and direct experience.

Key
KeyConcepts
Concepts
Attentional
Attentionalprocesses
processes
Retention
Retentionprocesses
processes
Motor
Motorreproduction
reproductionprocesses
processes
Reinforcement
Reinforcementprocesses
processes

Basic Social Learning Concepts

There are three core concepts at the heart of
social learning theory. First is the idea that
people can learn through observation.
Next is the idea that internal mental states
are an essential part of this process.
Finally, this theory recognizes that just
because something has been learned, it
does not mean that it will result in a change
in behavior.

People can learn through observation.

Observational Learning
In his famous "Bobo doll" studies, Bandura
demonstrated that children learn and imitate
behaviors they have observed in other people,
what we have learned comes from watching
models parents, peers motion pic. etc

2. Mental states are important to learning.

Intrinsic Reinforcement
Bandura noted that external, environmental
reinforcement was not the only factor to influence
learning and behavior. He described intrinsic
reinforcement as a form of internal reward, such as
pride, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment.
This emphasis on internal thoughts and cognitions
helps connect learning theories to cognitive
developmental theories. Bandura himself describes
his approach as a 'social cognitive theory.'

3. Learning does not necessarily lead to a change in

behavior.

While behaviorists believed that learning

led to a permanent change in behavior,
observational learning demonstrates that
people can learn new information without
demonstrating new behaviors.

 The Modeling Process

Not all observed behaviors are effectively
learned. Factors involving both the model and
the learner can play a role in whether social
learning is successful. Certain requirements and
steps must also be followed. The following steps
are involved in the observational learning and
modeling process:

 Attention:
In order to learn, you need to be paying attention.
Anything that detracts your attention is going to
have a negative effect on observational learning.
If the model interesting or there is a novel aspect
to the situation, you are far more likely to
dedicate your full attention to learning.

 Retention:
The ability to store information is also an
important part of the learning process. Retention
can be affected by a number of factors, but the
ability to pull up information later and act on it is
vital to observational learning.

 Reproduction:
Once you have paid attention to the model and
retained the information, it is time to actually
perform the behavior you observed. Further
practice of the learned behavior leads to
improvement and skill advancement.

 Motivation:
Finally, in order for observational learning to be
successful, you have to be motivated to imitate the
behavior that has been modeled. Reinforcement
and punishment play an important role in
motivation. While experiencing these motivators
can be highly effective, so can observing other
experience some type of reinforcement or
punishment. For example, if you see another
student rewarded with extra credit for being to
class on time, you might start to show up a few
minutes early each day.

Theories of Learning (contd)

Shaping Behavior

Systematically reinforcing each successive step

that moves an individual closer to the desired
response.
Key
KeyConcepts
Concepts
Reinforcement
Reinforcementis
isrequired
requiredto
tochange
changebehavior.
behavior.
Some
Somerewards
rewardsare
aremore
moreeffective
effectivethan
thanothers.
others.
The
Thetiming
timingof
ofreinforcement
reinforcementaffects
affectslearning
learningspeed
speedand
and
permanence.
permanence.

243

Types of Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement
Providing a reward for a desired behavior.

Negative reinforcement
Removing an unpleasant consequence when the
desired behavior occurs.

Punishment
Applying an undesirable condition to eliminate an
undesirable behavior.

Extinction-Withholding reinforcement of a
behavior to cause its cessation.

Schedules of Reinforcement
Continuous Reinforcement

A desired behavior is reinforced

each time it is demonstrated.

Intermittent Reinforcement
A desired behavior is reinforced
often enough to make the
behavior worth repeating but not
every time it is demonstrated.
245

Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed-Interval Schedule
Rewards are spaced at
uniform time intervals.
Variable-Interval Schedule
Rewards are initiated after a
fixed or constant number of
responses.

Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed-ratio

247

Questions

Thank you