CHAPTER Three

LEARNING AND THEORIES OF LEARNING

3.1. Definition, Characteristics and Principles of

Learning
3.1.1. Definitions of learning
There are many definitions of learning. However, the
most widely accepted definition is the one given below.
Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior
occurring as a result of experience or practice.
The above definition emphasizes
Learning is a change in behavior
This change in behavior is relatively permanent
It does not include change due to illness, fatigue, maturation
and use of intoxicant.
This permanent change in behavior is not because of
biological factors (like hormonal changes) that bring
permanent changes in behavior; but because of experience, or
practice
The learning is not directly observable but manifests in the
activities of the individual
3.1.2. Characteristics of learning
Teachers and school administrative personnel need to have
a good understanding of the general characteristics of
learning in order to apply them in school learning
situation. If learning is a change in behavior as a result of
experience, and then instruction must include a careful and
systematic creation of those experiences that promote
learning. This process can be quite complex because,
among other things, an individual's background strongly
influences the way that person learns.
 Yoakman and Simpson (???) have described the following major
important characteristics of learning:
 Learning is continuous modification of behavior throughout life
 Learning is pervasive, it reaches into all aspects of human life.
 Learning involves the whole person, socially, emotionally &
intellectually.
 Learning is often a change in the organization of experiences
 Learning is responsive to incentives
 Learning is an active process
 Learning is purposeful
 Learning depends on maturation, motivation and practice.
 Learning is multifaceted
3.1.3. Principles of learning
There are important principles that help explaining how
learning occurs effectively. Some of these most important
principles of learning are as follows:
 Individuals learn best when they are physically, mentally,
and emotionally ready to learn.
 Students learn best and retain information longer when they
have meaningful practice and exercise
 Learning is strengthened when accompanied by a pleasant
or satisfying feeling, and that learning is weakened when
associated with an unpleasant feeling
 Things learned first create a strong impression in the mind
that is difficult to erase.
 Things most recently learned are best remembered.
 The principle of intensity implies that a student will learn
more from the real thing than from a substitute.
 Individuals must have some abilities and skills that may help
them to learn.
 Things freely learned are best learned - the greater the
freedom enjoyed by individuals, the higher the intellectual
and moral advancement.
3.2. Factors Influencing Learning
Some of the factors that affect learning are the following.
 Motivation: The learner‘s motivation matters the effectiveness of
learning. The stronger and clearer the motives for learning, the greater
are the effort to learn. When the motives of learning are high, the learner
becomes enthusiastic.
 Maturation: Neuro-muscular coordination is important for learning a
given task. Example, The child has to be mature before she/he is able to
learn.
 Health condition of the learner: The learner should be in a good health
status to learn. Example- Sensory defects, malnutrition, toxic conditions
of the body, loss of sleep and fatigue hinder effective learning.
 Psychological wellbeing of the learner: individual‘s
psychological states like worries, fears, feelings of
loneliness and inferiority hinders learning. Whereas self-
respect, self-reliance, and self-confidence are necessary for
effective learning.
 Good working conditions – absence or presence of fresh
air, light, comfortable surroundings, moderate temperature,
absence of distractions like noise and learning aids
determine learning effectiveness
 Background experiences: having background experiences
affect effectiveness of learning. All related facts and
understandings from a previously learned course should be
brought to new learning.
 Length of the working period: Learning periods should neither
be too short nor too long. Long learning time sets fatigue and
reduces effectiveness in learning. Short learning time doesn‘t
allow adequate practice needed to master a learning task.
 Massed and distributed learning: Learning that spreads across
time with reasonable time gaps brings better results compared
with crammed learning that occurs at once or within short span
of time.
3.3. Theories of Learning and their
Applications
Here in this section, you will learn about theories of
learning with their possible implications and applications.
The theories discussed in the section are classical
conditioning, operant conditioning, observational and
cognitive learning theories.
3.3.1. Behavioral Theory of Learning
Behavioral theory of learning believes that learning occurs
as a result of stimulus-response associations.
Behavioral theories emphasize observable behaviors, seek
laws to govern all organisms, and provide explanations which
focus on consequences. Behaviorists also differ among
themselves with respect to their views about the role of
reinforcement in learning. There are two major behavioral
theories of learning. They are known as classical and operant
Conditioning. 3.3.1.1. Classical conditioning
theory
Classical conditioning focuses on the learning of making
involuntary emotional or physiological responses to stimuli
that normally elicit no response; for example, s fear, increased
heartbeat, salivation or sweating at the sight of a hyena.
Through the process of classical conditioning, humans and animals
can be trained to act involuntarily to a stimulus that previously had
no effect - or a very different effect - on them. The stimulus comes
to elicit, modify the behavior of the learners in such a way as the
responses originally connected with a particular stimulus comes to
be aroused by a different stimulus.
Classical conditioning involves what are known as conditioned
reflexes. An example of this is a ‗knee-jerk‘ reflex. This reflex isn‘t
controlled by the brain, but by the spinal cord, and it is straight
forward response to the stimulus. Another example of a reflex is the
production of saliva in a response to food when you are hungry, and
it was this response which Pavlov first investigated when he
discovered classical conditioning.
Therefore, in short Classical conditioning is a type of learning
in which a neutral stimulus comes to bring about a response
after it is paired with a stimulus that naturally brings about that
response.
Basics of Classical Condition
To demonstrate classical conditioning, we must first identify
stimuli and responses. In addition, you must be well
familiarized with the following basic terms of classical
condition:
Neutral stimulus: A stimulus that, before conditioning, does
not naturally bring about the response of interest.
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that naturally
brings about a particular response without having been learned.
Unconditioned response (UCR): A response that is natural and
needs no training (e.g., salivation at the smell of food).
Conditioned stimulus (CS): A once neutral stimulus that has
been paired with an unconditioned stimulus to bring about a
response formerly caused only by the unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned response (CR): A response that, after
conditioning, follows a previously neutral stimulus (e.g.,
salivation at the ringing of a bell)
Hence, the theory of classical conditioning represents a
process in which a neutral stimulus, by pairing with a natural
stimulus, acquires all the characteristics of natural stimulus. It
is also sometimes called substitution learning because it
involves substituting a neutral stimulus in place of natural
stimulus. The theory states that the responses originally made
to unconditioned stimulus becomes associated with the
conditioned stimulus and what is learned is a conditioned
stimulus - conditioned response bond of some kind. To make
this explanation clear, let us consider Pavlov’s experiment.
Stage 1. Before training
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) (e.g. bell) No response
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) (e.g. meat)
unconditioned Response
(e.g.
Salivation)
Stage 2.During training
CS UCR
UCS
Stage3. After training
CS CR

(The conditioned stimulus now produces a conditioned response.)

Figure. Pavlov’s classical conditioning experiment
In the above experiment the food was an unconditioned
stimulus (UCS) - stimulus that automatically produces an
emotional or physiological response - because no prior training
or “conditioning “ was needed to establish the natural
connection between food and salvation. The salivation was an
unconditioned response (UCR) - naturally occurring emotional
or physiological response again because it occurred
automatically, no conditioning required.
Using these three elements- the food, the salivation, and the
bell sound - Pavlov demonstrated that a dog could be
conditioned to salivate after hearing the bell sound.
He did this by contiguous pairing of the sound with food. At
the beginning of the experiment, he sounded the bell and then
quickly fed the dog. After Pavlov repeated this several times,
the dog began to salivate after hearing the sound but before
receiving the food. Now the sound had become a conditioned
stimulus (CS) - stimulus that evokes an emotional or
physiological response after conditioning - that could bring
forth salivation by itself. The response of salivating after the
tone was now a conditioned response (CR) - learned response
to a previously neutral stimulus.
Principles of Classical Condition

The basic principles of classical conditioning include the

role of stimulus generalization, stimulus discriminations,
extinction and spontaneous recovery.
A. Stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination

Stimulus generalization is a process in which, after a

stimulus has been conditioned to produce a particular
response, stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus
produce the same responses. For example, a dog conditioned
to salivate to a dinner bell (CS) might also salivate to a door
bell, a telephone bell.
Stimulus discrimination is the process that occurs if two
stimuli are sufficiently distinct from one another that one
evokes a conditioned response but the other does not; the
ability to differentiate between stimuli. Example, the dog
salivates only in response to the dinner bell instead of the
doorbell or the telephone bell.
B. Extinction and spontaneous recovery
In Pavlov’s procedure, if a CS is repeatedly presented
without presenting the UCS (meat), the CR will diminish
and eventually stop occurring. This process is called
extinction.
A dog that has learned to salivate to a dinner bell (CS) will
eventually stop doing so unless presentations of the dinner bell are
periodically followed by presentations of the UCS (meat). But
extinction only inhibits the CR, it does not eliminate it.
Spontaneous recovery is the reemergence of an extinguished
conditioned response after a period of rest and with no further
conditioning. For example, suppose you produce extinction of the
CR of salivation by no longer presenting the dog with meat after
ringing the dinner bell. If you rang the dinner bell a few days later,
the dog would again respond by salivating. In spontaneous
recovery, however, the CR is weaker and extinguishes faster than it
did originally.
3.3.1.2 Operant/Instrumental conditioning

Operant conditioning is learning in which a voluntary response is

strengthened or weakened, depending on its favorable or
unfavorable consequences. When we say that a response has been
strengthened or weakened, we mean that it has been made more or
less likely to recur regularly. An emphasis on environmental
consequences is at the heart of Operant Conditioning (also called
Instrumental Conditioning), the second type of conditioning
studied by Behaviorists. In operant conditioning, the organism's
response operates or produces effects on the environment. These
effects, in turn, influence, whether the response will occur again.
Unlike classical conditioning, in which the original behaviors
are the natural, biological responses to the presence of a
stimulus such as food, water, or pain, operant conditioning
applies to voluntary responses, which an organism performs
deliberately to produce a desirable outcome. The term operant
emphasizes this point: The organism operates on its
environment to produce a desirable result. Operant
conditioning is at work when we learn that toiling
industriously can bring about a raise or that studying hard
results in good grades.
Besides, B.F Skinner the very renowned proponent of
operant conditioning argued that to understand behavior we
should focus on the external causes of an action and the
action’s consequences. To explain behavior, he said, we
should look outside the individual, not inside.
In Skinner’s analysis, a response (“operant”) can lead to
three types of consequences: such as a) a neutral
consequence b) a reinforcement or c) punishment.
a) A neutral Consequence that does not alter the response.
b) A reinforcement that strengthens the response or makes it
more likely to recur. A reinforcer is any event that increases
the probability that the behavior that precedes it will be
repeated. There are two basic types of reinforcers or
reinforcing stimuli: primary and secondary reinforcers.
Primary reinforcers : Food, water. Light, stroking of the skin,
and a comfortable air temperature are naturally reinforcing
because they satisfy biological needs. They are, therefore,
known as primary reinforcers. Primary reinforcers, in general,
have the ability to reinforce without prior learning.
Secondary Reinforcers: Behaviors can be controlled by
secondary reinforcers. Money, praise, applause, good grades,
awards, and gold stars are common secondary reinforcers.
Both primary and secondary reinforcers can be positive or
negative. Positive reinforcement is the process whereby
presentation of a stimulus makes behavior more likely to occur
again.
Negative reinforcement is the process whereby termination of
an aversive stimulus makes behavior more likely to occur. The
basic principle of negative reinforcement is that eliminating
something aversive can itself be a reinforcer or a reward.
For example, if someone nags you all the time to study, but
stops nagging when you comply, your studying is likely to
increase- because you will then avoid the nagging.
This can be an example of what is called escape learning. In
escape learning animals learn to make a response that
terminates/stops a noxious, painful or unpleasant stimulus.
Another kind of learning, which is similar, but not the same as
escape learning is Avoidance Learning, which refers to
learning to avoid a painful, noxious stimulus prior to exposure
 Schedules of reinforcement
When a response is first acquired, learning is usually most
rapid if the response is reinforced each time it occurs. This
procedure is called continuous reinforcement. However, once a
response has become reliable, it will be more resistant to
extinction if it is rewarded on an intermittent (partial) schedule
of reinforcement, which involves reinforcing only some
responses, not all of them. There are four types of
intermittent schedules.
Fixed-ratio schedules: A fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement
occurs after a fixed number of responses. They produce high rate of
responding. Employers often use fixed ratio schedules to increase
productivity. An interesting feature of a fixed ratio schedule is that
performance sometimes drops off just after reinforcement.
Variable-Ratio Schedule: A variable ratio schedule of
reinforcement occurs after some average number of responses, but
the number varies from reinforcement to reinforcement. A variable
ratio schedule of produces extremely high steady rates of
responding. The responses are more resistant to extinction than
when a fixed ratio schedule is used.
Fixed Interval Schedule: A fixed interval schedule of
reinforcement occurs only if a fixed amount of time has passed
since the previous reinforcer.
Variable Interval Schedule: A variable interval schedule of
reinforcement occurs only if a variable amount of time has
passed since the previous reinforcer.
A basic principle of operant conditioning is that if you want a
response to persist after it has been learned, you should
reinforce it intermittently, not continuously. Because the
change from continuous reinforcement to none at all will be so
large that the animal or person will
soon stop responding. But if you have been giving the
reinforcement only every so often, the change will not be
dramatic and the animal/ person will keep responding for a
while.
c) Punishment- is a stimulus that weakens the response or
makes it less likely to recur. Punishers can be any aversive
(unpleasant) stimuli that weaken responses or make them
unlikely to recur. Like reinforcers, punishers can also be
primary or secondary. Pain and extreme heat or cold are
inherently punishing and are therefore known as primary
punishers. Criticism, demerits, catcalls, scolding, fines, and
bad grades are common secondary punishers.
The positive-negative distinction can also be applied to
punishment. Something unpleasant may occur following some
behavior (positive punishment), or something pleasant may be
removed (negative punishment).
The Pros and Cons of Punishment
Immediacy, consistency and intensity matter are important for
effectiveness of punishment.
Immediacy – When punishment follows immediately after
the behavior to be punished.
Consistency- when punishment is inconsistent the behavior
being punished is intermittently reinforced and therefore
becomes resistant to extinction.
Intensity- In general terms severe punishments are more
effective than mild ones. However, there are studies that
indicate that even less intense punishments are effective
provided that they are applied immediately and consistently
Application of the theory of operant conditioning:
1. Conditioning study behavior: Teaching is the arrangement
of contingencies of reinforcement, which expedite learning.
For effective teaching, teachers should arrange effective
contingencies of reinforcement. Example: For Self-learning of
a student teacher should reinforce student behavior through
variety of incentives such as prize, medal, smile, praise,
affectionate patting on the back or by giving higher marks.
2. Conditioning and classroom behavior: During a learning
process, children can acquire unpleasant experiences. This
unpleasantness becomes conditioned to the teacher, subject
3. Managing Problem Behavior: Operant conditioning is a
behavior therapy technique that shape students behavior. To do this,
teachers should admit positive contingencies like praise,
encouragement etc. for learning. One should not admit negative
contingencies. Example punishment (student will run away from
the dull and dreary classes – escape stimulation.
4. Dealing with anxieties through conditioning: Through
conditioning, fear, anxieties, prejudices, attitudes, and perceptual
meaning develops. Examples of anxieties that are acquired through
conditioning are signals on the road, siren blown during wartime,
child receiving painful injection from a doctor. Anxiety is a
generalized fear response.
To break the habits of fear, a teacher can use desensitization techniques.
That is, a teacher can initially provide very weak form of conditioned
stimulus. Gradually the strength of stimulus should be increased.
5. Conditioning group behavior: Conditioning can make an entire
group learn and complete change in behavior with reinforcement. It
breaks undesired and unsocial behavior too. Example: Putting questions
or telling lie to teachers will make teachers annoyed. In such
circumstances students learn to keep mum in the class. Asking
questions, active participation in class discussion will make the teacher
feel happy – interaction will increase and teaching learning process
becomes more effective.
6. Conditioning and Cognitive Processes: Reinforcement is
given in different form, for the progress of knowledge and in the
feedback form. When response is correct, positive reinforcement is
given. Example: A student who stands first in the class in the month
of January is rewarded in the month of December. To overcome
this Program instruction is used. In this subject matter is broken
down into steps. Organizing in logical sequence helps in learning.
Each step is built upon the preceding step. Progress is seen in the
process of learning. Immediate reinforcement is given at each step.
7. Shaping Complex Behavior: Complex behavior exists in the
form of a chain of small behavior. Control is required for such kind
of behavior. This extended form of learning is shaping technique.
3.3.2. Social Learning Theory (observational
learning) theory
According to psychologist Albert Bandura, a major part of
human learning consists of observational learning, which is
learning by watching the behavior of another person, or
model. Because of its reliance on observation of others—a
social phenomenon—the perspective taken by Bandura is
often referred to as a social cognitive approach to learning
(Bandura, 1999, 2004).
Bandura identifies three forms of reinforcement that can
encourage observational learning. First, of course, the observer
may reproduce the behaviors of the model and receive direct
reinforcement. The reinforcement need not be direct - it may
be vicarious reinforcement as well. As mentioned earlier, the
observer may simply see others reinforced for a particular
behavior and then increase his or her production of that
behavior. The final form of reinforcement is self-
reinforcement, or controlling your reinforcers. This sort of
reinforcement is important for both students and teachers. We
want our students to improve not because it leads to external
rewards but because the students value and enjoy their
Bandura mentions four conditions that are necessary before an
individual can successfully model the behavior of someone
else:
1. Attention: the person must first pay attention to the model.
2. Retention: the observer must be able to remember the
behavior that has been observed. One way of increasing this is
using the technique of rehearsal.
3. Motor reproduction: the third condition is the ability to
replicate the behavior that the model has just demonstrated.
This means that the observer has to be able to replicate the
action, which could be a problem with a learner who is not
ready developmentally to replicate the action..
For example, little children have difficulty doing complex
physical motion
4. Motivation: the final necessary ingredient for modeling to
occur is motivation; learners must want to demonstrate what
they have learned. Remember that since these four conditions
vary among individuals, different people will reproduce the
same behavior differently
Social learning theory has numerous implications for classroom
use.
1. Students often learn a great deal simply by observing other
people.
2. Describing the consequences of behavior can effectively
increase the appropriate behaviors and decrease
inappropriate ones. This can involve discussing with
learners about the rewards and consequences of various
behaviors.
3. 3. Modeling provides an alternative to shaping for teaching
new behaviors. Instead of using shaping, which is operant
conditioning; modeling can provide a faster, more efficient
To promote effective modeling a teacher must make sure that the
four essential conditions exist; attention, retention, motor
reproduction, and motivation.
4. Teachers and parents must model appropriate behaviors and
take care that they do not model inappropriate behaviors.
5. Teachers should expose students to a variety of other models.
This technique is especially important to break down traditional
stereotypes.
6. Students must believe that they are capable of
accomplishing school tasks. Thus it is very important
to develop a sense of self-efficacy for students.
Teachers can promote such selfefficacy by having students
receive confidence-building messages, watch others be
successful, and experience success on their own.
7.Teachers should help students set realistic expectations for
their academic accomplishments. In general, in my class, that
means making sure that expectations are not set too low. I want
to realistically challenge my students. However, sometimes the
task is beyond a student's ability, example would be the cancer
group.
8. Self-regulation techniques provide an effective method for
improving student behavior.
3.3.3. Cognitive Learning Theory
Both classical and operant conditionings have traditionally
been explained by the principle of contiguity i.e. the close
association of events in time and space. Contiguity has been
used to explain the association of a conditioned stimulus
and unconditioned stimulus in classical conditioning and
the association of a behavior and its consequences in
operant conditioning.
Cognitive learning may take two forms: 1. Latent learning
2. Insight learning (gestalt learning or perceptual learning)
For half a century, most American learning theories held that
learning could be explained by specifying the behavioral
―ABCs‖ – Antecedents (events preceding behavior),
Behaviors, and Consequences. In the 1940s, two social
scientists proposed a modification they called social learning
theory. Most human learning, they argued, is acquired by
observing other people in social context, rather than through
standard conditioning procedures. By 1960s and 1970s, social
learning theory was full bloom, and a new element had been
added: the human capacity for higher level of cognitive
processing.
Latent Learning

„Latent‘ means hidden and thus latent learning is learning

that occurs but is not evident in behavior until later, when
conditions for its appearance are favorable. It is said to
occur without reinforcement of particular responses and
seems to involve changes in the way information is
processed. In a classic experiment, Tolman and Honzic
(1930) placed three groups of rats in mazes and observed
their behavior each day for more than two weeks.
the rats in Group 1 always found food at the end of the maze.
Group 2 never found food. Group 3 found no food for ten days
but then received food on the eleventh. The Group 1 rats
quickly learned to head straight the end of the maze without
going blind alleys, whereas Group 2 rats did not learn to go to
the end. But, Group 3 rats were different. For ten days they
appeared to follow no particular route. Then, on the eleventh
day they quickly learned to run to the end of the maze. By the
next day, they were doing, as well as group one, which had
been rewarded from the beginning.
Group three rats had demonstrated latent learning, learning
that is not immediately expressed. A great deal of human
learning also remains latent until circumstances allow or
require it to be expressed.
Insight Learning
It is a cognitive process whereby we reorganize our perception
of a problem. It doesn‘t depend on conditioning of particular
behaviors for its occurrence. Sometimes, for example, people
even wake up from sleep with a solution to a problem that they
had not been able to solve during the day.
In a typical insight situation where a problem is posed, a
period follows during which no apparent progress is made, and
then the solution comes suddenly. What has been learned in
insight learning can also be applied easily to other similar
situations.
Human beings who solve a problem insightfully usually
experience a good feeling called an 'aha' experience.
Summary
 Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior
occurring as a result of experience or practice.
 Learning is characterized by different issues like
modification of behavior, pervasive, active processes,
purposeful, multifaceted, and the like.
 Learning has important principles that are categorized in
to 8 different and valuable principles.
 Factors that affect learning of individuals include motivation,
intelligence, maturation, physical condition of the learner, good
working conditions, psychological well being, background
experience and length of the working period.
 In this unit, you have learned the viewpoints of different
theories of learning that have been attempted to explain the
behavioral changes are acquired through learning experiences.
 Classical Conditioning/Ivan Pavlov/:-Emphasis on experiences
especially the association between stimulus and response
 Operant Conditioning/B.F. Skinner/:- Emphasis on
experiences, especially reinforcement and punishment as
determinants of learning and behavior
 Social Cognitive theories Social Cognitive/Albert Bandura/:
Emphasis on interaction of behavior, environment, and
person (cognitive) factors as determinants of learning
 Cognitive theories: Include learning theories like latent and
insight learning theories.