Chapter 1: Perspectives on Learning
Because so little of our behavior is instinctive and so much of it is learned, we’re able to benefit from
our experiences. We human beings seem to inherit an ability to think and learn in ways that
nonhumans cannot. Our capacity to be versatile and adapt to many different situations and
environments far exceeds that of other animal species.
We’ll define learning as a long-term change in mental representations or associations as a result of
experience. Regardless of how we define learning, we know it has occurred only when we actually
see it reflected in a person’s behavior:
- Performing a completely new behavior
- Changing the frequency of an existing behavior
- Changing the speed of an existing behavior
- Changing the intensity of an existing behavior
- Changing the complexity of an existing behavior
- Responding differently to a particular stimulus
Basic research: investigating specific learning processes under tightly controlled conditions.
Applied research: investigating people’s learning in more ‘real-world’ tasks and settings.
Quantitative data: measurements and other numbers.
Qualitative data: complex verbal or behavioral performances.
Principles of learning identify certain factors that influence learning and describe the specific effects
these factors have (usually broadly applicable). When a principle is observed over and over again—
when it stands the test of time—it is sometimes called a law. Theories of learning provide
explanations about the underlying mechanisms involved in learning.
History of theories of learning (in chronological order):
- Structuralism
- Functionalism
- Behaviorism
- Social learning theory
- Gestalt psychology
- Cognitivism
- Social cognitive theory
- Contextual theories / sociocultural theory
- Cognitive neuroscience
Advantages of theories over principles:
- They allow us to summarize the results of many, many research studies and integrate
numerous principles of learning.
- Theories provide starting points for conducting new research.
- Theories help us make sense of and explain research findings.
- They can ultimately help us design instructional and therapeutic strategies and environments
that facilitate human learning and development to the greatest possible degree.
Potential drawbacks of theories:
, - No single theory explains everything researchers have discovered about learning.
- Theories affect the new information that’s published, thereby biasing the knowledge we have
about learning.
To maximize productive student learning, teachers must understand the factors that influence learning
(principles) and the processes that underlie it (theories). They must also draw on research findings
regarding the effectiveness of various instructional practices.
Chapter 3: Behaviorist Principles and Theories
Basic assumptions in behaviorism:
- Principles of learning should apply equally to different behaviors and to a variety of animal
species (equipotentiality).
- Learning processes can be studied most objectively when the focus of the study is on stimuli
and responses (S-R psychology).
- Internal processes tend to be excluded or minimized in theoretical explanations.
Neobehaviorist theorists do however consider these factors.
- Learning involves a behavior change.
- Organisms are born as blank slates.
- Learning is largely the result of environmental events, learning is conditioning.
- The most useful theories tend to be parsimonious ones → ones that explain the learning of
all behaviors by as few learning principles as possible (concise theories).
Classical conditioning:
- Neutral stimulus (NS) with no response
- NS followed by unconditioned stimulus (UCS) leading to an unconditioned response (UCR)
- NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) which leads to a conditioned response (CR)
Some psychologists describe classical conditioning as a form of signal learning. It can explain a
variety of involuntary responses, fears, phobias, attitudes, etc.
Common phenomena in classical conditioning:
- Associative bias: some associations are more likely to be made than others.
- Contiguity and contingency: stimuli should be presented at approximately the same time
(contiguity), and the potential CS must occur only when the UCS is likely to follow
(contingency).
- Extinction: repeated presentations of the CS without the UCS lead to successively weaker and
weaker CRs.
- Spontaneous recovery: recurrence of a CR when a period of extinction is followed by a rest
period.
- Generalization: when learners respond to other stimuli in the same way they respond to a CS.
- Stimulus discrimination: when one stimulus (CS+) is presented in conjunction with an UCS,
and another stimulus (CS-) is presented in absence of the UCS, making learners differentiate
between the two stimuli.
- High-order conditioning (or second-order conditioning): a NS becomes a CS by being paired
with a UCS, so that it soon elicits a CR. Next, a second NS is paired with the CS, and it too
begins to elicit the CR. The second stimulus has also become a CS.
, Counterconditioning:
- A new response that is incompatible with the existing CR is chosen (cannot be performed at
the same time).
- A stimulus that elicits the incompatible response is identified.
- The stimulus that elicits the new response is presented to the individual, and the CS eliciting
the undesirable CR is gradually introduced into the situation.
Counterconditioning is for example used in a therapeutic technique: systematic desensitization.
Thorndike’s law of effect: responses to a situation that are followed by satisfaction are strengthened;
responses that are followed by discomfort are weakened.
Revised law of effect: Thorndike continued to maintain that rewards strengthen the behaviors they
follow, but he deemphasized the role of punishment.
Operant conditioning: a response that is followed by a reinforcer is strengthened and therefore more
likely to occur again.
Reinforcer: a stimulus or event that increases the frequency of a response it follows.
Transituational generality of a reinforcer: any single reinforcer is likely to increase many different
behaviors in many different situations.
Key conditions for operant conditioning:
- The reinforcer must follow the response.
- Ideally, the reinforcer should follow immediately.
- The reinforcer must be contingent on the response.
Primary reinforcer: satisfies a built-in, perhaps biology-based, need or desire.
Secondary reinforcer (or conditioned reinforcer): a previously neutral stimulus that has become
reinforcing to a learner through repeated association with another reinforcer.
Positive reinforcement (extrinsic or intrinsic):
- Material (e.g. food or a toy)
- Social (e.g. a smile, attention or praise)
- Activity (opportunity to engage in a favorite activity)
- Token (insignificant item that a learner can accumulate to earn something bigger)
Feedback is especially likely to be effective when it communicates what students have and haven’t
learned and when it gives them guidance about how they might improve their performance. Positive
Because so little of our behavior is instinctive and so much of it is learned, we’re able to benefit from
our experiences. We human beings seem to inherit an ability to think and learn in ways that
nonhumans cannot. Our capacity to be versatile and adapt to many different situations and
environments far exceeds that of other animal species.
We’ll define learning as a long-term change in mental representations or associations as a result of
experience. Regardless of how we define learning, we know it has occurred only when we actually
see it reflected in a person’s behavior:
- Performing a completely new behavior
- Changing the frequency of an existing behavior
- Changing the speed of an existing behavior
- Changing the intensity of an existing behavior
- Changing the complexity of an existing behavior
- Responding differently to a particular stimulus
Basic research: investigating specific learning processes under tightly controlled conditions.
Applied research: investigating people’s learning in more ‘real-world’ tasks and settings.
Quantitative data: measurements and other numbers.
Qualitative data: complex verbal or behavioral performances.
Principles of learning identify certain factors that influence learning and describe the specific effects
these factors have (usually broadly applicable). When a principle is observed over and over again—
when it stands the test of time—it is sometimes called a law. Theories of learning provide
explanations about the underlying mechanisms involved in learning.
History of theories of learning (in chronological order):
- Structuralism
- Functionalism
- Behaviorism
- Social learning theory
- Gestalt psychology
- Cognitivism
- Social cognitive theory
- Contextual theories / sociocultural theory
- Cognitive neuroscience
Advantages of theories over principles:
- They allow us to summarize the results of many, many research studies and integrate
numerous principles of learning.
- Theories provide starting points for conducting new research.
- Theories help us make sense of and explain research findings.
- They can ultimately help us design instructional and therapeutic strategies and environments
that facilitate human learning and development to the greatest possible degree.
Potential drawbacks of theories:
, - No single theory explains everything researchers have discovered about learning.
- Theories affect the new information that’s published, thereby biasing the knowledge we have
about learning.
To maximize productive student learning, teachers must understand the factors that influence learning
(principles) and the processes that underlie it (theories). They must also draw on research findings
regarding the effectiveness of various instructional practices.
Chapter 3: Behaviorist Principles and Theories
Basic assumptions in behaviorism:
- Principles of learning should apply equally to different behaviors and to a variety of animal
species (equipotentiality).
- Learning processes can be studied most objectively when the focus of the study is on stimuli
and responses (S-R psychology).
- Internal processes tend to be excluded or minimized in theoretical explanations.
Neobehaviorist theorists do however consider these factors.
- Learning involves a behavior change.
- Organisms are born as blank slates.
- Learning is largely the result of environmental events, learning is conditioning.
- The most useful theories tend to be parsimonious ones → ones that explain the learning of
all behaviors by as few learning principles as possible (concise theories).
Classical conditioning:
- Neutral stimulus (NS) with no response
- NS followed by unconditioned stimulus (UCS) leading to an unconditioned response (UCR)
- NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) which leads to a conditioned response (CR)
Some psychologists describe classical conditioning as a form of signal learning. It can explain a
variety of involuntary responses, fears, phobias, attitudes, etc.
Common phenomena in classical conditioning:
- Associative bias: some associations are more likely to be made than others.
- Contiguity and contingency: stimuli should be presented at approximately the same time
(contiguity), and the potential CS must occur only when the UCS is likely to follow
(contingency).
- Extinction: repeated presentations of the CS without the UCS lead to successively weaker and
weaker CRs.
- Spontaneous recovery: recurrence of a CR when a period of extinction is followed by a rest
period.
- Generalization: when learners respond to other stimuli in the same way they respond to a CS.
- Stimulus discrimination: when one stimulus (CS+) is presented in conjunction with an UCS,
and another stimulus (CS-) is presented in absence of the UCS, making learners differentiate
between the two stimuli.
- High-order conditioning (or second-order conditioning): a NS becomes a CS by being paired
with a UCS, so that it soon elicits a CR. Next, a second NS is paired with the CS, and it too
begins to elicit the CR. The second stimulus has also become a CS.
, Counterconditioning:
- A new response that is incompatible with the existing CR is chosen (cannot be performed at
the same time).
- A stimulus that elicits the incompatible response is identified.
- The stimulus that elicits the new response is presented to the individual, and the CS eliciting
the undesirable CR is gradually introduced into the situation.
Counterconditioning is for example used in a therapeutic technique: systematic desensitization.
Thorndike’s law of effect: responses to a situation that are followed by satisfaction are strengthened;
responses that are followed by discomfort are weakened.
Revised law of effect: Thorndike continued to maintain that rewards strengthen the behaviors they
follow, but he deemphasized the role of punishment.
Operant conditioning: a response that is followed by a reinforcer is strengthened and therefore more
likely to occur again.
Reinforcer: a stimulus or event that increases the frequency of a response it follows.
Transituational generality of a reinforcer: any single reinforcer is likely to increase many different
behaviors in many different situations.
Key conditions for operant conditioning:
- The reinforcer must follow the response.
- Ideally, the reinforcer should follow immediately.
- The reinforcer must be contingent on the response.
Primary reinforcer: satisfies a built-in, perhaps biology-based, need or desire.
Secondary reinforcer (or conditioned reinforcer): a previously neutral stimulus that has become
reinforcing to a learner through repeated association with another reinforcer.
Positive reinforcement (extrinsic or intrinsic):
- Material (e.g. food or a toy)
- Social (e.g. a smile, attention or praise)
- Activity (opportunity to engage in a favorite activity)
- Token (insignificant item that a learner can accumulate to earn something bigger)
Feedback is especially likely to be effective when it communicates what students have and haven’t
learned and when it gives them guidance about how they might improve their performance. Positive
