Learning 189

names of all the states in their country, the names of presidents or prime ministers
Tder, etc. The experimental studies performed in the field of serial learning tell
hat out of the serial learning material, the items presented at the beginning and
theend of the list are easier to remember than those in the middle, and this appears
ewhether the items are nonsense syllables, actual words or longer passages such
as poems.
Paired-associate learning: In this learning, learning tasks are presented in such
way that they may be learned on account of their associations. The name
of a village like Kishanpur is remembered on account of its association
with the name of Lord Krishna or a girl's name Ganga by learning it
in the form of making paired association with the river Ganges. Much of the verbal
or motor learning may, thus, be learnt or remembered on account of the technique
of paired or multiple association.
In having practice of such paired-associate learning the learner may be presented
aseries of paired words or nonsense syllables like the following:
Paired Words Paired nonsense syllables
Dog-Animal PN PF
Parrot- Bird NLP- JDS
Cat-Milk RJBP RNYS
MotorChild TIBPK GMPRK

The learner views the pair (two words or syllables) for a brief spell, usually
less than five seconds. He is then presented with one member of the pair and
asked to recall the other. The practice with such procedure then helps in building
what is known as associate learning. An example of paired associate learning is the
acquisition of foreign language vocabulary items that are paired with their mother
tongue equivalents. The matching items presented in the objective type questions
of the achievement test also lay emphasis on such type of learning.
Theories of Learning
What goes in the process of learning? How does an individual learn a set of
knowledge, skills, habits, interests, attitudes and similar other things in his life? Such
questions have always been a subject of enquiry and investigation before psychologists
and as a result a number of theories have come into being. In a broad sense these
theories may be classified into three major heads:
) Behaviouristic theories, (i1) Cognitive theories and (iii) Humanistic theories.
Behaviouristic theories belong to the school of behaviourism interpret learning
In terms of association between stimulus and response. Under this category we
may include theories like Thorndike's theory of trial and error learning, Guthrie's
contiguity
theory of learning, Hull's drive reduction theory of learning, classical and
operant conditioning.
Cognitive theories, on the other hand, belong to the school of Gestalt psychology
andl cognitive psychology. In place of pure mechanical or instrumental approach these
tfactors
heories inemphasize
the processthe ofrole of purpose,
learning. Underinsight, understanding
this category, and other
the theories cognitiveof
like, theory
190 General Psychology

theory of learning, Information prrocessing theories

insightful learning, Lewin's field
etc., may be included.
and Tolman's sign learning, learning have been propagated by the psychologists
of
Humanistic theories humanism. Humanism called halt to the prevailing practice
to the school of and made them feel as human beings
belonging people as objects and rationalism
of treating Perhaps, the most mentionable and persuasive
concern to their self. learning came from the
by paying due orientation to famous psychologists
explanation of humanistic Albert Bandura.
Abraham Maslow and
named as Carl Rogers, concerned, we would like to discuss a few
As far as this text
is conditionino
trial and error, lassical theory
importantnt
Thorndike's theory of learning
theories like
learning and Bandura's Social
conditioning, insightful
Learning
Trial and Error Theory of (1874-1949) is known ac aL.
(The famouspsychologist Edward L. Thorndike result of his experie
and error learning. It is the
propagator of the theory of trial cats) For illustration, let us narrate one of L:
performed on chickens, rats and
experiments. for exit which
hungry cat in a puzzle box. There was only one door
(He put a
correctly manipulating a latch. A fish was placed outside th
could be opened by
strong motive for the hungry. cat to come
box. The smell of the fish worked as a
Consequently, the cat made every poSSible eftort to come out)The
out of the box.
a s t tries to squeeze through every
situation is described by Thorndike himselfwires, it thrusts its paws through any
opening; it claws and bites at the bars or of
and claws at everything it reaches". In this way, it made a number was
opening randomn movements, by chance, the
latch
random movements. In one of the reward.)
manipulated. The cat came out and got its

Fig. 13.1 Thorndike's cat is trying to come out placed

hungryandgetting
(For another trial, the process was repeated. The cat was kept motive for time
in the same puzzle box. The fish and its smell again worked as efforts.
this
But biting
responses,
out of the box; it again made random movements and frantic
it took less time in coming outOn subsequent trials such incorrect
 Learning 191

clawing and dashing were gradually diminished and the cat took less
succeeding trial) In due course, it wasin a position to manipulate the latchtime on every
as soon as it
was putin the box.(nthis way, gradually, the cat learned the art of
The experiment sums up the following stages in the opening the door)
Drive: (in the present experiment it was hunger which process of learning:
sight of the food). was intensified with the
2 Goal: To get the food by getting out of the box.
Block: The cat was confined in the box witha
3. closed door
4. Random movements: The cat, persistently, tried to get out of the
Chance Success: As a result of this box.
5.
chance, succeeded in opening the door. striving and random movement the cat, by
6. Selection (of proper movement):
manipulation of the latch. lt selectedGradually,
the
the cat recognised the correct
out of its random movements. proper way of manipulating the latch
- Fixation: At last, the
cat learned the proper way of
eliminating all the opening the door by
it was able to openincorrect responses and fixing only the right
the door without any error or, in responses. Now
way of opening the door. other words, learned the
Thorndike named the learning of his
Learning". He maintained that the learning isexperimental cat as "Trial and Error
nothing but the stamping in of the
correct responses and stamping out of the
In trying for the correct incorrect
solution the cat made so many responses through trial and error.
error after error before gaining vain attempts. It
success. On subsequent trials, it tried tocommitted
erroneous ways and repeat the correct way of avoid the
called it "Learning by selecting and manipulating the latch. Thorndike
selection of the proper responses andconnecting"
correct or
as it provides an
opportunity for the
In this reference,
Thorndike has associate them with adequate stimuli.
connection system." (1931, p. 122). written"Learning is connecting. The mind is man's
As a result learning is
system between stimuli and caused by the formation of connection in the nervous
Impression and impulses to action.responses. There is a definite association between sense
Since it is these bonds or This association is known as a bond or
connections which are strengthened or weakened connection.
making and breaking of habits, in the
Psychology" simply "connectionism".
or Thorndike' s system, is sometimes, calleda "bond
1. Ihorndike propounded the following laws of learning on the
The law of readiness: The basis of his theory:
statement runs as under:
,nen any conduction unit is ready to conduct or it to
Conduct i onunit is do so is
not in readiness to conduct for it to satisfying
ConductThisionlawunitis is in readiness to conduct for it not to do so is annoying.
conduct is annoying.
When any
When any
indicative
Readiwith ness Ifaccording of learner's state to participate in the
to Thorndike is preparation for action. It is learning process.
learning
the child
the child is ready to learn he learns
greatelearn
r satisfaction
very essential for
more quickly and effectively and
till he 1sthan
if he is unwilling learn. It warns us not to make
to
providing learning experiences ready tolearn and also not to miss any opportunity of
if the child is, already, prepared to learn. The right
 192 General Psychology

movements concerning the learning situation and the learner's state of

be very well recognized and maximum use of this knowledge should mind shouldby
be made
the teacher. He should also make an attempt to motivate the students by
their attention, interest and curiosity.
2. The Law of Effect: In the words of Thorndike, the statement of the
arousing
under:
law runs as
"When a modifiable connection between situation and response is made and is
or follozwed by asatisfying state of affairs, that connection's strength is increased.accompanied
When mode
and accompanied or followed by an annoying state of affairs, its strength is decreased'"
In simple words, it means that the learning takes place properly when it resulk
in satisfaction and the learner derives pleasure out of it. n a situation where the
child meets with failure or gets no satisfaction, the progress on the path of learning is
blocked. All the pleasant experiences have a lasting influence and are remembered
a long time, while the unpleasant ones are soon forgotten. Therefore, the satisfaction
and dissatisfaction, pleasure or displeasure obtained as a result of some learning
ensures the degree of effectiveness of that learning.
In other words, this law emphasizes the role of rewards and punishment in
the process of learning. Being rewarded as a result of some learning motivates and
encourages the child to proceed on the same path with more intensity and enthusiasm
while the punishment of any sort discourages him and creates distaste and disgust
towards that learning.
3. The Law of Exercise: This law has two sub-parts law of use and law of disuse.
The statements regarding these sub-parts run as under:
Law of use: "When a modifiable connection is made between a situation and response
that connection's strength is, other things being equal, increased."
Law of disuse: "When a modifiable connection is not made between a situation and
response, during a length of time, that connection'sstrength is decreased."sbat
In this way, law of use refers to the strengtherning of connection with practice
while the law of disuse to the weakening of connection or forgetting, when the
practice is discontinued. In brief, it can be said that Law of Exercise as a whole,
emphasizes the need of repetition, practice and drill work in the process of learning
srli All these three laws-law of readiness, law of effect and law of exercise, cast a
great influence in making us learn so many things in our life. The laws imply the
following proverbs and maxims:
VIOSYou can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink."odh
"Nothing succeeds like success."
vIn Tractice makes a man perfect."
VD Ln addition to the laws of readiness, exercise and effect, Thorndike's idea of
connectionism provided some of the following important laws:
(iy9Las ofimultiple response or varied reactions: The law implies that when anindividual
101 lisiConfronted with a new situation he responds in a variety of ways before
brtsafrivihg àt the correct response.
( Law of A ftitude: Learning
o vheeatner performs the istask
guided by aiftotal
properly he attitude or 'set ofhealthy
has developeda the orgae
attitude
irig'towards the taskq91g Ybrar
 Learning 193
Lawof Analogy: An individual respornds to a new situation on the basis of the
responses made by
him in similar situations in the
past. He makes
comparison analogy.
of responses
by Associatiue Shifting: The
statement of law thus "We can get any
Law of from the learner of which he is Capable,runs
response associated with any situation
iv)
to which he is sensitive." In other words, any response which is possible can
belinked with any stimulus. Thorndike clarified his stand through one of his
experimerntsin which he demonstrated how acat can be trained to stand up at
command. He concluded that first of all, a bit of fish is dangled before the cat
while you say 'stand up'. After enough trials, there will be a stage when you
would not need the help of the fish. The oral signal or command will alone
evoke the response. The idea put through this law gave birth to a new theory
oflearning known as Theory of Conditioning.
Practical Implications of Thorndike's Contributions in the Field
of Learning
Thorndike's theory of trial and error has enough educational significance. It
ries to explain the process of learning, carefully on the basis of actual experiments
nerformed. Not only the animals but human learning also, to a greater extent follows
the path of trial and error. A child while confronted with a mathematical problem
one. Even
tries so many possibilities for its solution, before he arrives at the correct
results of trial
the discoveries and inventions in various fields of knowledge are the
and error process.
the form of his
For example, let us take the discovery made by Archimedes in
well-known principle. He was confronted with a problem given by his Emperor.
the problem.
There was a Drive that he would be beheaded if he could not solve
was difficult.
Ihere was a Block as he could not think of any solution. The problem
L made a number of attempts (trials) for thoonesolution
on experimenting and taking of his
0 hIs problem. One day while his bath, he got chance success in
dtempts and this led to the formulation of the law of floating bodies.
and error, without caring for the
dt the excessive use of the method. trial under any circumstances.
of understanding should not be encouraged blind
development
We cannot reduce the human learning as mechanical and
by this theory. It
folded as advocated
understanding and insight. Trials
must be Supported by reason, process of learning more effective
and practice with insight, will makethe
than either of coupled
the methods adopted alone.
As far as Thorndike's laws areconcermed, they carry useful implications
in1. theIf one wants to learn a thing,of learning
following wayS: he must be quite willing to learn it by fully
a teacher on the other
hand,
or
forrealising its importance
instructor bringingthe
to him. An learner to learn by

2.
teachinsmg of
mechani
try to prepare the
effectively, must
motivation into operation. first try to identify the things
Whatever
that are
we want to learn or teach, we
to be remembered or forgotten. After
must
this, we may try to strengthen
the
 GeneralPsychology
194
the stimuli and responses of those
bonds or
connections between repetition, drill and Reward. For
through things, whiethhe
remembered,
Connections
areto be
should be weakened through disuse and annoying results.
learnt at one timeshould be linked with past forgeting
3. Whatis
beingtaughtor hand and with the future learning on the
and learning on
the one mechanism of
utilising the benefits
the process of
of the
learning.
association, connection or experbondsotiehnerces for
in
similarities and dissimilarities between
should tryto see the
4. The
kinds
learner
of responses to stimuli and
with the help of comparison
learning of something in one situation to
and dicontf ereranstt
should try to apply the other similar
5. situations.
The learner should be encouraged to do his task independently. He must try
arriving at a correct one,
various solutions of the problem before But every
case he should be careful not to
waste his time and energy
by in
mistakes and proceed blindly. repeating
his
6. In short, Thorndike's theory of trial and error learning, along with his laws of
learning has contributed alot in the field of learning. It has made the
purposeful and goal-directed and has emphasized the importance of lmoteivaratniionn.g
It has also given an impetus to the work of practice, drill and exercise and
highlighted the psychological importance of rewards and praise in the feld o
learnring
Theory of Classical Conditioning
Ioan Paolov and Conditioning: In his laboratory, while studying the functioning of the
digestive system, aRussian psychologist named Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) encountered
an unforeseen problem the experimental dogs salivated not only upon
but also when they saw the food, noticed the man actual eating
who usually brought it, or even
heard the footsteps of their feeder. Pavlov began to study this
he called "Conditioning") Since the type of phenomenon, which
conditioning
one-quite different from the conditioning emphasized byemphasized was a classeal
later stage it has been renamed as other psychologists at e
nature of the process of conditioning, classical conditioning.) For understanding the
let us have an idea of the type of
performed by Pavlov. experimete
(In one of his
tied him on to theexperiments, Pavlov kept a dog hungry for afew days and then
controlled devices. experimental
The dog was
table which was fitted with certain mechanically
far as it was made comfortable and were excludedas
possible
but was able to view to do. The distractions
observer kept himself hidden from view of the dog
the
made to give food to theexperiment by means of a set of mirrors. Arrangement was
presented to the dog, he alsodogarranged
tthrrough forautomatic
the ringing of aEvery
devices. bell. When
time the
the food was
food was
presented to the dog and the bell was
from the mouth of saliva
of the rung, there was automatic secretion
a
ringing of the bell wasdog. The activity of the food accompanied
with
was measured. presenting
repeated several times and the amount of saliva secreted
 Leaming 195

Tuning tark

Tube from alary glands

Recordng
Eig 13.2 masuring alve
Diagrammatic view of the experiment conducted by Pavlov ovica

After several trials, the dog was given no food but

lea the amount of saliva the bell was rung. In this
secreted was
casn in the absence of food (the naturalrecorded and measured. It was found
ifcial stimulus) caused the dog to secrete the stimulus), the ringing of the bell (an
CS saliva (natural response).
Natural or
unconditional stimulus Natural or Unconditioned
(Presentation of food)
R response (Salivation)

Conditioned
response

Ultimately
Artificial or
conditioned stimulus S. (General alertnesss)
(Ringing the bell) R
Fig. 13.3: Diagrammatic presentation of the experiment
he above experiment thus, brings into
the picture the four essential
e conditioning process. The first elements of
element is a natural stimulus, technically
unconditioned stimulus (US) i.. food. It results in a natural known
unconditioned response (UR)) This response constitutes the second element. The
third element is the artificial stimulus like
response known as
known as ringing of the bell which is
Stimulus (CS). It is substituted in place of the naturaltechnically
(food). Conditioned
conditioIninedtial y
the conditioned stimulus does not evoke the desired stimulus
response (CR), the fourth element is the chain of the response, i.e.
process.
torm However, as a result of conditioning, one learns to conditioningto
produce behaviour
conditheorytioned
a habiThe
t of
response as a reaction of conditioned stimulus)
conditioning as advocated by Pavlov, thus, considers
1S formstatiimonulus-
simply and is based on the principle of Association and learning asIt
like food, a
response type of learning where in place of a naturalSubstitution.
sight of thewater, sexual contact etc., the artificial stimulus like the sound of stimulus
the bell,
light of a definite colour etc., can evoke a natural response. When both
196 General Psychology
bell) and
the artificial or natural stimulus (ringing of the natural
the dog becomes
are brought together several times,
respond to this situation. There is perfect
association habituated
between
natural st the
or
st
presented together. As a result, after some timeartificial stimulus cantypes
im
be
ulusof
(food)
co ndit onedto
by an artificial stimulus and this
stimulus is able simulh
or replaced
natural response.
John Watson and Theory of Conditioning: John Watson (1878- 1958).
of behaviourism supported Pavlov's ideas on conditioned the
to
subevokesti uted the
experiments, Watson tried to demonstrate the role of responses. father
well as eliminating the emotional responses such as fear. conditioning
In one of his experiments, he took an eleven-month-old child
in Through hiass
producing
named
his subject. The baby was given a rabbit to play with. The baby liked Albert
and was pleased to touch its fur. He watched it very as
carefully the much
of the baby. After some time in the course of theexperiment, pleasant
a loud responses
produced to frighten the baby, as soon as the baby touched the rabbit. noise Was
was frightened. Each time he tried to touch the rabbit, the loud noise
was
The baby
and he responded with fear. After some time he began to fear the rabbit,produced
no loud noise accompanied it. In this way he learned to fear the rabbit even if
conditioning.
In another experiment of his, a child named Peter, who was afraid of the
through
was used as a subject. At first the rabbit was placed far from the boy so that itrabbits
vw
not pose athreat, but gradually on each successive day, the rabbit was brought
closer and closer. Eventually, the rabbit was placed on the table where Peter Was
eating and then on the boy's lap. Having associated the animal with the pleasure
of eating, the child's fear vanished and he began to touch its fur and play with it
In this way, through a simple treatment of conditioning he learned not to fear the
rabbit.
From these experiments, Watson and Pavlov, etc., concluded that all types of
learning can be explained through the process of conditioning. What this process is
can be understood from the following:
It is a learning process whereby an artificial or conditioned stimulus is able to
behave like a natural stimulus when both natural and artificial stimuli are presented
together. In this kind of learning, association plays a great role since the individual
responds to an artificial stimulus because he associates it with the natural stimulaton.
The conditioning theory of learning put forward by Watson and Pavlov actuauy,
involves the conditioning of the Respondent belhaviour through a process
stimulus association and substitution. Here the responses of the learner becotar
similar
much conditioned-behaving in the same way or responding similarly to a related
the
situationthat be does not care' for the natural stimuli for., evoking the original
natural response. As a result the new substituted stimulus behaves like
stimulus and is able to evoke the desired response.

Principles of Classical Conditioning gavebirth

The theory of classical conditioning
emphasized by Pavlovand Watson as
under:
to a number of important concepts and principles in the field of learning
 Learning 197
Extinction:It was noted by Pavlov that if the conditioned stimulus (ringing of
presented alone a number of times without the
food, the
response of salivation begins to decrease and so does themagnitude
of
bel)is
conditioned
he
at all. This process related with the gradual
probability
he appearing
onditioned disappearance
response on disconnecting the S-R association is called extinction.of the
its
of Spontaneous Recovery: It was also discovered by Pavlov that after extinction,
is
conditioned response no longer evident, the behaviour often appears
a
whenspontaneously but at a lower strength - This phernomenonthe reappearance
gain.
apparently extinguished conditioned response (CR) after an interval in which
ofan
pairingof
conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) has not
therepeated-iscalled spontaneous recovery. The process of spontaneous recovery
heen believethat somehow the learning is suppressed rather than forgotten. As
makes us
by, the
suppression may become so strong that there will, ultimately, be
timegoespossibility
of spontaneous recovery.
no more
Stimulus Generalization: Pavlov's dog provided conditioned response
Salivation) not at the sight of the food but to every stimulus like ringing of the
appearance of light, sound of the footsteps of the feeder, etc., associated with
bell,
ofthe food. Similarly, Watson's boy Albert showed fear notonly after
isgettingthe rabbit but merely at the sight of a rabbit, a white fur coat and even
touching
Santa Clause' whiskers. Responding to the stimuli in such a generalized way was
mod as stimulus generalization referring to a particular state of learning behaviour
in iich an individual once conditioned to respond to a specifñc stimulus is made
to respond in the same way in response to other stimuli of similar nature.
Stimulus Discrimination: Stimulus discrimination is the opposite of stimulus
peneralization. Here in sharp contrast to response in a usual fashion the subject
eans to react differently in different situations. For example, the dog may be
made to salivate only at the sight of the green light and not at the red or others.
Going further, the salivation might be elicited at the sight of particular intensity or
brightness of the green light but not the other. In this way, through the mechanism
of stimulus discrimination, conditioning may help us in learning to react only to a
single specificstimulus out of the multiplicity of stimuli and enabling us to distinguish
and discriminate among a variety of stimuli present in our environment.
Implications of Classical Conditioning
In our day-to-day life, we are usually exposed to simple classical conditioning.
Fear, love and hatred towards an object, pphenomenon or event are created through
condi tioning.Afather who, after returning home from his office, always rebukes
and punishes his child without caring to know the basic reasons may condition his
child to fear him, or develop anxiety reactions at the time of his returning hom.
The child may further develop a feeling of hatred towards his father or even alot
of discontent and hostile attitude towards his home. Similarly, a teacher with his
deta ective methods of teaching orimproper behaviour may condition achild to develop
thedicontrary
staste and affection, school environment. On
hatred towards
alovinghim,
attitude and even the
and sympathetic
his subject treatment given to the child
by the
on him parents at home or by the teachers at school may bring a desirable impact
through the process of conditioning.
 198 General Psychology

learning is associated with

From the beginning most of our father 'daddy'
conditioning. A child learns to call his
and his mother the
process of conditioning i.e.,
his dog as 'Montu' through theresult prOces of
association and substitution. As a
the name of daddy to all adult males,
ofstimulus
mummy to all adult
by the name Montu. Gradually, he comes to theand
generalization, he may
stage of females and call
stimulus
'm u mmn 1
y ',
sditfiferentmulduiss-cTriemsnamespiatnaloatnlrti8iboedutongse
and then learns to discriminate and recognize attribute
of
different persons, animals and objects.-This phenomenon
and discrimination goes on up to quite a late stage in our stimulus generalization
life. Often we
to
person and dislike him or her at first sight merely because that meet a
us of someone else we do not like. We do not like to mix with individual
people reminds
to another faith, religion or caste and often develop a feeling of hatred
towards them even if we have not directly experienced and
anything unpleasant.enmity
What is termed as abnormality in one's behaviour, to a great extent, may be
belonging
as learned. This learned pattern of one's behaviour is acquired
For example, a child may be conditioned to develop dog phobia. He may
through conditionitakenng,
so frightened of dogs after being bitten by one that he is reluctant to become
alone. In a more complex case, a young woman who has had several vernture out
encounters with adult males may become so worried in the presence of any adi. unfortunate
male that she is unable to have normal social relations with adult males, much lee
satisfactory sexual ones.
Thus, much of our behaviour in the shape of interests, attitudes, habits. senso
of application or criticism, moods and temperaments, etc., is fashioned through
conditioning. The process of conditioning, not only helps us in learning what is
desirable but also helps in eliminating, avoiding or unlearning of so many undesirable
habits, unhealthy attitudes, superstitions, fear and phobias through de-conditioning,
An individual who hates a particular person or object may be made to seek pleasure
in its company. Another individual who thinks it a dangerous sign if a cat crosses
his way can be made to give up his false belief.

Operant Conditioning
operant
Although classified and included in the category of conditioning,
conditioning differs a lot from the classical conditioning advocated by Pavlov initiatione
Watson. The most outstanding difference lies in the order related with the
organism
and response i.e., stimulus-response mnechanism. In classical conditioningthepresence of
is passive. It must wait for something to happen for responding. The emitted in
a stimulus for evoking a response is essential. The behaviour cannot be noise
the absence of a cause. The child expresses fear only when he hears a loud the
and the dog waits for food to arrive before salivating. In each of such instances, to the
subject has no control over the happening. He is made to behave in response environment
stimulus situations. Thus, the behaviour is said to be initiated by the
the organism simply responds. evolution
inthe wait
Skinner revolted against "no stimulus, no response" mechanism always
of behaviour. He argued that in
practical situations in our life, we cannotenvironment.
for things to happen in the environment. Man is not a victim of the initiative.
He may often manipulate the things in the with his own
environment
 Learning 199
Therefore,it
,js not always essential that there must be some known stimuli or cause
response. Quite often, most of our responses could
evoking a not be attributed
or known
stimuli. The organism itself initiates the behaviour.
A
oran
theindividual"does" something, "behaves"
"E in some manner, it dog, a child,
o
environment and in turn the environment responds "operates" on
to the activity.
environmnentresponds to the activity, rewarding or not, largely determines How the
whether
the
behaviour will be repeated, maintained or avoided.
heFrom where Skinner got the cue for such ideas is a question that can arise at this
Definitely, it was from the studies and observations of an earlier psychologist
namedEdward Lee Thorndike. Through his experiments, for propagating his famous
slage.
rialanderrortheory of learning, Thorndike concluded that the rewards of a Response
(ikegetting food after a chance success through the randomized movements) leads
orepetition of an act and the strengthening of S-R associations. These conclusions
madeSkinner begin a series of experiments to find the consequences of the rewards
inrepeatingand maintaining behaviour. Based on the findings of his experiments,
he concluded that "behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences. It is
operated by the Organism and maintained by its results. The occurrence of such
behaviour was named as operant behaviour and the process of learning that plays
the part in learning Such behaviour was named by him as operant conditioning.
For understanding what Skinner propagated through his theory of operant
Cnditioning, 1let us try to build a base by defining and explaining some of the
Concepts used by him, for bringing out his theory.

Respondent and Operant Behaviour

As we have seen the earlier theories of learning assumed the existence of a known
timulus as anecessary pre-requisite for evoking aresponse. Skinner the first time got
the idea that most of the responses could not be attributed to the known stimuli. He
defined two types of responses- the one "elicited" by known stimuli which he called
s Tespondent behaviour" and the other "emitted' by the unknown stimuli which
aled
all reflexesas such
"Operant behaviour", Examples of respondent behaviour may include
as jerking one's hand when jabbed with a pin and the pupillary
Construction on account of bright light or salivation in the presence of food.
nthe respondent behaviour the stimulus preceding the response is responsible
for
Causicausi
ng nsuch
g behaviour is unknown and itis not important to know the cause of the
the behaviour. On the other hand, in the operant behaviour the stimulus
behaviour. Here it is not the stimulus but the consequences of the behaviour which
are more
of its Important and hence the operant behaviour is controlled by the strength
behaviconsoursequences
oy in
instead of stimuli. Examples of such behaviour may include the
like moving one's hand, arms or legs arbitrarily, achild abandoning one
about favour
and
of the other, eating a meal, writing aletter, standing up and
similar other everyday activities.
walking

Oper ant:
Organisr' sdoiSkinner
ng ,something
considerse.g. anraising its head,
operant as walking
a set of
about, pushingconstitutes
acts which an
alever, etc.
Reinforc
presentationer and Reinforcement: The
of reward.
of reinforcement
conceptstimulus
is identical to the
whose presentation or removal
hCreases the probability
a
ofAareinforcer
responseisre-occurring.
the Skinner thinks of two kinds of
Teirnforcers-posit ve and negative.
200 General Psychology

positive reinforcer is any stimulus the introduction or

+A
increases the likelihood of a
particular behaviour. Food, water,
presentation of which
reinforcers. Anegative reinforcer is any sexual
are classified as positive increases the likelihood of a
withdrawal of which particular contacrte,moval
stimulus the elc,
or reinforcers. )
shock. a loud noise, etc., are said to be negative forward
The Schedules of Reinforcement: Skinner putoperant the idea of
schedules of reinforcement of conditioning the behaviour
behaviou r . Electi
The important schedules are
1. Continuous Reinforcement
as under:
Schedule: It is hundred per cent
of
p
thela
reinforcement ism
n
org in
of
ang
where provision is made to reinforce
or reward every correct
organism during acquisition of a learning. toForthe
rewarded for every correct answer ho gives
example, responseschedule
a student of the
questions or may be
by his teacher.
2. Fixed nteroal Reinforcement Schedule: In this schedule the organism is
problems
put
a response made only after a set interval
5 minutes. How many times he has given correct
of rewarordedevery
time e.g., every 3 minutes for
responses during this
interval of time does not matter; it is only on the
that he is presented with some reinforcement.
expiry of the
fixed interfvixaled,
3. Fixed Ratio Reinforcement. Schedule: In this schedule the reinforcement is given after
afixed number of responses. Arat, for example, might be given a pallet of
food
after a certain number of lever presses. Astudent may be properly rewarded
after answering a fixed number of questions, say 3 or 5. Fixed ratio schedule is
used in some factories, and by employers of casual workers or labourers whea
salary is paid on a piece work basis: number of garments sewn and number of
baskets of fruit packed.
4 Variable Reinforcement Schedule: When reinforcement is given at varyingintervals of
time or after avarying number of responses, it is called a variable reinforcement
schedule. In this case reinforcement is intermittent or irregular. The individual
does not know when he is going to be rewarded and consequently he remains
motivated throughout the learning process in the wait of reinforcement. The most
common example of such schedule in human behaviour is the reinforcement
operation schedules of gambling devices. Here rewards .are unpredictable and
keep the players well motivated through occasional returns.

Conclusion About the Various Reinforcement Schedules

operant
Reinforcement and its schedules play a key roole in. the conditioning, orschedule
behaviour and acquisition of alearning, Where a continuous reinforcement resultin
increases the response rate, the discontinuation of reinforcement, may
schedule,
the extinction of that response or behaviour. Continuous reinforcement
response rate during
thus, yields the least resistance to extinction and the lowest correct
quickly if
learning. Therefore, learning of a response takes place reinforcement everystopped.
response is rewarded, but it is easily forgotten when the is varying
If reinforcement is given aftera varying or at t h e
responses However,
number of Correctextinction. terms
intervals of time, the response is remarkably resistant to yieldin
fixed interval reinforcement schedules are found to provide thelowest
 Learning 201
individual may soon lean to
pertormance the
as
reinforcement arrives. respond correctly only when
f timeo r
turn of
fixed interval or fixedSimilarly, he may lose interest in
getting
einforcement after a number of correct
properly,SAkinner suggests to begin with 100 percent responses. Weighing
he

ixed
I
schedule,reinforcement
intervalorfixed ratio schedule and finaly arrive at the variable
these practice the
for better
results in learning or training.
schedule

Operant
pefiningO
Conditioning
coonditioning refers to akind of learning process
Operant
made more probable or more frequent by reinforcement. whereby
It helps in thealearning
response isof
operant
behaviour, the behaviour that is not necessarily associated with aknown stimnuli.

pistinction Between Classical and Operant

Classical or respondent conditioning is based on respondent
Conditioning
behaviour.
Specifically,it deals with responses that invariably follow a specific stimulus and are
thuselicited e.g blinking ata bright light, jumbling at an electric shock, salivation to
the test of food, and so forth. In this greater importance is attached to the stimulus
forelicitingthe desired response. That is why it is also called atype S conditioning.
On the other hand, operant conditioning helps in conditioning or learring of
operant behaviour- behaviour that is emitted (rather than elicited). The
organism
seems to initiate operant behaviour on his own without asingle, explicit, preceding
eimulus. In this type of learning, much emphasis is placed on the response rather
nthe stimulus causing the response. That is why it is also named as type R
cConditioning. n type Sconditioning, the problem with the trainer or teacher is to
slect appropriate stimuli for evoking desired response. On the other hand in Rtype
conditioning, out of many responses which an organism is capable of giving, the
Droblem with the trainer or teacher is to evoke only the appropriate responses and
then fix them properly with the help of suitable reinforcement.
The difference between these two types of conditioning may thus be
as under: summarized
Classical Respondent Conditioning Operant Conditioning
|1. It helps in the learning of
respondent 1. It helps in the learning of operant
behaviour.
2 It is
behaviour.
called type S conditioning to
phasize the importance of the stimulusem-2. It is called type R conditioning because
of the emphasis on the response.
in eliciting
desired response.
In this type of
IS made with the conditioning beginning3.
help of specific stimuli
Here beginning is made with the responses
as they occur "naturally" or "unnaturally"
that bring
4. certain responses. shaping them into existence.
Here strength of conditioning is Here strength of conditioning is shown by
determined by the magnitude usually4.
of the the response rate i.e. the rate with which
condi
of tioned response i.e. the amount
saliva (as in the an operant response occurs as a
some reinforcement.
result of
case of classical
experiment Pavloy
of
with dog)
202 General Psychology

Skinner's Experiments Regarding Operant

B.F. Skinner conducted a series of experiments with the
the experiments with rats, he designedaspecial apparatus
Condianimals.tioning
For
was a much modifed form of the puzzle box used by
with cats. The darkerned sound proof box mainly consists of a
known as
Thorndike for Skinner'
his
s
conducing
Box.It
of light or sound produced at the time of delivering a pallet ofgrid
cup, a lover and afood cup. It is arranged so that when a rat food in the
floor,experaimsystenetms
presses the lever, the feeder mechanism is activated, alight or a or food
(hungry thirsty)
produced and asmall pallet of food (or small drops of water) is special
food cup. For recording the observations of the experiments, the released is
the
sound
into
lever is
with a recording system which produces a graphical tracing of the
against the length of time the rat is in the box.
To begin with, Skinner, in one of his
lever connect ed
pressings
above described box. In this experiment experiments, placed a
hungry
the rat could result in the pressing the bar in a desirablerat in the
of
The click sound acted as production of afood way
of a click sound and
a cue or signal indicating to thepresence pallaby
by going to the food cup, it will be rat that if it
his proper rewarded. The rat was rewarded forrespondseach ot
attempts for pressing the lever. The lever press
rewarded, was repeated and it ocurred, it was again response having been
increased the probability of thewhenrepetition of the lever press
rewarded which further
this way, ultimately the rat
learned the art of pressing the lever response and so on. In
experimenter. as desired by the
For doing
apparatus calledexperiments
with pigeons, Skinner made use of
"pigeons box". Apigeon in this experiment had to another specific
plastic key mounted on the wall at head height and peck at alighted
receiving grain. was consequently rewarded by
With the help of such
conditioning experiments, Skinner put forward his theory of operant
for learning not
but also for learning the most only the simple responses like pressing of the
difficult and complex series of lever
responses.
Mechanism of Operant conditioning
Operant
An operant isconditioning as
a set of acts emphasized earlier is correlated with
that constitutes an operant behaviour.
the process of s doing something. Hence
operant conditioning may start organism'
"naturally" or
be made for "at random". In case they do not
with the responses as they OCCur
on in this shaping them into existence. How it can
may
occur naturally, then attempts later
chapter under the
Once a heading be done will he explained

reinforced response (as desired by the"Shaping".

through
In due course a suitable trainer, experimenter or teacher) OCCurs,
reinforcer (Primary or Secondary, positive or Skinner's
it is
negative)
this
experiment a palletresponse gets
rat. He got the of food conditioned by constantly reinforcing it. In
worked as a positive
as desired by reinforcement after reinforcer for the hungry
the emitting certain
a primary the lever
same results exper
as
broughtimenter)
about,. The Secondary
by response (pressing of
producethe
reinforcement Itmayis a Sort of getting
stimulus which acquires the the primary reinforcement. also neutral
reinforcing properties (rewarding value) after
 Learning 203

associated with a primary reinforcer (eg., food

or water). The clicking of
pairedor
soundand
lighting of a bulb in Skinners experiment may work as secondary
reinforcement
a
if they are paired with the appearance of a pallet of food.f
Theimportantthing in the mechanism of operant conditioning is the emitting of
response and its proper management through suitable reinforcement. Here
desired
a organismis to respornd in such a way as to produce the reinforcing stimulus.
thesubsequent reinforcement gradually conditions the organism to emit the desired
The andthus learn the desired act.
response

Shaping
There are situations specially in case of the acquisition of complex behaviour
of difficult skills, etc., where there may arise very remote chances of
andlearning of the responses in a specific way at random (natural occurrence).
occurrence
the
waiting for an organism to behave in a specific way at random (the
In such cases take a life time. For example, the chances for a pigeon
natural occurrence) may same holds true for a child
n dance in a specific way are extremely remote. The
situations, where the desired
learning Russian or even table manners. n these for eliciting the
responses do not occur at random (or naturally) efforts are made
a step
appropriate responses. It is done by building a chain of responses through
by step process called "shaping." to teach it
In one of his experiments for shaping the behaviour of a pigeon a small amount
to walk in afigure eight-Skinner watched its activity and gave it pigeon got his
of grain (reward) when it moved in the proper direction.At firstforthetaking a step in
reward for simply turning its head in the right direction, then
on, until it had learned
the right direction, then for making the correct turn, and so
to do a complete figure eight.
for making individuals
Shaping, in this way, may be used as a successful technique desirable modifications
learn difficult and complex behaviour and also for introducing therapy used in
In the behaviour. Behaviour modification technique and aversiveexistence through
come into
aung the problem behaviour and abnormality have
the use of the shaping of behaviour mechanism.

Implications of the Theory of Operant Conditioning

learning
Theory of conditioning has revolutionized the field of training or
operantthe following practical ideas and implications:
by bringing forward
1 A response or behaviour is not necessarily dependent (contingent) upon a

specific known stimuli. It correct to think that a behaviour or response

is more to
is Therefore, for training an organism
learndependent upon its consequences.
a particular behaviour or response, he may be initiated to respond in
behaviour should get
such a way as to produce the reinforcing stimulus.a His he is rewarded
the reward act in such way that be
and so on. and in turnthehelearning
should again
training process and environment must
Therefore, or satisfaction to a
So frustration and maximum
learnerdesigned
as to create minimum training or learning.
desired
to provide him proper reinforcementfor the
204 General Psychology

may be
behaviour
of operant conditioning find
2. The principlemodification. We have to successfullywhichapplied
something is in the
behaviour we wish to
modify, task
the individual whose
behaviour occurs
is done, the rate
and
with
immediately
which the
reward
desired
him
response
behaviour next occurs, it is again rewarded, and the
wait
re
until
w
when he does. he forarding of

oCcurs goes up. Whednesiretdhis

rate of responding
up even more. Going in the same way, we
will be able to make the When he
goes
individual
learn the desired behaviour.
The task of the development of human personality canbe
3.
According to Skinner, successfully
"we are what wem
through operant conditioning.
rewarded for being. What we call personality is nothing more
behaviour patterns that summarize our reinforcement history. We
manipulated
than have been
English, for example, because we have been rewarded for to learn consisspeak
tent
sounds of the English language in
to be brought up in a Japanese or a
our early home
Russian
environment.
home, we would
If
weapprlearn
oximathappened
ing the
Japanese or Russian because when we approximately sounds in that to speak
we would have been attended to or rewarded in some
1976, p- 87).
other way language,
(Hergenhahn,
4. The theory of operant conditioning does not attribute motivation to
processes within the organism. It takes for granted the internal
behaviour or response as a source of motivation to consequences
further occurrence of ofthata
behaviour. Food is a reinforcer to a rat or pigeon. Knowledge of
is reinforcing to a learner. Secondary reinforcers also prove correct response
very important
sources of motivation for alearner. Verbal praise, positive facial expressions of
the trainer or teacher, feeling of success, scores, grades, prizes, medals and the
opportunity to do the work of one's liking all constitute good motivator. In this
way operant conditioning provided an external approach to motivation.
5. Operant conditioning lays stress on the Importance of schedules in the process
of reinforcement of the behaviour. In trying to train or learn a behaviour,
therefore, great care is to be taken for the proper planning of the schedules of
reinforcement.
6. This theory advocated the avoidance of punishment for unlearning the undesirable
behaviour and for shaping the desirable behaviour. Punishment proves ineffective
in the long run. It appears that punishment simply suppresses behaviour and
when the threat of punishment is removed, behaviour returns to its original level.
Therefore, operant conditioning experiments suggested appropriate alternatives
to punishment in the form of rewarding appropriate behaviour and ignoring
the. n-appropriate behaviour for its gradual extinction.
7. In its most effective application, theory of operant conditioning has contri buieu
learning.
alot towards the development of teaching machines and programmed
The theory of operant conditioning has led us to think that learning procet
most effectively if opportunities for
() the learning material is so designed that it creates less
facing failure and more opportunities for gaining success,
 Learning 205

thelearnerisgiven rapid feed-back concerning the accuracy of his learring,

and
learneris able to learn at his oWn pace.
it) principlesoriginating from operant
the
conditioning have revolutionized the
These programmes. As a result, mechanical learning in the form of
andlearning
rainingmachines and computer assisted instructions has replaced usual class room
(eaching
instructions.

Insightful Learning
Theoryof
views propagated
by behaviourists in the form of an association between
iandresponsesfor
The understanding learning faced a great difficulty in explaining
stimulia process or
learning
behaviour involving higher cognitive abilities. The chance
sUCcess
ihe through trial and error or association through connectionism and conditioning
accountfor simple acquisition of knowledge, skills, interests habits and other
may characteristics, but it is absolutely insufficient to account for
personality problem
solving, creativity and acquisition of other similar cognitive behaviour including
(learningthat appears to come suddenly).
insight
Dissatisfied with the approach of behaviourists, the cognitive psychologists tried
as a more deliberate and conscious effort on the part of the individual
to see learning
rather than being a product of a mere habit formation or stimulus- response machine
like mechanism. According to them, in alearning process, the learner does not merely
receive or make responses to the stimuli, but he definitely processes (interacts and
doessomething) what I he receives and his response is determined by that processing.
Thinking on this line, agroup of German psychologists called Gestaitists, Wolfgang
Kohler in particular, originated a leaning theory known as insightful learning.
"Gestalt" is a German noun for which there is no equivalent in English. So the
lerm was carried over into English psychological literature. The nearest English
translation of Gestalt is "configuration" or more simply an organised whole in
contrast to a collection of parts". Gestalt psychologists consider the process of
learning as a Gestalt-an organised whole. A thing cannot be understood by study
of its constituent parts but only by study of it as a totality, is the basic idea behind
this theory.
Inthe practical sense, Gestalt Psychology is primarily concerned with the nature
of perception. According to it, an individual perceives the thing as awhole while the
Behaviourists and Stimulus- Response Theorists define perception in such a way as
to make it analogous with taking photographs. They think that sensation comes prior
to meaning and consider these two acts as separate. But the Gestalt Psychologists do
o separate sensation of an object from its meaning. They are of the opinion that
unless a person sees some meaning in an object he will pay little or no attention to
it.
Furthermore,
to a Gestalt Psychologist, the meaning of sensation or perception is
always related to the total situation. Accordingastothem perceptionwithin
alwaysafield
involves
problem of organisation. Athing is perceived arelationship whicha
includes the thing, the viewer and acomplex background incorporating the viewer's
Purposes and previous
Gestalt P'sychologistsexperience.
tried to interpret learning as apurposive, exploratory and
Creative enterprise instead of trial and error or simple stimulus-response mechanism.
206 General Psychology

perceives the situation as a

A learner, while learning, always
and evaluating the different relationships
whole and after
takes the proper decision
way. He always responds to the proper relationships
rather
describe the
Gestalt Psychology used the term "insight" toresponding
than in an
s e ing
perception ithentelsitigmentuli.
the specific
of
st
situation by the learner and his intelligence in to the
Kohler, first of all, used this term (insight) to
chimpanzees
describe
and
thelearningproper apes. whole
brought
of his
relationships,
conducted many experiments on out a book Kohleofr
Apes in 1925 which was the result of his experiments, conducted
1913-17 on the Canary Island. These experiments show learning by during Mentaperility od
the
of them are givern below: insight. Some
() In one experiment, Kohler put the chimpanzee, Sultan, inside a
banana was hung fromthe roof of the cage. A box was placed cage and a
cage. The chimpanzee, tried to reach at the banana by jumping but inside the
succeed. Suddenly, he got an idea and used the box as ajumping could not
platform
by placing it just below the hanging banana.
() In another experiment, Kohler made this problem more difficult. Now
required two or three boxes to reach the barnanas. Moreover, the placing of
one box over the other required different specific arrangements.
(ii) In a more complicated experiment, the banana was placed outside the cae
of the chimpanzee. Two sticks, one longer than the other, were placed inside
the cage. One was hollow at one end so that the other stick could be thrust
into it to form a longer stick. The banana was so kept that it could not be
picked up by any one of the sticks. The chimpanzee first tried these sticks
one after the other but failed. Suddenly, he got a bright idea. The animal
joined the two sticks together and reached the banana.
In these experiments, Kohler used many different chimpanzees. Sultan, who
was the most intelligent of Kohler's chimpanzees, could solve all the problems.
Other chimpanzees could solve the problems only when they saw Sultan solving
them.

(i0) (i)
Fig 13.4 Kohler's Experiment on Chimpanzee. abilities
These experiments demonstrated the role of cognitive did
intelligence and animals,
in higher learning such as higher
problem-solving, The apes, somewhat
 Learning 207
and error mechanism adopted by Thorndike's
to blind trial cat or simple
in the case of Pavlov's dog or
resort
not
inteligently
as Watson's
by(i)identifyingthe problem, (ii) organising their Albert.
formation
Theyfield
perceptual reacted
and
habit
coined by Kohler) to reach a solution. Once the
insight(the term
using
perceived as a
(i)
whole and the perceptual field is properly organised, asituation
problem
is solvablethrough flashes of insight.
becomes
human beings we come across such type of learning a number of times on
In occasions. For example, a student may suddenly come to know that in
different of the digits in the answer is always 9 (e.g. 9x5-45, 4+5=9
9's table, the sum
the student'slearning of a new meaningful relationship is, then a result of his
etc) The
insightfullearning.
Though Kohler seemed to see insightful learning in terms of asudden aha" or
lightning, itis bound to depend upon the factors given below:
abolt ofExperience: Past experiences help in the insightful solution of the problems.
(o)
Achild cannot solve the problems of Modern Mathematics unless he is well
acquainted with its symbolic language.
Putelligence: Insightful solution depends upon the basic intelligence of the
learner. The more intelligent the individual is, the greater will be his insight.
0 Leazing situation: How insightfully the organism will react, depends upon
the situation in which he has to act. Some situations are more favourable
than others for insightful solution. As a common observation, insight occurs
when the learning situation is so arranged that all the necessary aspects are
open for observation.
(9) error.
Inittal Efforts: Insightful learning has to pass through the process of trial and
But this stage does not last long. These initial efforts, in the form of
simple trial and error mechanism, open the way for insightful learning.
() Repetition and Generalization: After having an insightful solution of aparticular
type of problem, the organism tries to repeat it in another situation, demanding
Similar type of solution. The way found in one situation helps him to react
insightfully in other identical situations.

mplications of the Theory of lnsightful Learning

The greatest contribution of the theory of insightful learning lies in the fact that
it has made learning as a purposeful and goal-oriented task. It does not involve
Simple reflexive or automatic machinetype responses. The learrner has to be motivated
by arousing his interest and curiosity in the learning process and he must be well
acquainted with the specific aims and purposes of his learning.
as a whole
in thisMortheory
eover, thehas emphasis
given birthon tothe animportance the situation
viewingnamed
important ofmaxim as "from whole to
partbe sPresented
" in the field
to him of learning.
as a wholeIf and memorise
to learnororgrasping
after reading
one wants it asa poem,
it should
a whole, it may
be brokern into parts or stanzas for its effective memorization. Similarly, a problem
Tequired to be solved should be presented as a whole and after grasping it as a
whole, it should be tried for the solution on apiecemeal basis.
208 General Psychology

The theory of insightful learning requires the

field and learning material in the form of a"Gestalt" organisation of the
i.e., as a whole,
phenomenon, we cannot treat any learning related
mere collection of isolated facts, information or
with a
unrelated subject Basepkidelrceonpastualthis
or
fact has contributed much in the field of organisation of the
studies, work-plan and procedure of planning the schedule of
behavi o ura l act s.
curlerarniiculunm,g orscheme Thiofs he
of a skill or behaviour. What we see today in the form of an
uniteatychiandng
cohesiveness (in the form of Gestalt) within the learning acts or emmphasis on
scheme of studies or learning is nothing but a pattern of
the Gestaltist theory of insightful learning
experiences
learning borrowedin fraonym
Bandura's Social Learning Theory
Observation of other's behaviour may play a leading role in
acquiring various things concerning one's environment. The
who appreciate the role of observation in learning are termed cognitive leearning
and
and the theory of learning they propagate is known as the social
as:
social pspsyyccholholoogigissttss
Albert Bandura was a prominent American social learning
learning theory is often designated as Bandura's social learning theorist learnring theory.
and the social
theory.
Introducing his theory Bandura (Lewin, 1978) writes:
We do not blindy respond to environmental stimuli.
many environmental options, basing our decisions on our own Rather, we pick and
This we do through vicarious or insights and past choose from
behaviour of those around us. observational learning, by incorporating andimitating the experiences.
Observational or vicarious learning (learning through indirect
than the learning based on experiences) rather
theory. The advocates of thisdirect experiences is thus the base of the
theory emphasize that most of what we learn social learring
through simply watching and listening to other is acquired
beginning keenly observe the behaviour of others, people. The children from the very
nearest to them like parents, members most commonly of the people
of society, etc. In turn, they try to of the family, teachers, the
imitate and older members
observational do what they observe. The power ot
learning can be confirmed through
through observation in our daily laboratory
life. Achild who sees his father experiments as well as
around, simply because of not served the meal of his taste, throwing utensis
and reproduces it in similar learns such behaviour
behaviour of the
or sees on TV characters circumstances. He
he reads about in may also incorporate and imitate
the
or in movies. The novels, hears about over the radio
imitates are known as models and persons whose behaviour he observes and often
Direct experiences no doubtobservational learning is referred to as modelling.
one's learning but the role of constitute the most effective and powerful sources of
can also indirect to observational learning
expensive
not be
underestimated. experiences
and more
beneficial
aspect Bandura (1977) writes:
In
than
leading
many cases, they prove more desirable, less
the direct experiences. Commenting o on this
One does not teach
students to perform children to swim, adolescents to novice medical
the
consequences Surgery by having them drive automobiles, and through
of their
mistakes, the heavier is thesuccesses or failures. discover the appropriate behaviour possitle
The more costly and hazardous the
reliance on
observational learning from competent examples.
 Learning 209

Observationallearning can thus provide extra dimensions and opportunities

addition to their learring through
learnersin
environmental consequences. It has self-experience and direct
the
nvolvementwith through every certainly reduced the need of
(or
individualgoing
experience himself and thus helped him to learn
examples of others.
an the
from

doeslearning
take place?
How to the
social learning theory, one learns through observations by
According and
incorporating imitating the behaviours of others taken as models belonging to
social
environment. According to Bandura (1977), the following processes or
one's involved in this kind of learning:
are usually
steps
Attending the behaviour. In this step the learner is made
to and perceiving
1. observe the behaviour of the person acting as a model. Here the total
to become the
behaviour or a particular aspect of it may attract attention and
attention.
subject of close
Remembering the behaviour. In this step, what the learner observes is filed
2. memory in the form of mental images.
away in his a behaviour observed and
2 Converting the memory into action. n this step, of its acceptability to the
remembered by the learner is analysed in terms
his environment. It
learner with reference to the demands of his self and
the observed relevant
is transformed into action only afterwards and thusimitated by the learner.
are
and accepted aspects of the model's behaviour
final step, the behaviour of the
4. Reinforcement of the imitated behaviour. In this proper adoption and further
model imitated by the learner is reinforced for
continuance.
learning. Suppose a young girl
Let us see how these steps may work in one's preparation of some new dishes.
happens to watch aT.V. programme concerning the
by the demonstration on the T.V.
She takes keen interest and is greatly influencedshe has observed on the screen
SCreen. She tries to keep in her memory all what
remembered observation into action.
aid then enters her kitchen to convert theaccordance with her observation of the
he new dishes are thus prepared by her in preparation of
of the
Petormance on T.V. of the home science specialist. Her learning gets from the members
ew dishes may then be reinforced by the response she
of her family who taste the new dishes.
learning i.e., learning through observation and modelling
Dves to beay, social one's behaviour.
proves an effective means of learning many things concerning speaks and
How one displays love and anger, shows sympathy and prejudices,
depend upon what has
Writes, dresses and eats, takes initiative or shies away, allcontext
been in of the vicarious or
imitated and reinforced
observed, remembered,
model learning as propagated by the social learning theory.