LEARNING AND

BEHAVIOUR
LEARNING DEFINTION

■ Learning can be defined as a relatively permanent change in behaviour or potential

behaviour as a result of direct or indirect experience.

■ Stephen P Robbins – learning is any relatively permanent change in behaviour that

occurs as a result of experience.

■ Steers and Porter – Learning can be defined as relatively permanent change in

behaviour potentially that results from reinforced practice or experience.
COMPONENTS OF LEARNING

■ Learning involves change, be it good or bad.

■ The change in the behaviour must be relatively permanent.

■ Only change in behaviour acquired through experience is considered learning.

■ Some form of experience is necessary for learning.

■ Learning is not confined to schooling only.

DETERMINANTS OF LEARNING

■ MOTIVE: primary energizers of behaviour. They are cognitive variable.

■ STIMULI: stimuli increases the probability of eliciting a specific response from a

person

■ GENERALIZATION: principle of generalization has important implications for human

learning.

■ DISCRIMINATION: what is not generalization is discrimination.

DETERMINANTS OF LEARNING

■ RESPONSES: the stimulus results in responses – physical form or in terms of attitude

or perception.

■ REINFORCEMENT: reinforcement is a fundamental conditioning of learning. It can

increase the strength of response and tends to induce repetitions of behaviour.

■ RETENTION: remembrance of learned behaviour overtime. Learning which is

forgotten over time is called extinction.
THEORIES OF LEARNING

■ Four general approaches of learning.

1. Classical conditioning theory

2. Operant conditioning theory

3. Cognitive learning theory

4. Social learning theory

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

■ It is modifying behaviour so that a conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned

stimulus and elicits an unconditioned behaviour.

■ Ivan Pavlov Theory-

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

■ Introduces simple cause and effect relationship between one stimulus and one response.

■ LIMITATIONS

– Human beings are more complex than dogs.

– Decision making process is complex and makes it possible to override simple

conditioning.
OPERANT CONDITIONING

■ B.F. Skinner theory

■ It induces a voluntary change in behaviour and learning occurs as a consequence of

such change.

■ Also known as reinforcement theory, behaviour is a function of its consequences.

■ The consequence of a given behaviour would determine whether the same behaviour is
likely to occur or not.
OPERANT BEHAVIOUR
■ Behaviour can be controlled by manipulating
its consequences.

■ Positive rewards – repetition

■ Negative rewards - suppression

COGNITIVE THEORY

■ Cognition is the act of knowing an item of information and this knowledge effects the
behaviour of the person providing cognitive cues towards the expected goal.

■ Learning is considered as the outcome of deliberate thinking about the problem or

situation and responding in an objective and goal oriented manner.
COGNITIVE THEORY

■ Kohler experiment – learning process occurs by putting or organizing bits of

information in a new manner perceived inside the mind.
 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
■ Learning by observing their models whom they admire.

■ Integrates the cognitive and operant approached of learning.

■ Individual acquires new behaviours by observing or imitating others in a social setting.

■ Four process

1. attention process

2. retention process

3. motor reduction process

4. Reinforcement process
PRINCIPLES OF REINFORCEMENT

■ Reinforcement is the process by which certain types of behaviour are strengthened or

supressed.

■ Four basic strategy

– Positive reinforcement – encourage desirable behaviour

– Negative reinforcement – encourage desirable behaviour

– Punishment- discourage undesirable behaviour

– Extinction - discourage undesirable behaviour

EXTINCTION

■ This type of reinforcement is applied to reduce undesirable behaviour, especially when

such behaviours were previously rewarded.

■ Reward is removed – undesirable behaviour becomes less frequent.

PUNISHMENT
■ Most controversial method of behaviour modification.

■ Involves delivering an unpleasant consequence upon occurrence of an undesirable

behaviour.

■ Certain undesirable behaviours must be punished, otherwise they will have a far
reaching effects.

■ Certain guidelines would make it more effective thus minimizing its dysfunctional
consequences

■ Praise in public, punish in private.

■ Punishment should focus on behaviour and not on the person.

SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

■ Continuous reinforcement schedule

■ Partial reinforcement schedule

– Fixed interval schedule

– Variable interval schedule

– Fixed ratio schedule

– Variable ratio schedule

LEARNING CURVES

■ The principle of learning curve involves the time factor and the repeated efforts in order
to gradually increase the strength of responses

■ 4 types:

■ Diminishing return learning curve

■ Increasing returns learning curve

■ Increasing –decreasing –return learning curve

■ Complex learning curve