Theories of Learning

1
Theories of Learning

• Thomas G. Bowers, Ph.D.
• Penn State Harrisburg
• 2001

2
Learning Theory

• Aim is to understand the principles involved in
  learning and the acquisition of behavior
• Research domain is extensive
• Encourage, for this class, adopting a behavioral
  point of view
• Does not exclude aspects such as thinking,
  imagining or feeling

3
Learning Theory

• Effort will be devoted to understanding behavior,
  as well as cognition
• Memory
• Rule-governed behavior
• Metaphor
• Language
• Disorders of cognition

4
Learning

• What is learning?
• Kimble A relatively permanent change in
  behavior resulting from experience
• General inadequacies in this definition

5
Basic Procedures to Understand Behavior

• 1. Simplest Observe behavior
• 2. Present stimuli
• 3. Arrange for consequences
• Reinforcement
• Punishment
• 4. Stimulus control
• 5. Establishing operations

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Some Early Examples

• Kohler insight experiments with Sultan the
  chimp
• Thought experiments
• Chimp managed to solve the problem of the banana
• In a single trial, without any intervention

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Some Early Examples

• Tinbergen Varied stimulus qualities and
  measured effects on pecking behavior Tinbergen
  noted stimulus tends to elicit response,
  described as releasers
• Fixed Action Patterns (FAP)
• Could be complex behaviors, tended to be
  important to the survival or continuation of the
  organism

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Some Early Examples

• Thorndike cat puzzle box
• Influence of consequences
• Reinforcing consequences maintain behavior or
  responding, while punishing consequences decease
  or suppress the behavior

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Some Early Examples

• Pavlov and his classical studies
• Pfungst (1911) Clever Hans
• Noted discriminative functions of stimulus
  material

10
Some Early Examples

• Skinner described the discriminative function of
  some stimulus material

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Law of Effect

• Random variations in behavior
• Those with pleasurable consequences are stamped
  in while those with noxious consequences are
  stamped out
• Hedonic assumptions
• Instrumental or operant conditioning