LEARNING THEORIES CN V. Sanchez, Ph.D.

START-OFF TASK:
Group Activity:
1. Discuss the assigned Behaviorist/ Neo Behaviorist.
- name of the THEORY (if any)
- significant EXPERIMENT ON ANIMAL OR HUMAN
2. Determine the important contributions (CONCEPTS,
PRINCIPLES, IMPLICATIONS, ETC. ) in the field of education.
3. Present your notes through board work or manila paper in
class.
BEHAVIORISTS AND NEO BEHAVIORISTS
1. Ivan Pavlov
2. John Watson
3. Edward Lee Thorndike
4. BF Skinner
5. Edward Tolman
6. Albert Bandura
BEHAVIORISM
- study of observable and measurable behaviors
- behavior is mostly learned through conditioning and
reinforcements (rewards and punishment)
 BEHAVIORISM

Classical Conditioning Connectionism Operant Conditioning

(Pavlov/Watson) (Thorndike) (Skinner)

Primary Laws:
Law of Effect - Reinforcement
Law of Exercise - Shaping of Behavior
Law of Readiness
IVAN PAVLOV
- classical conditioning or
stimulus substitution
IVAN PAVLOV’S EXPERIMENT
IMPORTANT FINDINGS OF PAVLOV
Stimulus Generalization
- once the dog has learned to salivate at the sound of the
bell, it will salivate at other similar sounds
IMPORTANT FINDINGS OF PAVLOV
Extinction
- if you stop pairing the bell with the food, salivation will
eventually cease in response to the bell
IMPORTANT FINDINGS OF PAVLOV
Spontaneous Recovery
- extinguished responses can be “recovered” after an
elapsed time, but will soon extinguish again if the dog is
not presented with food
IMPORTANT FINDINGS OF PAVLOV
Discrimination
- the dog could learn to discriminate between similar bells
(stimuli) and discern which bell would result in the
presentation of food and which would not
IMPORTANT FINDINGS OF PAVLOV
Higher – Order Conditioning
- once the dog has been conditioned to associate the bell
with food, another unconditioned stimulus, such as a light
may be flashed at the same time that the bell is rung.
Eventually the dog will salivate at the flash of the light
without the sound of the bell
JOHN B. WATSON
- humans are born with a few
reflexes and the emotional reactions
of love and rage
- all other behaviors are learned the
S-R associations through conditioning
JOHN B. WATSON’S LITTLE ALBERT EXPERIMENT
- generalization
- “extinguished” behaviors, “unlearning”
EDWARD L. THORNDIKE’S CONNECTIONISM
THEORY
- S-R framework of behavioral psychology
- Educational Psychology
- learning is the result of associations forming
between stimuli (S) and response (R)
- such associations or “habits” become
strengthened or weakened by the nature and
frequency of the S-R pairings
EDWARD L. THORNDIKE’S EXPERIMENT
EDWARD L. THORNDIKE’S CONNECTIONISM
THEORY
- trial and error learning: responses are repeated more
than others because of rewards

- the main principle of connectionism (like all behavioral

theory) is that learning could be adequately explained
without considering any unobservable internal states
THORNDIKE’S THREE PRIMARY LAWS
LAW OF EFFECT
- a connection between a stimulus and response is
strengthened when the consequence is positive (reward)
and the connection is weakened when the consequence is
negative (punishment)
THORNDIKE’S THREE PRIMARY LAWS
LAW OF EXERCISE
- the more an S-R bond is practiced, the stronger it will
become

- practice without feedback does not necessarily enhance

performance
THORNDIKE’S THREE PRIMARY LAWS
LAW OF READINESS
- the more readiness the learner has to respond to the
stimulus, the stronger will be the bond between them

- when a person is ready to respond to a stimulus and is

not made the respond, it becomes annoying to the person;
when a person is not ready to respond and is asked to
respond, it also becomes annoying
“wait time”
- ask the question first, wait for a few seconds, then call on
anyone to recite
PRINCIPLES DERIVED FROM THORNDIKE’S
CONNECTIONISM
1. Learning requires both practice and rewards.
2. A series of S-R connections can be chained together if
they belong to the same action sequence.
3. Transfer of learning occurs because of previously
encountered situations.
4. Intelligence is a function of the number of connections
learned.
BURRHUS FREDERICK SKINNER
- believed in the S-R pattern of
conditioned behavior like other
behaviorists
- zeroed in only on changes in
observable behaviors excluding any
likelihood of any processes taking
place in the mind
SKINNER’S BOX
SKINNER’S OPERANT CONDITIONING
- operant behavior – voluntary behavior used in
operating on the environment

Operant Conditioning is based upon the notion that

learning is a result of change in overt behavior.
When a particular S-R pattern is reinforced (rewarded),
the individual is conditioned to respond.
REINFORCEMENT
- the key element in Skinner’s S-R Theory
- a reinforcer is anything that strengthens the desired
response
A. Positive Reinforcer – any stimulus that is given or added
to increase the response
B. Negative Reinforcer – any stimulus that results in the
increased frequency of a response when it is withdrawn or
removed
EXTINCTION OR NON-REINFORCEMENT
- responses that are not reinforced are not likely to be
repeated
Example: ignoring
SHAPING OF BEHAVIOR
- successive approximations of the behavior are rewarded
until the person learns the association between the
behavior and the reward
Example: learning to prepare own sandwich
BEHAVIORAL CHAINING
- comes about when a series of steps are needed to be
learned
Example: a child can be given reinforcement (rewards)
until the entire process of tying a shoelace is learned
REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES
- once the desired behavioral response is accomplished,
reinforcement does not have to be 100%
- it can be maintained through partial reinforcement
schedules which include interval schedules and ratio
schedules
FIXED INTERVAL SCHEDULES
- the target response is reinforced after the fixed amount
of time has passed since the last reinforcement
Example: the bird in a cage is given food (reinforcer)
every 10 minutes, regardless of how many times is presses
the bar
VARIABLE INTERVAL SCHEDULES
- similar to fixed interval schedules but the amount of
time that must pass between reinforcement varies
Example: the bird may receive food (reinforcer) at
different intervals, not every ten minutes
FIXED RATIO SCHEDULES
- a fixed number of correct responses must occur before
reinforcement may occur
Example: the bird will be given food (reinforcer) everytime
it presses the bar 5 times
VARIABLE RATIO SCHEDULES
- the number of correct repetitions of the correct response
for the reinforcement varies
Example: the bird is given food (reinforcer) after it presses
the bar 3 times, then after 10 times, then after 4 times. So
the bird is not able to predict how many times it needs to
press the bar before it gets food again
Variable interval schedules specially variable
ratio schedules produce steadier and more
persistent rates of response because the learners
cannot predict when the reinforcement will come
although they know that they will eventually
succeed.
IMPLICATIONS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING
1. Practice should take the form of question (S) – answer (R)
frames which expose the student to the subject in gradual steps.
2. Require that the learner makes a response for every frame
and receives immediately feedback.
3. Try to arrange the difficulty of the questions so the response
is always correct and hence, a positive reinforcement.
4. Ensure that good performance in the lesson is paired with
secondary reinforcers (e.g., verbal praises, prizes, good
grades).
PRINCIPLES DERIVED FROM SKINNER’S OPERANT
CONDITIONING
1. Behavior that is positively reinforced will reoccur;
intermittent reinforcement is particularly effective.
2. Information should be presented in small amounts so
that responses can be reinforced (“shaping”).
3. Reinforcements will generalize across similar stimuli
(“stimulus generalization”) producing secondary
conditioning.
NEO BEHAVIORISM
 NEO BEHAVIORISM

Tolman’s Purposive Bandura’s Social-

Behaviorism Learning Theory

-Goal-Directedness -Principles
-Cognitive Maps -Modeling
-Latent Learning -Four Conditions for Effective
-Intervening Variables Modeling
NEO BEHAVIORISM

- has aspects of behaviorism but is also

reaches out to the cognitive perspective
EDWARD TOLMAN’S PURPOSIVE BEHAVIORISM
- referred to as Sign
Learning Theory
- often seen as the link
between behaviorism and
cognitive theory
EDWARD TOLMAN’S EXPERIMENT
EDWARD TOLMAN’S PURPOSIVE BEHAVIORISM
- Tolman believed that learning is a cognitive
process which involves forming beliefs and
obtaining knowledge about the environment
and then revealing that knowledge through
purposeful and goal – directed behavior.
EDWARD TOLMAN’S PURPOSIVE BEHAVIORISM
- Tolman stressed the relationships between stimuli
rather than stimulus-response
- He stressed that a new stimulus (the sign) becomes
associated with already meaningful stimulus (the
significate) through a series of pairings; there is no need
for reinforcement in order to establish learning
TOLMAN’S KEY CONCEPTS
1. Learning is always purposive and goal-directed
- individuals do more than merely responding to stimuli
- individuals act on beliefs, attitudes, changing
conditions, and strive toward goals
- individuals act or respond for some adaptive purpose
- behavior is holistic, purposive and cognitive
TOLMAN’S KEY CONCEPTS
2. Cognitive Maps
- “learn location”
- organisms will select the shortest or easiest path to
achieve goal
TOLMAN’S KEY CONCEPTS
3. Latent Learning
- learning that remains in the individual until needed
- it is not outwardly manifested at once
- it can exist even without reinforcement
TOLMAN’S KEY CONCEPTS
4. Intervening Variable
- variables that are not readily seen but serve as
determinants of behavior
- learning is mediated or influenced by expectations,
perceptions, representations, needs, and other internal or
environmental variables (e.g., hunger)
TOLMAN’S KEY CONCEPTS
5. Reinforcement not essential for learning
- reinforcement is not essential for learning, although it
provides an incentive for performance
BANDURA’S SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
10- year Old Boy in Texas Hangs Himself After
Watching Saddam Execution
The Associated Press
Houston January 4, 2007 (AP)
BANDURA’S SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
- focuses on the learning that occurs
within a social context
- considers that people learn from one
another
- includes observational learning,
imitation, and modeling
BANDURA’S BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL LEARNING
THEORY (SLT)
1. People can learn by observing behaviors and outcomes of
those behaviors.
2. Learning can occur without a change in behavior. People
can learn through observation alone.
3. Cognition plays a role in learning. Awareness and
expectations of future reinforcements or punishments can have
a major effect on the behavior.
4. SLT can be considered a bridge or transition between
behaviorist and cognitive learning theories.
CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL LEARNING PERSPECTIVE
OF REINFORCEMENT AND PUNISHMENT
1. Reinforcement and punishment have indirect effects on
learning. They are not the sole or main cause.
2. Reinforcement and punishment influence the extent to
which an individual exhibits a behavior learned.
3. The expectation of reinforcement influences cognitive
processes that promote learning.
 COGNITIVE FACTORS IN SOCIAL LEARNING
1. Learning without performance: Learning through observation and
actual imitation.
2. Cognitive processing during learning: Attention is critical factor in
learning.
3. Expectations: People form expectations about the consequences
that future behaviors are likely to bring.
4. Reciprocal causation: The person, the behavior, and the environment
can have influence on each other.
5. Modeling: live model and symbolic model
LEARNING THROUGH MODELING
Conditions Necessary for Effective Modeling to Occur:
1. Attention
2. Retention – remember
3. Motor Reproduction – ability to replicate
4. Motivation
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL
LEARNING THEORY
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.
3. Modeling provides an alternative to shaping for teaching new
behaviors.
4. Teachers and parents must model appropriate behaviors.
5. Teachers should expose students to a variety of other models.