Human Learning

I. Classical Conditioning 

Event-Event Learning--organism learns that Event #1 is a reliable predictor of Event #2

How?  Contiguity and contingency       

 

Example of Classical Conditioning

 

II. Operant Conditioning 

Response-Consequence Learning--an organism’s behavior changes because of the consequences that follow the behavior.

Why?  Law of Effect (E. L. Thorndike) 

“Of several responses made to the same situation, those which are accompanied or closely followed by satisfaction to the animal will, other things being equal, be more firmly connected to the situation, so that, when it (the situation) recurs, they will be more likely to recur.”

Further, the consequence is contingent on the response being made

reinforcement—the contingency that results when the consequence of a behavior causes the future probability of that behavior to INCREASE

punishment—the contingency that results when the consequence of a behavior causes the future rate of the behavior to decrease…

Examples of Operant Conditioning

A student volunteers to answer a tough question in class, and the teacher comments favorably on the quality of the student’s contribution.

A child presents a bad report card to his parents and is sent to his room with no supper.

III. Observational/Social Learning

Occurs by watching and imitating actions of another person or by noting consequences of a person’s actions...occurs before direct practice is allowed

For observational learning to be effective:

Examples of Observational Learning

Bandura's BoBo doll experiment

IV.  Cognitive Learning

Attkinson & Shiffrin (1968) model is representative of the cognitive perspective

Distinguished between structural and processing components of memory

The structure is thought to be those parts of the memory system that do not change

Three structures: (1) sensory registers, (2) STS, (3) LTS

Information transfer from STS to LTS under person's control (control processes)

Repetition of an item (even if unaware) leads to better performance

Two main control processes in STS—rehearsal and retrieval 

Recent theory and research has focused on three learning/memory processes

Encoding

Levels of Processing—Craik & Lockhart (1972) suggested that processing was more important than the underlying structure of memory

       A.  Four assumptions:  

(1) Memory is result of a series of analyses performed on the to-be-processed information. 

Shallow level vs. deep level 

(2) The deeper the level, the more durable the resulting memory.   

Focusing on the meaning of the to-be-remembered  item should lead to a stronger memory, rather than focusing on how the item sounds.

(3) Rehearsal will be beneficial only to the extent that it induces a deeper level processing.   

Elaborative vs. maintenance rehearsal

**Deep levels of processing encourage recall  because of two factors:

        Elaboration--processing focuses on how the items fit together

        Distinctiveness--processing focuses on how a stimulus is different from other items

Storage

How is information organized in memory?

   

  

Retrieval

Major factor--degree of overall match between conditions at encoding and conditions at retrieval