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Learning can be defined as a physiological process that involves gaining new information, knowledge, skills, and behaviours through life experiences and teaching. All living beings have the ability to learn. This unit on learning will describe the process and nature of learning, its different types and procedures, the various psychological processes that affect it, and the determinants of learning.
Contents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Nature of Learning
- 3 Paradigms of Learning
- 4 Classical Conditioning
- 5 Operant/Instrumental Conditioning
- 6 Observational Learning
- 7 Cognitive Learning
- 8 Verbal Learning
- 9 Skill Learning
- 10 Factors Facilitating Learning
- 11 Learning Disabilities
- 12 Important Definition in NCERT Notes Class 11 Psychology Chapter 5: Learning
- 13 FAQs
Explore Notes of Class 11 Psychology
Introduction
At birth, humans possess a limited set of reflexive responses triggered by specific stimuli. As a child grows, their ability to make diverse and complex responses increases through learning and maturation.
Some Examples of Learned Behaviours are:
- Recognition: Identifying people like mother, father, grandfather.
- Skill Development: Using a spoon, identifying alphabets, writing, and forming words.
- Observation & Imitation: Learning by observing others in specific situations.
- Vocabulary: Learning and retaining names of common objects (e.g., book, mango, cow).
- Motor Skills: Learning activities such as driving a scooter or a car.
- Communication & Interaction: Learning how to communicate and engage with others socially.
Impact of Learning:
- Learning shapes a person’s:
- Work habits (hardworking or lazy),
- Social competence (knowledgeable, skilled),
- Professional abilities (competent, adaptive).
- It plays a key role in problem-solving and life management.
Nature of Learning
Learning is defined as any relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential produced by experience. Changes due to drugs, fatigue, or temporary states are not considered learning.
Features of Learning
In this section, we have summarised the key concepts relevant to the feature of learning.
- Learning always involves some form of experience, such as:
- Repeated experiences can lead to habit formation.
- A single experience (e.g., burning fingers) can also lead to learning.
- Learning results in relatively permanent behavioural changes:
- It differs from changes due to fatigue, habituation, or drugs, which are temporary.
- Fatigue leads to a temporary decline in performance (e.g., feeling tired after studying or driving).
- Habituation occurs when repeated exposure to a stimulus reduces the response (e.g., ignoring constant noise).
- Drug-induced behaviour changes are physiological and wear off with time.
- Learning follows a sequence of psychological events:
- Pre-test to assess prior knowledge
- Presentation of material
- Processing of information
- Acquisition of knowledge
- Recall or performance indicating learning
- Learning is an inferred process, not directly observed:
- Performance is the visible response or behaviour.
- Learning is inferred based on the performance (e.g., reciting a memorised poem).
Paradigms of Learning
Learning occurs through various methods depending on the complexity of the response. Simple responses are learned through basic methods, while complex responses involve advanced methods. The simplest form of learning is conditioning.
The two main types of conditioning are:
- Classical conditioning
- Instrumental/operant conditioning
Other important types of learning include:
- Observational learning
- Cognitive learning
- Verbal learning
- Skill learning
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning was first studied by Ivan P. Pavlov during his research on digestion in dogs.
- He observed that dogs began to salivate not only when food was presented but also at the sight of the empty plate in which food was usually served.
- To study this phenomenon, Pavlov conducted a controlled experiment.
- A bell was rung before food (meat powder) was presented to the dog.
- After several repetitions, the dog started salivating just at the sound of the bell, even when no food was given.
- This indicated that the dog had learned to associate the bell (neutral stimulus) with food (natural stimulus), and now responded to the bell with salivation.
Key Concepts
- Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A stimulus that naturally elicits a response without prior learning, e.g., food.
- Unconditioned Response (UR): The natural response to an unconditioned stimulus, e.g., salivation to food.
- Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A previously neutral stimulus that, after being associated with the unconditioned stimulus, begins to elicit a similar response, e.g., a bell.
- Conditioned Response (CR): The learned response to the conditioned stimulus, e.g., salivation to a bell sound.
Learning Situation
Classical conditioning is also referred to as S-S learning, where one stimulus (bell) becomes a signal for another (food). It occurs in everyday life. For example, seeing a sweet dish after a meal may trigger salivation, or a child may develop a fear of balloons after experiencing a balloon burst with a loud noise.
Determinants of Classical Conditioning
The determinants of classical conditioning are:
- Time relations between stimuli
The effectiveness of conditioning depends on the timing of the CS and US. Four major procedures are:
- Simultaneous conditioning: CS and US are presented together.
- Delayed conditioning: CS is presented before US and ends before US; most effective.
- Trace conditioning: CS ends before US starts; involves a time gap.
- Backward conditioning: US is presented before CS; usually ineffective.
- Type of unconditioned stimuli:
- Appetitive US: Pleasant stimuli like food or affection; leads to slower conditioning and requires more trials.
- Aversive US: Unpleasant stimuli like electric shock or loud noise; leads to faster conditioning, often in just a few trials, depending on intensity.
- Intensity of conditioned stimuli:
- The stronger the CS, the quicker the acquisition of the CR.
- Intense CS requires fewer trials for learning to occur effectively.
Operant/Instrumental Conditioning
Below, we have discussed operant or instrumental learning in brief detail.
- First studied by B.F. Skinner, this type of learning involves voluntary responses emitted by an organism when it interacts with the environment.
- These voluntary responses are called operants because they are under the organism’s control and affect the environment.
- Conditioning of such responses is called operant conditioning.
Determinants of Operant Conditioning
Operant behaviour is influenced by its consequences, called reinforcers. A reinforcer is any stimulus/event that increases the probability of a desired response. Factors influencing operant learning include type, frequency, quality, and schedule of reinforcement, nature of response, and delay in reinforcement.
Types of Reinforcement
The types of reinforcement are:
- Positive Reinforcement: Stimuli with pleasant consequences that strengthen the response. Examples include food, praise, money, and status.
- Negative Reinforcement: Removal or avoidance of unpleasant stimuli. It leads to avoidance or escape responses (e.g., wearing woollens in winter).
- Negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment.
- Punishment reduces or suppresses a response temporarily and may lead to dislike towards the punisher.
- Mild or delayed punishment is ineffective.
Number and Quality of Reinforcement
The number of trials and the amount of reinforcement influence learning speed. Quality also matters (e.g., cake vs bread as food reward). Higher number, amount, and quality of reinforcement usually speed up learning.
Observational Learning
Observational learning is briefly discussed below as pointers:
- Observational learning refers to the process of learning that occurs by watching others.
- Earlier, it was referred to as imitation, but now it is studied more systematically.
- Since this learning often involves acquiring social behaviours, it is also termed social learning.
- It is commonly known as modeling, where individuals observe and imitate the behaviour of others, especially in uncertain or new social situations.
Examples Of Observational Learning
Some of the examples of observational learning are:
- Observational learning is commonly seen in day-to-day social life.
- Fashion designers use attractive models to popularize clothes in shows and advertisements.
- Viewers observe these models on TV or in print and imitate their looks and behaviours.
- People often imitate superiors, admired figures, or familiar individuals when they are in unfamiliar situations.
Role In Personality And Behaviour Development
The role of observational learning in personality and behaviour development is given below.
- Observational learning is crucial in the development of social behaviour and personality traits.
- Children learn how to wear clothes, comb their hair, speak politely, and conduct themselves in society.
- Through observation, they acquire both positive traits (like helpfulness, politeness, diligence) and negative traits (like aggression or laziness).
Cognitive Learning
In this section, we have discussed cognitive learning, insight learning, and latent learning.
- Cognitive learning focuses on the mental processes involved during learning.
- It emphasizes what the learner knows rather than what they do.
- This approach contrasts with classical and operant conditioning, which stress stimulus-response (S-R) or stimulus-stimulus (S-S) connections.
- Cognitive learning is evident in insight learning and latent learning.
Insight Learning
Below, we have described insight learning as brief pointers.
This type of learning was demonstrated by Wolfgang Kohler in his experiments with chimpanzees. He placed chimpanzees in an enclosure where food was out of reach, and tools like poles and boxes were available. The chimpanzees did not learn by trial and error, but rather through sudden flashes of understanding. After exploring, a chimpanzee would suddenly use the box to stand on and the pole to bring the banana closer. This sudden solution is called insight, when a problem’s answer becomes instantly clear.
Latent Learning
Now, let’s discuss latent learning.
- Latent learning refers to learning that occurs but is not shown until reinforcement is provided.
- This concept was studied by Edward Tolman using rats in a maze.
- He had two groups of rats:
- One group was rewarded with food and quickly learned the maze path.
- The other group received no reward and showed no obvious learning at first.
- Later, when the non-rewarded rats were given food, they navigated the maze as efficiently as the rewarded rats.
- This demonstrated that the unrewarded rats had already learned the maze layout during earlier trials.
- The rats formed a cognitive map, a mental representation of spatial paths and directions to reach the goal.
- The learning remained hidden or latent until reinforcement prompted its display.
Verbal Learning
Verbal learning is unique to humans and involves acquiring knowledge using words, which often become associated with each other. Psychologists study it using various methods in lab settings.
Methods Used in Verbal Learning
The methods used in verbal learning are described below.
- Paired-Associates Learning: A stimulus (e.g., a nonsense syllable) is paired with a response (e.g., an English noun). The learner memorises and recalls the response upon seeing the stimulus. Learning continues until all responses are recalled correctly.
- Serial Learning: A list of verbal items is learned in order using the serial anticipation method. Each item must be recalled in sequence. If incorrect, the correct response is shown and used to prompt the next.
- Free Recall: Words are presented randomly, and participants recall them in any order. Items at the beginning and end are remembered better. This method helps study word organisation in memory.
Determinants of Verbal Learning
Some of the determinants of verbal learning are presented below as brief pointers.
- List Length: Longer lists require more time to learn.
- Meaningfulness: Influenced by familiarity, association, usage frequency, and word relations.
- Associations: Items with strong associations are learned faster.
- Total Time Principle: Fixed time is needed to learn fixed content, regardless of trial division.
- Organisation: Learners often recall words by category (e.g., names, animals), even if presented randomly (e.g., category clustering in Bousfield’s study).
- Subjective Organisation: Learners recall based on personal grouping patterns.
- Intentional & Incidental Learning: Learning may be deliberate or occur by noticing word features like rhymes or starting letters.
Skill Learning
A skill is the ability to perform a complex task smoothly and efficiently. Examples include driving, piloting, shorthand writing, and reading. Skills are learned through practice and repetition, involving a chain of perceptual-motor responses or S-R (stimulus-response) associations.
Phases of Skill Acquisition (Fitts’ Model)
Skill learning progresses through three distinct phases, each involving different mental processes:
- Cognitive Phase
- The learner understands and memorises instructions.
- Focus is on what to do and how to do it.
- Requires attention to external cues, instructions, and response outcomes.
- Associative Phase
- Linking stimuli with appropriate responses begins.
- With practice, errors reduce, performance improves, and speed increases.
- Attention and concentration on the task are still needed.
- Autonomous Phase
- Performance becomes automatic and spontaneous.
- Attention demands reduce, and external interference decreases.
- Minimal conscious effort is required.
Factors Facilitating Learning
In this section, we have discussed factors facilitating learning as brief pointers
1. Continuous vs Partial Reinforcement
- Continuous reinforcement: Reinforcement is given after every correct response.
- Produces a high response rate, but responses extinguish quickly when reinforcement is withdrawn.
- The effectiveness of a reinforcer decreases over time due to predictability.
- Partial (intermittent) reinforcement: Only some responses are reinforced.
- Produces a high response rate, and responses are highly resistant to extinction.
- Organisms cannot easily detect when reinforcement is stopped.
- Partial Reinforcement Effect: Greater resistance to extinction under partial reinforcement compared to continuous reinforcement.
2. Motivation
- A physiological and psychological state that arouses and energises behaviour toward a goal.
- It initiates, sustains, and directs behaviour until the need is satisfied.
- Motivation is essential for learning:
- E.g., A child finds sweets in the kitchen due to hunger.
- A hungry rat learns to press the lever for food.
- Motivation may be:
- Intrinsic: Arises from internal enjoyment or interest in the task.
- Extrinsic: Arises from external goals, such as rewards or achievements.
3. Preparedness for Learning
- Learning is influenced by an organism’s biological makeup and genetic endowment.
- Different species have different learning capacities and sensory-motor abilities.
- The concept of preparedness can be visualised as a continuum:
- Prepared: Tasks are easily learned due to biological compatibility.
- Unprepared: Tasks are difficult but possible with effort.
- Contraprepared: Tasks that cannot be learned due to biological constraints.
- E.g., Humans and apes can learn complex associations, while rats or cats may find them difficult or impossible.
Learning Disabilities
Learning disability is an additional cause, making the acquisition of knowledge and skills extremely difficult, even when other abilities are adequate. Root cause lies in the central nervous system’s functioning and may occur with or without physical/sensory impairments or intellectual disability.
Symptoms of Learning Disabilities
The symptoms of learning disabilities are discussed below as brief pointers.
1. Reading, Writing, and Speaking Difficulties
- Struggle with writing letters, words, and phrases.
- Problems in reading aloud and speaking clearly.
- Listening difficulties despite normal hearing.
- Have unusual or less effective learning strategies.
2. Attention and Hyperactivity Disorders
- Easily distracted; attention span is short.
- Hyperactivity is common – continuous movement, manipulation of objects, and inability to sit still.
3. Space and Time Disorientation
- Poor orientation in new surroundings.
- Weak sense of time – often late or very early for tasks.
- Confused about directions – right/left, up/down.
4. Motor and Manual Coordination Issues
- Poor balance and coordination.
- Difficulty using hands effectively – sharpening pencils, opening doors, riding bicycles, etc.
5. Trouble Following Oral Directions
- Inability to understand or follow spoken instructions.
6. Misjudging Social Relationships
- Poor ability to assess which classmates are friendly or indifferent.
- Difficulty reading body language and non-verbal cues.
7. Perceptual Disorders
- Often shows distorted perception, though the details of this continue beyond the provided content.
Also Read: NCERT Notes Class 11 Political Science Indian Constitution at Work Chapter 6: Judiciary (Free PDF)
Important Definition in NCERT Notes Class 11 Psychology Chapter 5: Learning
In this section, you will find the important definitions covered in this chapter.
- Associative learning: Learning based on forming associations between stimuli (S–S) or between stimuli and responses (S–R), as seen in classical and operant conditioning.
- Biofeedback: Not mentioned in the provided file.
- Cognitive map: A mental representation of spatial locations and directions, developed through latent learning, as demonstrated in Tolman’s maze experiment with rats.
- Conditioned response: A learned response (e.g., salivation) to a previously neutral stimulus (e.g., bell) after it has been associated with an unconditioned stimulus (e.g., food).
- Conditioned stimulus: A previously neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.
- Conditioning: A type of learning in which associations are formed between events (stimuli) or between responses and consequences.
- Discrimination: A learned response to differentiate between similar but distinct stimuli, responding only to the specific stimulus that is reinforced.
- Dyslexia: Not mentioned specifically in the file, though general learning disabilities affecting reading and writing are discussed.
- Extinction: The gradual weakening and disappearance of a learned response when reinforcement is no longer provided.
- Free recall: A method of verbal learning where participants recall presented words in any order after reading them.
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FAQs
Classical conditioning involves learning through association between two stimuli (S–S), where a neutral stimulus becomes capable of eliciting a response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus. In contrast, operant conditioning involves learning through consequences (reinforcement or punishment) of voluntary behaviour, where a behaviour is strengthened or weakened depending on its outcome.
Observational learning occurs by watching and imitating others’ behaviour, also called modelling. It involves acquiring new behaviours by observing a model’s actions and the consequences that follow. Children, for example, often imitate adults during play or social functions, learning social behaviours like politeness, aggression, or courtesy.
Learning disabilities refer to difficulties in acquiring basic academic skills like reading, writing, speaking, reasoning, or mathematics, despite having average or above-average intelligence and adequate learning opportunities. These difficulties originate from problems in the central nervous system and can affect a child’s ability to sustain attention, coordinate movements, understand directions, or perceive space and time.
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