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Learning Theory

Learning plays a central role in the development of humanbehavior, including voluntary and involuntary motor behaviors, thinking,

and emotion.Learning is defined as a change in behavior resulting fromrepeated practice, and both the environment and the behavior interactto produce the learned change.

Types of Learning

The three types of learning are as follows:(1) In classic conditioning, learning is thought to take place as a resultof the contiguity of environmental events; when events occur closelytogether in time, persons will probably come to associate the two.

(2) In operant conditioning, learning is thought to result from theconsequences of a person's actions.(3) Social learning theory incorporates both classic and operantmodels of learning, but also considers a reciprocal interaction betweenthe person and the environment.

Cognitive processes are viewed as important factors in modulating aperson's responses to environmental events.

Classic ConditioningClassic (also called respondent) conditioning results from the

repeated pairing of a neutral (conditioned) stimulus with one thatevokes a response (unconditioned stimulus), such that the neutralstimulus eventually comes to evoke the response. The time relationbetween the presentation of the conditioned and unconditioned stimuliis important and varies for optimal learning from a fraction of a secondto several seconds.

The Russian physiologist and Nobel Prize winner Ivan PetrovichPavlov (1849-1936), observed in his work on gastric secretion that adog salivated not only when food was placed in its mouth but also at thesound of the footsteps of the person coming to feed it, even though thedog could not see or smell the food. Pavlov analyzed these events and

called the saliva flow that occurred with the sound of footsteps aconditioned response (CR), a response elicited under certain conditionsby a particular stimulus.

In a typical Pavlovian experiment, a stimulus (S) that had nocapacity to evoke a particular response before training did so afterconsistent association with another stimulus. For example, under normalcircumstances, a dog does not salivate at the sound of a bell, but whenthe bell sound is always followed by the presentation of food, the dog

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ultimately pairs the bell and the food. Eventually, the bell sound aloneelicits salivation (CR).

Because the food naturally produces salivation, it is referred to asan unconditioned stimulus (UCS). Salivation, a response that is reliablyelicited by food (UCS), is referred to as an unconditioned response

(UCR). The bell, which was originally unable to evoke salivation butcame to do so when paired with food, is referred to as a conditionedstimulus (CS). Classic conditioning is most often applied to responsesmediated by the autonomic nervous system.

ExtinctionExtinction occurs when the conditioned stimulus is constantly

repeated without the unconditioned stimulus until the response evokedby the conditioned stimulus gradually weakens and eventuallydisappears.

In the previous example, extinction would occur if the bell (CS) isrung repeatedly without the food (UCS) being given. Eventually,salivation (CR) does not occur when the bell sounds, and extinctionoccurs. Extinction, however, does not completely destroy a conditionedresponse. If an animal is rested after extinction, the conditionedresponse returns, although less strong than originally, a phenomenonknown as partial recovery.

The American psychologist John B. Watson (1878-1958) usedPavlov's theory of classic conditioning to explain certain aspects ofhuman behavior. In 1920, Watson described producing a phobia in an11-month-old boy called Little Albert. At the same time that the boy was

shown a white rat that he initially did not fear, he was exposed to a loud,frightening noise. After several such pairings, Albert became fearful ofthe white rat, even when he heard no loud noise. Watson and hiscolleagues obtained the same results using a white rabbit andeventually managed to generalize the response to any furry object.

Stimulus GeneralizationStimulus generalization describes a process whereby a conditioned response istransferred from one stimulus to another.

DiscriminationDiscrimination is the process of recognizing and responding todifferences between similar stimuli. If the two stimuli are sufficientlydifferent, an animal can learn to respond to one and not to the other.

Operant ConditioningB. F. Skinner (1904-1990) developed a theory of learning and

behavior known as operant conditioning. Whereas in classic conditioning

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an animal is passive or restrained and behavior is reinforced by theexperimenter, in operant conditioning the animal is active and behavesin a way that produces a reward; thus learning occurs as a consequenceof action. For example, a rat receives a reinforcing stimulus (food) onlywhen it correctly responds by pressing a lever. Food, approval, praise,

good grades, or any other response that satisfies a need in an animal ora person can serve as a reward.Operant conditioning is related to trial-and-error learning, as

described by the American psychologist Edward L. Thorndike (1874-1949). In trial-and-error learning, a person or animal attempts to solve aproblem by trying different actions until one proves successful. A freelymoving organism behaves in a way that is instrumental in producing areward.

Premack's PrincipleA concept developed by David Premack states that a behavior

engaged in with high frequency can be used to reinforce a low-frequency behavior. In one experiment, Premack observed that childrenspent more time playing with a pinball machine than eating candy whenboth were freely available. When he made playing with the pinballmachine contingent on eating a certain amount of candy, the childrenincreased the amount of candy they ate. In a therapeutic application ofthis principle, patients with schizophrenia were observed to spend moretime in a rehabilitation center sitting down doing nothing than they didworking at a simple task. When 5 minutes of sitting down was madecontingent on a certain amount of work, the work output wasconsiderably increased, as was skill acquisition. This principle is also

known as Grandma's rule (If you eat your spinach, you can havedessert).

Social Learning TheorySocial learning theory relies on role modeling, identification, and

human interactions. A person can learn by imitating the behavior ofanother person, but personal factors are involved. When a persondislikes a role model, imitative behavior is unlikely. Social learningtheorists combine operant and classic conditioning theories. Forexample, although the observation of models may be a major factor inthe learning process, imitation of the model must be reinforced or

rewarded if the behaviors are to become part of the person's repertoire.Albert Bandura is a major proponent of the social learning

school. According to Bandura, behavior results from the interplaybetween cognitive and environmental factors, a concept known asreciprocal determinism. Persons learn by observing others,intentionally or accidentally; this process is described as modeling, orlearning through imitation. A person's choice of model is influenced by avariety of factors, such as age, sex, status, and similarity. If a chosen

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model reflects healthy norms and values, the person develops self-efficacy, the capacity to adapt to normal, everyday life as well as tothreatening situations. It is possible to eliminate negative behaviorpatterns by having a person learn alternative techniques from other rolemodels. For example, fearful children become less fearful when they

watch other children acting fearlessly in the same situation. Similarly,demonstrating a fearless approach to a phobic situation may be usefulto motivate a patient's approach to the feared object or situation.

Modeling has also been used in weight reduction and smokingcessation programs. It is an important component of group treatmentplans in which members of the group learn from one another.

Cognitive LearningCognition is the process of obtaining, organizing, and using

intellectual knowledge. Persons perform mental operations and storebits of information in memory to be retrieved later. Cognitive learning

theories focus on the role of understanding: Cognition impliesunderstanding the connection between cause and effect, between actionand the consequences of the action. Cognitive strategies are mentalplans that persons use to understand themselves and the environment.

Many theorists, such as Jean Piaget, have defined a series ofstages in cognitive growth. Another approach toward cognition isinformation processing, a sequence of mental operations involving input,storage, and output of information. Cognition involves calling up andprocessing relevant information from stored memory.

Behavior can change through techniques in which persons learnby listening to or reading instructions. Therapeutic instructions modify

both a person's outcome and efficacy expectations. To learn newpatterns of behavior, persons can monitor their behavior by chartingevents, such as when they eat or smoke. Self-monitoring also reducesthe rate of relapse. If a therapist helps patients define and set realisticand well-specified goals, they have a greater likelihood of achievingthem than if goals are poorly defined or unrealistic. Goal attainmentenhances self-efficacy, which in turn affects future performancepositively.

Piaget was a major theorist of cognitive development.

Memory Formation and Storage

The neurobiological basis of learning is located in the structures ofthe brain involved in forming and storing information, which include thehippocampus, the cortex, and the cerebellum. One hundred billionneurons in the brain are involved in forming memories, including a layerof 4.6 million cells in the hippocampus.

Learning begins with the senses taking in an environmentalstimulus that is eventually transformed into a memory trace or memory

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link. An electrical or chemical impulse, passing through a neuron whenthe brain receives information, triggers the formation of connectionsbetween synapses. Animal experiments have shown an increase insynaptic connections when learning occurs.

Long-term memories have increased time to link with manylocations in the cortex and, thus, are retained longer than short-termmemories. The more connections, the better the chance of contacting aneural pathway leading to the memory; repeated reliving of a memoryenhances its permanence.

Storage is the key to a good memory. Relating material tosomething that is already known creates more pathways and increasesthe storage power. Processing information at a semantic level involvesmore of the mind than does rote memorization. Semantic informationdecays at a slower rate than information superficially memorized,

without meaning and comprehension.

Memory is divided into short-term and long-term types; long-termmemory is also known as recent memory, recent past memory, remotememory, and secondary memory. Short-term memory also calledimmediate memory, working memory, primary memory, and buffermemory is adversely affected by chronic emotional stress, psychologicalexhaustion, or too much input. Short-term and long-term memory differin the amount of information that can be stored. The capacity of short-term memory is limited (five to nine bits of information).

Smell and emotion may underlie long-term memories. Scentconveys information through the olfactory nerve to the hippocampus,which plays a role in the control of emotion. Learning and memory areaffected by stress. The increase in adrenaline resulting from stress canenhance learning, but if stress is too great, learning is inhibited. Aperson's mood affects learning and the recall of material; a personlearning material in a happy mood enhances his or her memory and hasbetter recall. Those childhood memories that survive are memoriesassociated with the time the child learned to speak, between the ages of3 and 5 years. Before then, only memories associated with traumaticevents or with smell are likely to be remembered.

Prepared By:Diana M. de Castro, M.D., D.P.B.P., F.P.P.A.

Psychiatry

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Reference: Kaplan and Sadocks Synopsis of Psychiatry 10th

Edition

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