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LEARNING: THEORIES & APPLICATIONS

Learning is a very important concept and process, because much of our behavior depends on it.
Both genetics and learning are involved in the acquisition and modification of behavior. Neither
genetics nor environment alone can account for the relatively simple learning that takes place in
the animal laboratory or the vast repertoire of behaviors that humans acquire over a lifetime.
Learning is clearly both an important process and a complex one. It involves a set of complicated
mechanisms that have evolved over the course of genetic history to allow us to adapt to
environmental conditions by acquiring new behaviors and modifying old ones.

There are several major theories of learning, each suggesting somewhat different key processes by
which knowledge is acquired. Classical conditioning approaches hypothesize the gradual
formation of associations through which the CS comes to elicit the CR. The operant model holds
that emitted behaviors are reinforced, causing an increase in the probability of the behavior. More
recent theoretical interpretations of both classical and operant conditioning suggest the
involvement of cognitive factors. This third theory is referred to as the social-learning-cognitive
theory or simply: observational learning.

Behaviorism:

Learning theories that concentrate on environmental factors as controlling our behavior represents
behaviorism. According to these theories, differences between people occur not because of
differences in personality or intelligence, but because of differences in learning. Behaviorism
includes Classical (or Respondent) conditioning, and Operant (or instrumental) conditioning.

The term of “Behavioral Therapy” or “Behavioral Modification” refer to treatment strategies that
are based on these theories. These treatment strategies are used by trained Clinical Psychologists to
deal with various psychological, psychosomatic, and medical conditions.

Definition of Learning (in Brief.):

1. Learning is usually defined as a set of relatively permanent changes in behavior that result from
prior experience.

Classical Conditioning: Ivan Pavlov

1. Ivan Pavlov, a Russian digestive physiologist, first discovered classical conditioning. This type of
learning involves pairing an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) with a neutral stimulus, such that the
neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that elicits a conditioned response (CR).
The major elements of classical conditionings are CS, UCS, CR, UCR.
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2. Pavlov’s results were very important in understanding learning processes in both animals and
human behavior. Moreover, his experiments and findings had great effects in providing scientific
methods of studying behavior.

3. In our every day experience, many types of behavior could be the results of classical conditioning.
For instance, the development of fears and anxiety that might occurs when visiting a dentist.
Another example is what is called “Anticipatory Nausea” in chemotherapy.

Other Important Concepts:

1. Extinction is the reduction in responding that occurs when the CS and UCS are no longer
paired. Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a response that has been extinguished.

2. Stimulus generalization means that a response is elicited by a stimulus similar to the CS.
Stimulus discrimination involves learning to distinguish between similar stimuli and
responding only to the appropriate one.

Clinical Applications: Systematic Desensitization and Flooding techniques.

Therapy Techniques Based on Classical Conditioning

 Counterconditioning - reducing a conditioned response (anxiety, for example) by
establishing an incompatible response (relaxation) to the same conditioned stimulus (a
snake, for example). Wolpe developed a treatment program for anxiety that was based on
the principles of counterconditioning. Anxiety symptoms could be reduced (or inhibited)
when the stimuli to the anxiety were presented in a graded order and systematically paired
with a relaxation response-- systematic desensitization
 Systematic Desensitization: consistently proven to be effective in the treatment of anxiety
and phobias. Events which cause anxiety are recalled in imagination. Then a relaxation
technique is used to dissipate the anxiety. With sufficient repetition through practice, the
imagined event loses its anxiety-provoking power. This method is shown to be effective
when self-administered as well
 There are three steps in the self-administered systematic desensitization procedure:
 1. Relaxation;
 2. Constructing an anxiety hierarchy;
 3. Pairing relaxation with the situations described in your anxiety hierarchy.

Operant Conditioning: B. F. Skinner

1. Edward L. Thorndike developed the law of effect, which says that a behavior is more likely to be
repeated when it is followed by satisfaction or reward.

2. The school of (Behaviorism) has then rapidly grown with the work of B. F. Skinner who
developed the view that behavior is determined by its consequences and that only directly
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observable behavior should be studied.

3. Responses are elicited in classical conditioning and emitted in operant conditioning.

Operant conditioning involves trial-and-error learning in which responses are acquired through
reinforcement of operant behaviors.

4.Acquisition involves shaping, which means reinforcing successive approximations of the

desirable behavior. Shaping is important in both human and animal learning. Withdrawal of
reinforcement leads to extinction. The passage of time can lead to spontaneous recovery.

5.A reinforcer is any object or event that increases the likelihood of a response occurring.
Reinforcement occurs when the consequence of a response increases the likelihood or probability
that the response will be repeated.

6. Reinforcement could be positive or negative. Negative reinforcement is different from

punishment. Punishment is a consequence that follows a response and decreases its probability. In
punishment, a response is followed by aversive events, which result in eliminating the response.
Negative reinforcement involves termination of aversive events following a response, and this will
increase the probability of response.

Principles of operant conditioning

 Extinction – a previously learned response stops because it is no longer reinforced

 Spontaneous recovery – Return of a response that has been extinguished
 Immediate consequences are more effective than delayed consequences
 Stimulus generalization – Stimuli similar to that in the initial learning may produce the
same reaction
 Stimulus discrimination – the ability to distinguish between similar stimuli and to respond
only to the one that results in the reinforcers
Schedules of reinforcement
 The pattern of delivery of reinforcements; can have powerful effects on rate, form, and
timing of behavior
 Continuous reinforcement –
 Partial, intermittent
 Shaping – Method of getting a response to occur by reinforcing successive approximations
to the desired response
 Punishment: the goal of punishment is to decrease the probability of a behavior
 Type I Punishment: presentation punishment, presenting an aversive stimulus following a
behavior.
 Type II Punishment: removal punishment, removing a pleasant stimulus following a
behavior.
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 Areas of application of behavior modification:

 Parenting, education, severe psychological and developmental problems (schizophrenia,

autism, mental retardation), clinical behavior therapy, self-management, medical and health
care (direct treatment, establishing treatment compliance, promotion of healthy living,
stress management, management of care givers), gerontology, behavioral community
psychology (applications to socially significant problems in unstructured community
settings where the behavior of individuals is not considered deviant in the traditional
sense), organizational behavior management, sport psychology (improving athletic skills,
strategies for motivating practice and endurance training, changing the behavior of coaches,
preparing for competition), behavioral assessment

Clinical Applications: Examples of treatment techniques that are based on operant conditioning
includes: 1) Shaping, (2) Token economy, (3) Stimulus control techniques, (4) The bell and pad for
the treatment of enuresis

TOKEN ECONOMY: A behavior therapy procedure, based on operant conditioning principles, in

which institutionalized patients are given tokens, such as chips, for socially constructive behavior,
and are withheld when unwanted behaviors are exhibited. The tokens themselves can be
exchanged for desirable items and activities such as tea or coffee and extra time away from the
ward.

Time-Out: Time-out: weaken undesired behavior by temporarily removing positive reinforcement.

Example: Sending a student who frequently interrupts classroom routine to sit in an empty room
for 10 min. (Punishment II).

Response Cost: tokens are withdrawn when child makes an undesired response
Extinction: weaken undesired behavior by ignoring it. Example: A mother ignoring a whining
child, or a teacher ignoring a student who speaks out of turn.
FLOODING: This is the type of exposure therapy that starts with the most feared rather than the
least feared stimulus is called flooding; If conducted only in the imagination, it is sometimes called
implosion. The therapist controls the timing and content of the scenes to be imagined or
confronted, and instead of trying to relax, the patient is told to experience the fear fully until it
subsides. Flooding is quicker than systematic desensitization, but relapse may be more common,
and the procedure is simply too frightening for many patients. A compulsive washer, for example,
is allowed to become dirty or even made dirty and then prevented from washing. The water might
be turned off for most of the day. Exposure reduces hypersensitivity to dirt and the associated
anxiety, while response prevention eventually eliminates (extinguishes) compulsive washing.

SHAPING: Operant conditioning can be used to shape behavior so that patients perform complex
actions or acquire skills that were formerly beyond their capacities. Successive approximation: The
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method is to approximate the desired behavior gradually, rewarding each small step toward
mastery. The gradual process of reinforcing behaviors that get closer to some final desired
behavior. Shaping is often necessary for severely impaired people whose behavioral repertoire is
very limited. For example, the mouth movements of a mute autistic child are reinforced at first,
then sounds, and later only sounds closer and closer to normal speech. The process of dressing is
divided into stages and the child is given candy or applause for completing each partial task.

Observational Learning: Social-Cogitive Learning Theory (Albert Bandura)

1. Observational learning best represents social and cognitive learning. Behaviors are acquired
by watching another person (the model) perform that behavior. A model displays it and the
learner observes it.

2. This kind of learning does not involve direct experience of S-R association or rewards and
punishment.

3. Reinforcement is not necessary for observational learning. It is needed, however, for the
behavior to be repeatedly performed at some later point. An observer's behavior can be affected
by the positive or negative consequences--called vicarious reinforcement or vicarious
punishment-- of a model's behavior. Vicarious reinforcement or vicarious punishment affects
the willingness of people to perform behaviors they learned by watching others

4. One major difference between the Social-Cognitive theory and the strict behaviorism is that the
social-cognitive theory stresses the cognitive factor: we are not completely determined by
external environment. Because people can mentally represents situations, they are able to
foresee the likely consequences of their action and to alter their behavior accordingly.

5. Four basic observational learning processes are attention, retention, reproduction, and
motivation. Each one of these cognitive and learning processes is essential for learning to
occur.

Cognitive Factors in Learning

1. Another kind of learning occurs through cognitive maps. Even rats running a maze, according
to Edward Tolman use cognitive maps. Blocking is important because it shows that learning
involves the use of expectancies to predict outcomes. Insight learning is characterized by
sudden resolution after a period of study without action.
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Prepared by Dr. Mohamed Salah Khalil
Assistant professor /consultant of
Clinical Psychology