University Psychology Essay: Exploring Learning and Types

This psychology essay delves into the multifaceted concept of learning, defining it as relatively permanent behavioral changes stemming from experience. It explores key learning methods, including classical conditioning, as demonstrated by Pavlov's experiments, which involves forming associations between stimuli. The essay then discusses operant learning, emphasizing reinforcement and punishment, and referencing Skinner's experiments. It also covers observational learning, highlighting Bandura's Bobo doll experiment and the importance of attention, retention, motivation, and reproduction in this process. The paper underscores the relevance of understanding these learning models for psychologists assisting patients in developing coping skills and tailoring effective teaching plans. This assignment is contributed by a student to be published on Desklib, a platform providing AI-based study tools.

Running head: LEARNING AND TYPES
LEARNING AND TYPES
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
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LEARNING AND TYPES
Learning can be defined in various ways but most of the psychologists mainly agree that
it is the relatively permanent changes in behaviors of individuals resulting from experiences.
Learning is mainly seen to include physical changes in the nervous systems that involve
strengthening of the synapses as well as the activation of the neural pathways of the pruning of
the neural pathways. The field of the behavioral psychology mainly is mainly seen to focus on
the measurable behaviors that are mainly learned rather than putting focus and trying to learn the
actions of the internal states like attitudes and emotions (Mitchell et al., 2018). One important
aspect that is important to remember is that learning might include both beneficial as well as
negative behaviors. On many instances, people are seen to learn things that help individuals to
become more knowledgeable and thereby lead better quality lives. In the other instances, people
are seen to learn things that may be detrimental to the overall health as well as well-being of thee
individuals.
One form of learning mainly proposed by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov through
his experiments on the digestive system of the dogs is called the classical learning
methods. It takes place through the formation of associations. In this form of learning,
a neutral stimulus that helps in triggering a response naturally and automatically is
paired with another neural stimulus. Eventually, an association is developed is formed
and the previously neutral stimulus comes to be known as conditioned stimulus and
this helps in triggering a conditioned response. Operant learning is another procedure
of learning by which behaviors are reinforced is punished that helps in either
strengthening or extinguishing a response. Edward Thorndike is one of the researcher who

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had coin the term “law of effect” where the behaviors of an individual that are followed by the
consequences that prove to be satisfying to the individual are more likely to be repeated. Those
behaviors that are followed by the unpleasant consequences have the less likelihood of being
repeated by individuals. Famous scientists namely BF Skinner had undertaken a research on
white rats that is called the Skinner box experiment (WALKER ET AL., 2015). Over the time,
rats were seen to learn that stepping on a particular lever resulted in releasing the food directly
and this demonstrated that the behavior of the rats was influenced by rewards as well as
punishments. He had undertaken further researches between the positive and the negative
reinforcements as well as explored the concept of extinction.
Another form of learning is called the observational learning. The learning mainly occurs
through observing the behaviors of the others as well as imitating those behaviors even when
there is no reinforcement at the time. Bandura was of the opinion that children often learn
through imitating adults and he tested his theory using the famous Bobo-doll experiment.
Through the experiment, the researcher had been able to understand that children would attack
the Bobo doll after viewing adults hitting the doll. Therefore, observational learning is one of the
major components of the social learning theory proposed by Bandura (Kussul et al., 2017). He
also emphasized that four important conditions are necessary in any form of observing as well as
modeling behaviors. These four components are attention, retention, motivation as well as
reproduction.
Often psychologists need to help patients in learning the coping skills and for
that, they need to know the procedure by which leaning takes place. They also need to
know about the models of learning. In this way, they can help patients to learn

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effectively and recognize their learning styles and accordingly develop the teaching
plan.

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References:
Kussul, N., Lavreniuk, M., Skakun, S., & Shelestov, A. (2017). Deep learning classification of
land cover and crop types using remote sensing data. IEEE Geoscience and Remote
Sensing Letters, 14(5), 778-782.
Mitchell, T., Cohen, W., Hruschka, E., Talukdar, P., Yang, B., Betteridge, J., ... &
Krishnamurthy, J. (2018). Never-ending learning. Communications of the ACM, 61(5),
103-115.
Walker, A. E., Leary, H., Hmelo-Silver, C. E., & Ertmer, P. A. (Eds.). (2015). Essential readings
in problem-based learning. Purdue University Press.