Learning theory

BEHAVIORISMlearning theory

All behaviors and personality development represent the acquisition and organization (i.e.. the learning) of reactions , responses , and patterns . These originate in and are governed by principles of learning and are subject primarily to environmental influences

Learning theory is particularly associated with the work of Pavlov (the conditioned reflex or classical conditioning) , Watson (behaviorism) , and Thorndike and Skinner (reward and punishment paradigms , or operant conditioning)
Maladaptive behaviors such as phobias and aggression are "learned" in the same way as adaptive , or "normal" , behavior

Basic concepts

1. Learning is the acquisition , modification , and elimination of behaviors and response patterns occurring in association with environmental conditions . It is the establishment of a connection between a stimulus and a response where no connection existed before .
2. Stimulus is a cue . Literally anything—any internal or external –may act as a stimulus .
3. Response is the behavior occurring in association with a stimulus . Responses may be motoric , cognitive , affective , or imaginal

Motivation may be provided by innate or primary needs (e.g.. hunger) provoking the organism to action or may be in the form of learned motives . Learned motives are behaviors rewarded by a reduction in painful tension and are then repeated and refined throughout the life cycle . These may include the need for praise and approval as well as dependent behavior

Reward , reinforcement , and punishment

a. Reward
(1) Primary rewards satisfy the primary needs of hunger , thirst , and warmth . The classification of sexuality and human contact is not as clear-cut , but they are considered to be primary needs .
(2) Learned rewards gratify a motive rather than a primary need . The rewards may include dependency , power , control , or praise .
b. Reinforcement is a concept similar to that of reward . An association will be established between a stimulus and a response when a primary need or learned motive is gratified . For example , when a child is hungry , he is given food (a primary need is met by a primary reward) . The reward reinforces the behavior used to include or communicate the need . If the child is also given praise for eating , the praise becomes a learned reward and secondary reinforcer .


(1) Continuous reinforcement (presented after every response) eventually loses its reward value , and the behavior is extinguished .
(2) Fixed ratio reinforcement (presented after every second or every third response) is better than continuous reinforcement .
(3) Variable , intermittent , and unpredictable reinforcement establishes the strongest most persistent learning (i.e.. the reaption of the behavior) . The Las Vegas slot machine is the classic example .
c. Punishment is an aversive , painful , or frustrating event as defined by the subject and involves withholding a positive response or reward . Disapproval or criticism may be painful or it may be reinforcing by providing attention . Punishment may eliminate a behavior or simply suppers the behavior .

Extinction . A previously learned behavior disappears if the reward is withheld so that the behavior is not reinforced or if the reward is continuous and thereby loses its reinforcing quality .

Classical conditioning

Classical conditioning elicits an inherent (reflex) "nonlearned" behavior (e.g.. salivation) in response to a learned stimulus (e.g.. a bell or buzzer) . The unconditioned stimulus for the inherent behavior of salivation is food , and if each time food is presented a buzzer also sounds , the animal will begin to salivate at the sound of a buzzer .
b. Any inherent behavior—including fear or anxiety—can be conditioned to appear in response to a learned stimulus .

Operant conditioning

Operant conditioning elicits a new , noninherent (nonreflex) behavior in response to a stimulus acting as a reward or as a punishment . It is a method of shaping or eliciting any desired behavior or extinguishing any undesired behavior by using the principle that behavior is a function of its consequences

(1) If a behavior is followed by a rewarding consequence (e.g.. attention , praise , success) , that behavior will be reinforced and therefore repeated .
(2) Vice versa , if the consequence is aversive or nonrewarding , the behavior will not be repeated but , rather , extinguished .
b. The focus of classical operant conditioning is entirely on observable behavior in terms of stimulus and response

. Any intervening variables(e.g.. motivational state , ideation , fantasy) are largely ignored . For example , a child's temper tantrum (stimulus) is followed by parental attention , gratification , or both (response) , which are rewarding to the child and therefore reinforce the behavior . Ignoring the tantrum or isolating the child for a while is a change in the response , which removes the reinforcement and extinguishes the behavior .

Cognitive-behavioral learning (Bandura)

. By the 1970s , it begins to be recognized that there were intervening variables between stimulus and response and that most important behaviors were more complex units .
In order to understand , predict , and influence behavior better , account must be taken of ideation , imagery , and meaning .


4. Observational and imitational learning is a further elaboration on learning theory that tries to take into account the observation that behavioral changes can take place on the basic of observing or imitating another's behavior without any external , descriptively observable , reward . This theory introduces the clearly nonoperant (i.e.. no observable) concept of enhanced self-esteem or an enhanced sense of mastery as the reward or reinforcer

Treatment techniques related to learning theory

1. Aversive conditioning . An unwanted behavior (e.g.. drinking alcohol) is paired with a noxious or painful stimulus (e.g.. an electric shock) , leading to aversion for alcohol . This conditioning can be extended to the thought of alcohol , the smell of alcohol , and so on .

2. Positive reinforcement and extinction . A desired behavior (either spontaneously occurring or taught) is rewarded immediately—at first consistently and then intermittently—and conversely with undesirable behavior .

3. Systematic desensitization (Wolpe) is a technique used in an effort to eliminate phobic behaviors (e.g.. irrational fear , avoidance) . In relevant cases , avoidance reduces or eliminates the anxiety and is , therefore , positively reinforcing in a self-defeating way . The task is to desensitize the individual to the situation .
a. The individual is taught how to relax completely , as relaxation is the opposite of anxiety .
b. While the individual is relaxed , the sensitized (anxiety-provoking) stimulus is gradually introduced by gradients , so that the link between the stimulus and the anxiety is gradually weakened .
c. The sensitized stimulus can be introduced by having the individual imagine the anxiety-provoking situation while completely relaxed before the actual stimulus is introduced .

4. Modeling is learning new behaviors and overcoming inhibitions to desired behavior by observing someone else carry out the behavior or by imagining others or oneself carrying out the behavior (which is very similar to desensitization) . Assertiveness training is a variant of this approach .