Psychology
of Learning:
Readings
William
L. Mikulas
Editor
Nelson-Hall,
Chicago
Library of Congress
Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title:
Psychology of
learning.
|
Bibliography: |
p. 586 |
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1. |
Learning, Psychology
of. I. Mikulas, William L. |
[DNLM: 1. Learning.
2. Psychology, Educational.
LB1051 P974]
| LB1O51.P72938 | 370.15’2 | 77-8234 |
ISBN 0-88229-226.9
(cloth)
ISBN 0—88229—519—5 (paper)
Copyright ® 1977
by William L. Mikulas
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief
passages in connection with a review written for broadcast or for inclusion in
a magazine or newspaper. For information address Nelson-Hall Inc., Publishers,
325 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60606.
Manufactured
in the United States of America
To
BENITA AND OUR PARENTS
The
psychology of learning spans many levels, from changes in the nervous system
and related molecules to applications of learning-based technology for the
modification of human or animal behavior. Yet this very breadth poses problems
for the student of learning. No single source comprehensively covers all the
different levels; and if such a source existed, it would be impractically
large. Thus, no text covers all the areas that interest different instructors
and students. Most learning texts omit any discussion of the physiology of
learning, while many others omit the applications of learning principles to
the problems of human behavior.
The intent of this
book of readings, then, is to provide the reader a sample of the thinking
and research in various areas of the psychology of learning. It is hoped these
readings will supplement various different learning texts and instructors.
The readings include some “classic” reports, some relatively recent papers
that have strongly influenced the psychology of learning and some lesser known
papers that might stimulate some new ideas. For me these are appetizers in
an area where I enjoy the banquet.
The
Nature of Learning
Knowledge of the
phenomena and principles of learning is critical to our understanding of the
behavior of people and animals. As we learn more about the processes of
learning we can devise better education systems, deal more effectively with
many forms of mental illness, train parents in child-rearing practices, and
help people learn how to better control their own behavior. Research into the
physiology of learning may help us overcome forms of mental deficiency, develop
memory pills to facilitate learning, and reduce some of the mental
deterioration that accompanies senility. The applications and importance of
learning principles could be continued considerably more, for learning is the
vehicle by which almost all behaviors are acquired.
An unfortunate result
of the breadth of learning is that there is no agreed upon definition of learning.
There is no definition that theorists agree includes all the phenomena
they wish to call learning and excludes all other phenomena. The following
is a fairly good definition: Learning is a more or less permanent change in
behavior potential that occurs as a result of practice; it is not a change due to motivational factors, sensory adaptation, fatigue,
maturation, senescence, or stimulus change. Let us examine this definition.
It begins with a more or less permanent change. This means learning refers
to relatively stable changes within the organism, as opposed to more transient
states such as moods. A popular assumption is that once something has been
learned it is fairly permanent
in the system. Forgetting, then, is
due to problems in retrieving information from within the system, not the
information being lost from the system.
Defining
learning as a change in behavior potential points out the distinction between
performance and learning. Learning is a hypothetical limit,
it partially determines what the organism is capable of doing. Performance
is what the organism actually does. For example, a student might have learned
a set of multiplication tables, but when asked the product of 6 and 7 by a
substitute teacher, he claims he doesn’t know. Learning provided the behavior
potential to answer 42, but the actual performance was saying he did not know
the answer. It is often motivational variables that keep performance below
potential. Thus the student’s peer group might discourage him from giving
correct answers to substitute teachers.
Performance
can be thought of as a function of the interaction of learning and motivation.
Unfortunately, it is often hard to determine whether a variable affected learning
or only performance. Also learning
and motivation interact in
complex ways that are difficult to separate.
In the definition
it was stated that learning occurs as a result of practice. This is the most ambiguous part. It refers to most theorists’
belief that for learning to occur the organism must somehow actively participate
in the learning experience, as opposed to such hypothetical situations as
having memories biochemically implanted in the brain. However, practice has
not been specified much past this point and includes such disparate phenomena as an actor learning his lines by
saying them over and over, a student learning while quietly sitting and listening,
and a rat learning an avoidance task after one trial.
The
last half of the definition simply lists a number of variables that affect
performance changes but are to be excluded from learning. Motivation refers
to temporary states (drives and incentives) that tend to activate behaviors.
Sensory adaptation refers to changes in the organism’s behavior toward stimulus
situations due to relatively simple changes in the sensory systems. For example,
seeing improves as you adapt to a dark room and hearing changes as you adapt
to a constant sound. Fatigue is the tendency to stop responding merely as
a function of the act of responding itself. Maturation refers to changes in
behavior due to early aging processes of the organism. Senescence is the deterioration
that of ten comes with old age. Finally, stimulus change refers to the fact
that if a response is learned to one stimulus situation and tested in a different
stimulus situation, there will be a decrement in the response. Generally,
the bigger the difference between situations, the greater the decrement in
the response.
It
appears most of learning can be subsumed under two basic rubrics: operant
conditioning (also called instrumental conditioning) and respondent conditioning
(also called classical or Pavlovian conditioning). In operant conditioning
the critical contingency is between the response of the organism and a subsequent
event. If the event results in an increase in the rate or probability of the
response, the event is called a reinforcer. If the event results in a decrease
in the rate or probability, the event is called a punisher. Thus if when a
rat starts pressing a bar the event of receiving food is contingent upon bar
pressing (e.g., the rat must press the bar to get the food), the rate of bar
pressing will increase as it is reinforced by the food. Conversely, if pressing
the bar resulted in electric shock, the bar pressing rate would decrease as
shock is a punisher.
In respondent conditioning the critical contingency is the pairing of stimuli. Two stimuli, both of which elicit responses, are paired until both stimuli elicit a response similar to a response that was previously only elicited by one of the stimuli. For example, an electric shock, but not a light, might make a dog jump. By appropriate pairing of the light and shock, soon just turning on the light could cause the dog to jump.