Psych ology Degree Classes Vol. I BS (4 Years) TETChapter 7 sore etaeeterre EARNING. | Soest f us, from nate The aa ty to adapt our environment, at homes and adapting to increasing complex ““clopment from birth to death involves continuously updated knowledge eine enenging environments, using Many Ot caaties are born with a genetic blue print for life. We struggle to @ life direction, we learn from experience. Our learning gives us flexibility. We can learn a lot and adapt to almost any environment. Indeed, Nature's most important gift to us may be our adaptability. It is our capacity to learn new behaviour that enables us to cope with ever-changing circumstances. Learning is the modification of pre-existing behaviour and understanding; it may have been present at birth, acquired through maturation or learned earlier. People learn primarily by identifying relationships between events and noting the regularity in the world around them, When two things repeatedly occur together, people can predict the occurrence of one from knowledge of the other. What relationships do people identify? How do they do it? What determines whether and how people learn? These and other basic questions about learning are among the most frequently and intensively studied topics in psychology. Definition ed ively permanent change in behaviour Learning is defined as a relative © * ta! resulting fom vespaniehces The term behaviour is defined very broadly to include reflexes, voluntary behaviours er behaviours, unobservable behaviours, such as thinking, or even neu"? activities in the brain. Le i bserved directly, but is inferred from changes in observable be eh Leaming occurs bap we demonstrate new shieiD ourselves, ewirnlna; earig “ancing et. Learning is apparen 7 imming, ™Provements in our performance. c i ; characteristics ofLearning through experience. Experience Lit Learning can take place 0" ad quriNg our life time, usually involving Something that happens -216 _An Introduction to Psychology interaction with our environment. Experience includes taking information and making responses that affect the environment, a. practicing the skill of driving a car. Psychologists are especially interested in discovering what aspects ,. behaviour ca he changed through experience and how such chan, 5 come about. Some lasting changes in behaviour require a combinati, of experience and maturational readiness. : ange in behaviour, So ¢, - Learning is defined as relativel permanent cl 0 qualify ae learned, a change in behaviour must es relative, permanent. When one learns swimming, probably always a able to dg so, Those changes caused by fatigue, drug or any disease are transient, so cannot be called as learning. , = Learning is the most important factor in behaviour. Learning means for more than acquiring academic information or skills. Learning jg discussed and studied to understand the effects of environment on behaviour. } ~ Learning pervades our lives. It is involved in mastering a new skill or academic subject as well as in emotional development, social interaction and even personality development. We learn what to fear, what to love, how to be polite, how to be intimate and so on. Learning is pervasive in our lives. Children learn to perceive the world around them, to identify with appropriate sex, and to control their behaviour according to adult standards. > The change in behaviour potential is traceable to experience and practice, which is caused by learning. Learning is closely related to knowledge, skill and intention. Knowledge and intention are usually thought to be acquired through experience and skill through practice. - Learning is never really observed directly, but it is inferred from observation of a change in performance. ra Learning shapes our thoughts and language, motivations and emotions, our personalities and attitudes. > Learning in all such realm, breeds hope. What is learnable we can potentially teach. This fact encourages parents, educators, athletic coaches and animal trainers. ~ What has been learned that can potentially be changed by new learning. It underlies counselling, psychotherapy and rehabilitation. ‘Of all the world’s creatures, we humans are the most capable of changing our behaviour through learning. Performance alway eee and performance are closely related, but performance is nat oe an accurate reflection of the amount learned. For'example when © 7 eam performs poorly, that does not mean that the team had lost 2” of their skills. Other factors such ; ' as tensions or dis i ted the from performing at the level of their true ability. elstractlonisiprevenSchool teachers frequently rep, their capabilities. The students May pelt that student: but for some reason these are Not reg, 7] performance is often attributed to lack of od in their Of motivation In short, learning covers q ‘ understand a complex object or an tue of activities from inner struggle to faite hae( , cademic subject. oO; several theorists think Personality results, mainly er ics grand scale, scale, classical conditioning &xperiments im Ng. On a small behaviours as fleeting and Slight as the blink of on aye ch 'mpinge on ene MEADOR NAD SERIES, Thasctiatite one last a inti © the Like motivation and personal i : 2 ity, learni subject. Sometimes the learner is tinaacte of the fe is an elusive research cannot observe learning directly, arning. As Psychologists they have to infer it from performance, : TYPES OF LEARNING Greek Philosopher Aristotle concluded thi Our minds naturally them. Simple animal: at we learn by association, connect events that occur in sequence; We humans can learn by all these ways; and through language, we can learn things we have neither experienced nor observed. It includes learning of moral ideas, self concept, depth perception etc. Learning can be of following types. These are also considered as methods of learning. de Learning by Observation 2. Learning by Cognition/Insight 3. Learning by Trial and Error 4 Learning by Conditioning ‘ id Humans and animals utilize these methods according tothe nes? ba their capacity. Most often, we apply more than one method at a time. 1. Learning by Observation When we observe and imitate others, Bega that [s by observation. The process of observing and imitating (aete called modeling, Bendura believes that much of our teaming through observation. We learn by watching others p imitate what we observe. called learning vation is often g takes place then, we al ; observation: The process of learning by watching oalL kines Sod beh {E2MIng, also known as social learning. We learn all kinds OY FE nen st by observing and imitating models. Models are mo La218 __An Introduction to Psychology actions and words are co s insistent. Children are particularly influenceg by behaviours of adults and . peers’ role models. The fact that people can learn by watching the behaviour of oth does not mean that they always will. At one time or another, most Peo) ignore the experience of others and must find out something else 5. themselves. What determines whether observational learning will occur? Wh determines whether we will imitate a model? Bendura believes part OF th, answer is reinforcements and punishments. We look and we learn. We imit3 those we respect and admire, those we perceive as similar to ourselves ang those we perceive as successful. Observational learning may involve self-reinforcement, which ate thoughts and. statements that we make to ourselves. That is we ate deliberately controlling or reinforcing our learning process. We learn mi, through observation of models, both pro-social and anti-social behavioy;; So, observational learning can be positive and negative, as well. Children may learn to perform helpful behaviours by watching their teachers, i.e. to help other students with school problems. According to Bendura, there are four requirements in observationa| learning. a. Attentional Process Close attention is necessary to what is happening around. People cannot learn unless they are able to observe model's behaviour. Attention paid to model depends upon several factors of observational learning. A child may be more likely to imitate an uncle than a father. b. Retentional Process The learner organizes and retains what has been observed, reliving experiences, mentally rehearsing future experience. Through imagination and language, the learnef builds a cognitive map. C4 Motor Reproduction Process It is related to the reproduction of behaviour which is observed. Learner converts the cognitive representation into actions; it depends on the physical capability of leaner. Motivation The actual or imagined rewards of imitated determine whether the behaviour will extinguish or not. People are most likely t° imitate those whom they see rewarded for their behaviour and whom they like. Liking tends to be enhanced if the model is similar to the observer in gender, age or other characteristics or is attractive °" powerful. Observational : e _Ob learning seems to be a powerful source of tM socialization. Experim ents show that childr illing to help 2 share after seeing a tt en are more willing | demonstration of helping by a warm, powerful mod! even after some months have elapsed. eae oe Studies show that followi i fective role" observational learning. wing general conclusions play eOe eer " del’s obse! ; A mode tved behaviour will be most infl Model is seen as having reinforcing consequ raat , ences The model is perceived positively, of high ee lik sl iS, liked and res 1. There are perceived similarities bet spected I. fnodel and observer tween features and traits of Ve The observer is reinforced for r ee Sour paying attention to the model's Vv. The model’s behaviour is visible and salient Vi Model is within the observer's range of com, behaviour eee The capacity to learn from watching as well as from doing, is extremely useful. It enables us to acquire large integrated patterns af behaviour, without going through the tedious process of gradually eliminating wrong responses and building up the right ones through trial and error. It enables us to profit from the mistake and success of others. Our behaviour is filled with examples of lessons learned through observation. We recognize poisonous objects, harmful things, caring techniques, safety measures and many others, only by observing others. At this stage, you can fill a long list about the observational-learning of your own. In his — social learning. theory Albert Bendura pointed out, that behaviour results from a continuous interaction between several significant factors. These include imitation, vicarious learning and symbolic learning. But the learner also plays-a prominent role in cognitively selecting, organizing and transforming stimuli from the environment. Related to social learning theory, psychologists have identified at least three different kinds of modeling; imitation, observational learning and vicarious learning. Observational learning has been ‘discussed earlier. Imitation Pure imitation is blind copying of -other's behaviour. Usually students do this, while they COPY the mannerisms of their favourite teachers. Young children often copy the behaviour without knowing why. Vicarious Learn our includes an awareness of consequences by someone else incurs 2 reinforcer or an aversive sti Whatever type of modeling occurs, imitation can be inspired by either a live or symbolic model. In live modeling, the model can be another person. In-general, the more similarity between model and: learner, the more fearning will occur. Studies indicate that the higher the status of model, the more the observer will imitate behaviour. That is why celebrities are booked for advertisements. ing Often observation of. behavi of behaviour, whether, an action imulus. researchers have discovered that 2. Learning by Cognition (Insight) Tolman was one of the earliest researchers. to underline the jearning. cognitive learning means using importance of cognitive processes in220 _ An Introduction to Psychology thought processes while learning. Cognitive theorists assign a major ik mental activity in any learning. They argue organisms do not always te within a precise pattern defined by stimulus and response. Kohler In some learning, it appears that there is no connection bet sudden insights or understanding and external rewards. Gestalt Psychojo, use the term insight instead of cognition. Gestalt psychologist vy. Kohler illustrates this form of learning. Gestalt psychologists believer, learning must be treated as a whole. They argued that learning cay sudden flashes or insight only when learner put pieces together in Such 2 that the completed whole exceeded the mere total of those pieces, Experiments Kohler conducted his experiments on chimpanzees, to ;, the essence of learning. He put them in cages. In a typical situation, a <;. chimpanzee named Sultan was prevented from reaching a piece of fruit the bars of his cage. Kohler gave Sultan a stick, but it was also short. Sultan gazed aro, picked up the short stick; through the bars it scratched another longer which was lying outside the cage; joined the two sticks and grabbed the fru Kohler explained that Sultan learned to solve his problem by putting sey. pieces together into a meaningful whole. The solution resulted from insigh| sudden realization following a period of mental activity. In other set of experiments, Kohler put the food high above the reach, of chimpanzees in a cage, along with a box. Kohler reported that as a result of insight, chimpanzees suddenly discovered that they could grab the food by jumping up on the box. Kohler believed that insight ability, demonstrated by his chimpanzees, differed from the trial and error learning described by Thorndike. Kohlar argued that solution to problems occur when individual can view the entire problem field and rearrange the elements of the problem into @ new configuration. Solutions have a perceptual quality to them, and they occur quickly, once the components have been reconfigured. Kohlar used the term insight to label such a process. Kohler criticized Thorndike’s work arguing that its experimental condi‘ions were artificial and allowed the research animals to display only randon behaviours. He viewed that an animal in a maze could not see the overa'l pattern or design, but only each alley, as it was encountered. There. ore, the animals could try one path at a time. In the Gestalt’s view, the organisms must be able to perceive the felatinships among the various parts of the problem before insight learning can c¢ccur. These studies supported the Gestalt’s global connection © behav our. The research also reinforced the Gestalt idea that learning involves a reo! Janization of one’s psychological environment. A it Tolm.n He proposed a cognitive explanation of learning, suggesting i repea ed performance of a task strengthens the learned relationship be ae envirenmental cues and the Organism’s expectations. In this way, org igh get te know its environment. Tolman called these learned relationshipsestalts", and they are built by the ——————___Leaming cor a constructs a cognitive map and then fdas Performance of easily, OF 8 task ze People ar i 9 from one point to another by several route Aer with their Mae ne tak reweee, Whole area. Tolman reject effect, Say! ing reward or reinforcement has litle inte pe luence o) ike's Nn learnin 3, Learning by Trial and Error Edward Lee Thorndike fashioned theory that focused on Overt behaviour, H concrete connections between stimuli and r @ mechanistic objectiv le interpreted learning in term esponses, Hee Thorndike introduced trial and err i ie ‘or learning, alth t call it trial and accidental-success. This learning ehesaaete tibal ot response tendencies: iat lead to success. Thorndike introduced law of effec and law of exercise in his series of experiments on anii 2a Sia imals. He named them Experiment Thorndike devised an elaborate cage called a puzzle box. A hungry cat was placed in the puzzle box and had to learn some responses ie. stepping on a small lever, in order to unlock the door and get out. When the cat succeeded, it: was rewarded with food and then placed back inside the box. After several trials, the cat learned to open the door. After that, when put in the cage; the cat walked calmly to the lever; pushed it down with its paw; strolled through the door and ate the food. Learning process by trial and error is not so complicated, rather it is simple. Learner tries many efforts again and again and by the time successful efforts are repeated and rest are left. Same is the case here, on the first few trials, the cat performed great many responses randomly. Eventually stepped on the lever and the door opened. Any response that did not produce a rewarding effect became weaker overtime and the response that did have a rewarding effect became stronger overtime. At last, cat learned to open the door without any error. Thorndike concluded that learning and problem solving was a process of trial and “accidental success” with unsuccessful behaviours gradually being eliminated in favour of behaviours that worked. Law of Effect Thorndike stated that learning is governed by the lew ot Itis a basic principle of learning, which states that earning iti oho consequences, This law states that the power of a au a reward, and response is strengthened when the response is ae YY Weakened if the response is not followed by a reward. : sessieatof Bs According to this law, if a response made in ie OT tobe Particular stimulus is followed by a reward, that respon Made next time the stimulus is encountered. Law of Exercise This law states that any TesPonee © Situation becomes associated with the situation. made in 2 particular ore the response isN 222 _An Introduction to Psychology s sociated used in a given situation, the more strongly it 1 OE Te. wit Simply repeating a response tends to strengthen thal a Laws of learning given by Thorndike are widely applicable to hur learning. 4, Learning by Conditioning Learning by association is call two kinds of associative learning hi and operant conditioning. led learning by conditioning. Traditions ave been of particular interest; classic. have studied conditioning usually take behaviouristic approach. They operated following general Seetlmptlons. i. Simple associations of the classical or operant kind are the building blocks of all learning, no matter how complex. ii, The laws of learning are roughly the same for all species and can revealed in experiments, even with lower organisms in relatively barren environments. Thus the laws that govern how a rat learns to run a maze presumably govern how a child learns long division (Skinner, 1938). iii. Learning can be better understood in terms of external or environmental causes than internal, intentional ones. The ultimate causes of behaviour presumably lie in environmental events, particularly those that are rewarding or punishing. The behaviourist approach has uncovered a wealth of findings about simple associative learning. However, behaviourists have faced two serious challenges. The ethnological approach disputes the behaviourists’ claim that laws of learning are the same for all organisms, and all situations, while laws of learning are the same for all organisms and all situations, while cognitive theory disputes the behaviourists’ assumption that associations are the only building blocks of learning, and that learning can be understood by considering only environmental factors. Psychologists who Classical Conditioning ____ Classical conditioning is based on the association iring of an originally neutral stimulus with a response producing canes This pairing of ‘stimuli eventually produces a conditioned or learned response. In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus paired one or more times with a biologically swale stimulus, acquires the power to elicit a behavioural response in the absence of the biologically significant stimulus. Classical conditioning could ‘ake place only when the two events to be associated occurred close together: Paviov’s experiment was the fi ical irst_ demonstration of classic conditioning. Ivon Pavlov was a Russian physiologist, and won a Nobel Prize in 1904, for his work on the dog's digest rn Pavlov noticed that his d i / vihen they sow the ars GO9S sometimes salivated in the absence of food °Peak ae He observed dogs learned ynlearned behaviour is inborn or innate. pan’? % response connections. They include salivat i flex response to spoiled food, shivering in tashcreen a in response to the throat being clogged aipincae low te and withdrawal in response to blows or bu onstriction ir responses to natural stimuli. They can also as i the stimuli and unconditioned responses, Conditioner 4 neutral stimulus is paired and associated with a stimul ccurs a reflexive response until the previously neutral eiaiue ai S alone similar response. In classical conditioning, an i organi arns follows another. " ganisrn learns th Learning and unle ing Pavlov’s Experiment Pavlov’s experimental method was to present food to the dog and measures the amount of saliva. He discovered that if a neutral stimulus, one that didn’t automatically elicit saliva, such as a bell was paired repeatedly with the food; the dog would gradually learn to salivate at the sound of bell alone, without any food. Paviov's device for recording salivation. The isolated dog's saliva was collected drop by dropina tube. Food was delivered by remote control, and through a window, the experimenter observed the dog. d to a formerly neutral stimulus, because that stimulus is paired with another stimulus which already elicits a response, is the essential characterization of classical conditioning. ‘ioni i citi Before conditioning, saliva is called an uncon and food is called an unconditioned stimulus (US). Wh Learning to respon joned response (UR) en “bell”, a neutral neral response of attention, but will | 1 icit jel stimulus is presented, it may elicit a 9 e, saliva). During conditioning, the not elicit the unconditioned response (i.e. L nautral sepals (bell) and the unconditioned stimulus (food) are both imi iri he presented a number of times in close proximity. After repeated peas rl bell alone can elicit salivation. Learning has taken placer te eee ce stimulus is now called the conditioned stimulus (cs) an res) Nabure conditioned stimulus alone is called the conditioned respo!aN 224 _ An introduction to Psychology Sh provided the US-UR connection, but conditioning creates the cc connection, Before Conditioning Unconditioned Response (jc, Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS), e (Food) TTT (Salivati,” itic imulus (CS), No Response or Conditioned Stimul ne 5 ih Tiligsiot Response During Conditioning itioned Stimulus (UCS) shen i eacth Unconditioned Response (Ucy + Rel DNs (Salivation) Conditioned Stimulus (CS) (Bell) After Conditioning Conditioned Response (CR) Conditioned Stimulus (CS) (Salivation) (Bell) Pavlov laid the central pheriomena of classical conditioning. Some of Pavlov’s basic findings are: Acquisition It is the initial learning of the stimulus-response link in classical conditioning. This involves a neutral stimulus being associated with the UCS and becoming the conditioned stimulus (CS) that elicits the CR. Two important aspects of acquisition are timing and contingency/predictability. Time The time interval between the CS and the UCS is one of the most important aspects of classical conditioning (Weideman, Georgilas and Kehoe, 1999). It defines the contiguity or connectedness in time and spaces of the stimuli. Conditioned responses develop when the CS and UCS are contiguous, occurring close together, Often, optimal spacing is a fraction of a second (Kimble, 1961). In Pavlov’s experiment, if the- bell had rung 20 minutes before food, the dog probably would not associate the bell with the food. Generalization Generalization, in classical conditioning, is the tendency of new stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus to elicit @ response that is similar to the conditional response (Jones, Kenenes, 2 Benjamin, 2001). Generalization has value in preventing learning from being tied to specific stimuli. Discrimination _In classical conditioning, discrimination is the proces i learning to respond to certain stimuli and not to respond to others (Murphy, Baker and Fouquet, 2001). To produce discrimination, Pavlov gave food tee er ringing the bell and not after any oth Leaming 225 § other ly aft gog O” ist ae feared C0 distinguish between the bell and other saan i. her sounds may ation In classical conditioni . extine ning, extincti estoned response In the absence of the rection is the weakening of ued association with the unconditioned qdinlus (css mee “vita ), the conditio “ contin a simul (CS) loses its power to elicit the condit extinction is not always the end of a conditioned berones (En response (CR ‘ooks . SI ontaneous Recovery It is the process in classical conditi ks, 2000 spujtioned response can recur after atime delay with by whicha conditioning fafter the extinction, when Pavlov took the deg oo further corfrang the bell, the dog ory ad to salivate without food, whic Pe oie spontaneous recovery. , which is called Some psychologists argue conditioning, but it is accepted no ortion of our behaviour can be bette p eee dassical conditioning. that all behaviour is based on classical longer. Still it is agreed that a significant r understood by noting the influence of Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning is second type of conditioning and considered basic type of learning, presented by B.F. Skinner. Operant conditioning is 2 kind of learning in whicl quences of behaviour influence whether a person oF animal will perform the same behaviour in the future. In 1930, Skinner began publishing a series of papers. He extended and formulized many of Thorndike's ideas. Skinner emphasized that during instrumental conditioning an organism learns a response by operating the environment, SO he called it operant conditioning. His primary aim was to analyze how behaviour is changed by its consequences. His work has led to the identification of the basic elements and laws of operant conditioning. He is the leading figure in the field of operant conditioning. He contributed a lot in analyzing, predicting and controlling behaviour. His pioneering efforts have led to the development of an entire philosophy of behaviour, known aS functional analysis, f its emphasis on the functions and the conseq haviour. His discoveries have been the foundation for a whole new technology of behaviour modification, which has already had enormous success in its application and has been one ‘of the most controversial developments in the history of psychology: Skinner studied the behaviour of pigeons, rats and human beings including his own children. He has made operant conditioning famous. An operant is a res| that act upon the environment in ponse or class of responses al ps the same way each time. trasted operant with respondents. Re: Skinner CO! erant $ ok spondents are behaviours elicit ed stimuli, Learner's operants ie a key role in the conditioning process of operant conditioning. AS Pee oalsts explain it, the response is emitted by the organism, whic deans, response is produced ‘spontaneously without any immediately lentifiable stimulus. uences of bel228 An Introduction to Psychology Pigeons were reinforced for pecking a key when @ red light was on, not reinforced for pecking when green light was on. Eventually they will p only when they see red light, It is called discriminative stimuli; it is the Stiry that signal whether reinforcement is available if a certain response is ma When individual learns to make a particular response in the presence of o; stimulus but not another, stimulus discrimination has occurred. Shaping In his experiments, Skinner used “shaping” @ Pee in whic successive rewards guide an animal's natural behaviour sown Is a desire, behaviour. Behaviour shaping is a basic step in operant condinorine Shaping is accomplished by reinforcing successive approximations, that is, responses that come successively closer to the desired response. Avoidance Conditioning When organism responds to a signal ina way that avoids exposure to an aversive stimulus, avoidance conditioning has occurred. Along with positive reinforcement avoidance conditioning is one of the most important influences on everyday behaviour. Most people go to school ‘or work, even when they would rather stay in bed. They stop on red signal, even when they are in a hurry. Each of these behaviours reflect avoidance conditioning, because each behaviour allows people to avoid a negative consequence, such as losing a job or being fined. Escape Conditioning The effect of negative reinforcement can be studied through escape conditioning. Escape conditioning takes place when an organism learns to make a response in order to end an aversive stimulus or negative reinforcer. Dogs learn to jump over the bar to escape shock. Stimulus Generalization It also occurs in operant conditioning. Organisms often perform a response in the presence of a stimulus that is similar to the reinforced previously. Difference between Operant and Classical Conditioning Classical and operant conditioning both involve acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization and discrimination; M is straightforward. iscrimination; yet their difference 1. Classical conditioning inv sical olves respondent behaviour. 0} erant conditioning involves operant behaviour i.e, voluntary action. e 2 In assical conditioning, controling stimulus comes before the reinforcer, aca conditioning, the controlling stimulus, @ tic teks oiohatios ah mh the response. This consequence is contingent food. aviour, when animal performs a trick and obtain? 3. In_ operat i eee ee reinforcement depends upon the proper ree), ene sical conditioning, unconditioned stimulus renee egerdless of what the animal does. (The meat pode" the dog salivates to the sound or not).selection of response is also different response must be selected from a set conditioning, the response is forced, that i trumental Conditioning I Operant conditionin of alternatives, 9 the In classi is not a matter of choice Ins! Instrumental conditioning is a little bit di conditioning, but most of the times both soto Operant Instrumental conditioning is associated with the names of E.L. Thornd fel B.F. Skinner. Thorndike was the first to perform laboratory experiments | i instrumental conditioning. His law of effect is the forerunner rote contemporary principle of reinforcement. : Instrumental conditioning involves more actively on the part of the learner than classical conditioning. The term instrumental indicates that learner has some control over his own circumstances. Whenever a person behaves for gaining the reward or avoiding the punishment, that behaviour is an example of instrumental conditioning. Instrumental learning involves. learning about the consequences of behaving in a certain way. For example, individual learns that if a particular response.is made, it will be followed by a particular stimulus event. As a little boy might learn that if he cries his mother will pay attention to him and comfort him. This learning consists of discovering that a particular response is followed by particular stimulus events or consequences. In this learning, the stimulus consequence is contingent upon the learner's. making a_ particular response. In short, responses have consequences, and if we want to produce particular consequences, we have to make particular responses, because the consequences are contingent upon the responses. Instrumental ‘conditioning involves a contingency between a response and the subsequent stimulus consequence, the reinforcer. The reinforcer is contingent upon the prior occurrence of a particular response. Difference between Instrumental and Operant Conditioning Instrumental and operant conditioning differ from each other in one | the experimenter defines important respect. In instrumental ‘conditioning, ss each opportunity for the subject to produce a response. Conditioning is usually measured by how long it takes for the response to appear. 7 In operant conditioning, the subject is free to make responses at any time, so conditioning is measured by the rate of responding. In most other ways, however, thei! ‘orms of learning are essentially the same. Transfer of Training The effect of past motor or mental learning on new learning is designated as transfer of training. This may be classified as: \ 1 Positive Transfer of Training When the learning of an pe facilitates the acquisition of a new skill, it is considered as positive transfer of training. The learning of the vocabulary of a language~ 230 An Introduction to Psychology ———————_—_——. helpful in the study of the text book. Once the driving of a; learned, it becomes easier to drive cars of different models. 2. Negative Transfer of Training If the past experience hinders than aids the acquisition of a new skill, it is inferred as neq transfer. Football player can face difficulty in playing basket ba) components in these two games are not identical. Football js played by hands, while basketball is a game of hands. Minin, instances of negative transfer of training are observed in daily These effects are not lasting, rather these are covered easily an, repetition totally eliminates these e' fects. 3. Zero Transfer of Training This means that performance in the ney situation is neither aided nor hindered by past training. Learning music and playing football have no identical components; therefore, the measuring device will detect no transfer effect. 4. Bilateral Transfer of Training Practicing an activity with a particular facilitates performance of the same activity part of the body usually with another part of the’ body. Generally this type of positive transference is between the symmetrical parts of the body i.e. from eye to eye, from hand to hand and from foot to foot. This sort of transference is a bilateral transfer. Bilateral transfer is not only limited to symmetrical counterpart; rather it could be nonsymmetrical as well, ion between Bilateral Transfer and Transfer of Training Distincti If the past experience hinders or aids the acquisition of a new skill, it is considered transfer of training; but. when an activity is learned with a particular part of the body, and if required, the same activity is performed by another body organ, it will be inferred as bilateral transfer. The nature of the activity is not changed, rather the skill is being transferred to the other organ of the body, Children learn to write with the preferred hand but when they feel like writing with the non-preferred hand, they do it. But there will be n0 fluency, beauty and skill because the activity is carried out without practice. QiGRS