Overview

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience. Psychology identifies several key learning mechanisms, including classical and operant conditioning, as well as observational and cognitive learning. These processes help explain everything from habit formation to the acquisition of complex skills.

Key Themes and Concepts

• Classical Conditioning (Pavlov): A neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response (e.g., dogs salivating at a bell).
• Operant Conditioning (Skinner): Learning through consequences. Positive/negative reinforcement increases behavior; punishment decreases it.
• Schedules of Reinforcement: Fixed/variable ratio and interval schedules influence the speed and consistency of learning.
• Shaping: Reinforcing successive approximations toward a target behavior — useful in teaching complex tasks.
• Observational Learning (Bandura): Learning by watching others. Key elements include attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. Famous study: Bobo doll experiment.
• Cognitive Processes: Insight learning (sudden problem-solving), latent learning (learning without immediate reinforcement), and cognitive maps (mental representations).
• Biological Constraints: Some behaviors are more easily learned due to innate predispositions (e.g., taste aversion in rats).
• Applications: Behavior modification, token economies, classroom reinforcement, and therapies based on conditioning principles.

Quick Tip

Reinforcement strengthens behavior, while punishment reduces it — but reinforcement is more effective for long-term change. Classical conditioning links stimuli, whereas operant conditioning is about consequences. Watching others learn can shape your own behavior, especially when the model is rewarded. Understanding how learning occurs helps explain everything from phobias to academic achievement.