LEARNING THEORY

1. BY:
SHEREEN SHAHANA
S3 MBA

2.  According to the behaviorists, learning can be defined
as “the relatively permanent change in behavior
brought about as a result of experience or practice.”
 Permanent change
 Change in behavior or knowledge
 Learning is the result of experience
 Learning is not the result of maturation or
temporary conditions (illness)

3.  Classical conditioning: acquiring a new response
(the conditioned response) to a previously neutral
stimulus (the conditioned stimulus) that reliably
signals the arrival of an unconditioned stimulus.
 Ivan Pavlov: Russian physiologist who initially was
studying digestion; first identified mechanisms of
classical conditioning
 Also known as Pavlovian or Respondent
Conditioning

4.  Pavlov was a Russian Behavioral Psychologist who
actually stumbled upon the theory accidently in
his own house using his dogs as the subjects.
 He kept his dogs locked up for many hours due to
his different research. When he got the chance to
feed them, he would ring a bell and the dogs knew
that it meant dinner time and responded by
salivating.

5.  Pavlov realized his dogs associated the bell with
food, thus they began to salivate.
 Intrigued by this phenomenon, Pavlov did
extensive research on this type of learning.

7. 1.Unconditioned Stimulus: a thing that
can already elicit a response.
2.Unconditioned Response: a thing that
is already elicited by a stimulus.
3.Neutral Stimulus: stimulus that
doesn’t evoke a response
4.Conditioned Stimulus: a new stimulus
we deliver the same time we give the
old stimulus.
5.Conditioned Response: the new
response we created by associating a
new stimulus with an old response.

8.  The specific model for classical conditioning is:
 General model: Stimulus (S) elicits >Response (R)
 Classical conditioning starts with a reflex (R): an
innate, involuntary behavior.
 This involuntary behavior is elicited or caused by an
antecedent environmental event.

9.  The specific model for classical conditioning is:
 A stimulus will naturally (without learning) elicit or
bring about a reflexive response
 Unconditioned Stimulus (US) elicits >
Unconditioned Response (UR)

10.  The specific model for classical conditioning is:
 Neutral Stimulus (NS) --- does not elicit the response
of interest
 This stimulus is a neutral stimulus since it does not
elicit the Unconditioned (or reflexive) Response.

12. Classical Conditioning Theory
The Neutral/Orienting Stimulus (NS) is
repeatedly paired with the
Unconditioned/Natural Stimulus (US).

14. Classical Conditioning Theory
• The Neutral Stimulus (NS) is
transformed into a Conditioned
Stimulus (CS).
•
•That is, when the CS is presented by itself,
it elicits or causes the CR .