Unit IV Learning II

Other Behavioural Theorists

Behaviorism is a theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviors are acquired
through conditioning, and conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment.
Behaviorists believe that our actions are shaped by environmental stimuli. In simple terms,
according to this school of thought, also known as behavioral psychology, behavior can be
studied in a systematic and observable manner regardless of internal mental
states. Behavioral theory also says that only observable behavior should be studied,
as cognition, emotions, and mood are far too subjective. Strict behaviorists believe that any
person - regardless of genetic background, personality traits, and internal thoughts - can be
trained to perform any task, within the limits of their physical capabilities. It only requires
the right conditioning.
History of Behaviorism
Behaviorism was formally established with the 1913 publication of John B. Watson's
classic paper, "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It." It is best summed up by the
following quote from Watson, who is often considered the father of behaviorism: "Give me a
dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll
guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might
select - doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless
of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors." Simply
put, strict behaviorists believe that all behaviors are the result of experience. Any person,
regardless of their background, can be trained to act in a particular manner given the right
conditioning.
From about 1920 through the mid-1950s, behaviorism became the dominant school of
thought in psychology. Some suggest that the popularity of behavioral psychology grew out
of the desire to establish psychology as an objective and measurable science. During that
time, researchers were interested in creating theories that could be clearly described and
empirically measured, but also used to make contributions that might have an influence on
the fabric of everyday human lives.
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 Edward C. Thorndike (1874-1949)
Profession needs a basic of theoretical framework in supporting a practice. Education
profession that has learning process contains a theoretical framework that is relied on a result
of empirical process. The relation between theory and practice is so close that can generate
scientific study especially in education area.
Theory is composed from construction process, principle and proportion that empower
science treasure, while, practice is an application in solving real problem in activity of
profession. Practice also gives a contribution to theoretical framework through the
information that is acquired in empirical process. Realization of learning process is to relate
theory and its implication through practice concretely.
Theory is an abstract concept from the result of empirical process which will be
generalized. Theory is included in resume of statement that describes and arranges an
empirical observation. Then, this formulation is used as a basic to develop a science,
meanwhile learning contains a concept that is a change is relative permanent or potential
behavior as a result of experience.
Thorndike Theory
One of the phenomenal work is his book under title “Animal intelligence, An
experimental study of association process in Animal”. This book is based on his research to
behavior of animals like cats, dogs, and bird. According to him, the behavior of those animal
is giving a description of learning process; that is basic of learning is association, a stimulus
will result generate a certain respond. Thorndike theory explains learning is change of
behavior that can be observed, measured, and assessed concretely. The change of stimulus
will generate respond based on mechanistic law.
Based on Thorndike, learning is phenomenon that grows associations between one
events to another events which is called as stimulus (S) with respond (R). Stimulus is a
changing of external environment that become sign to activate organism to react and act.
And, respond is behavior that is raised by stimulus.

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 From experiment of hunger cat which is putted in cage is known that in order to reach
relation between stimulus and respond need an ability to choose precious respond through
trials and errors. Here, some experts call Thorndike as Instrumental Conditioning. And the
basic of learning is “trial and error learning or selecting and connecting learning”.
Therefore, learning theory which is said by Thorndike is often called as connectionism or
association theory. Because of this contribution, Thorndike is known as pioneer in education
psychology. One of the famous of Thorndike experiments is hunger cats is putted in the cage
which have automatic door, it can be open and close if button which is located under cage is
touched. In stage of trials, cat tends to leave a unresolved behavior. Every respond makes a
new stimulus, then this new stimulus will make another respond, and it will happen
repeatedly.
In this experiment, if out of cage is putted a food, then cat will try to reach it.
Suddenly, the cat touch the button of the cage, then the door will be open, and cat will run
out and eat the food. This experiment will be repeatedly did until ten till twelve times, then
the cat will touch the button deliberately if there is food outside of cage.
Thorndike uses this experiment repeatedly to same cat and same situation. Firstly cat
only go around a cage and try to escape from the cage. A trial of escaping from the cat is a
respond from the stimulus; that is food. Finally, the cat will find a match respond (escaping)
with the stimulus (getting the food out side the cage).
Thorndike said his theory in learning that every creature in his behavior there is a correlation
between stimulus and respond. In this theory also said that person who master relations
between stimulus and respond is person who is succeed in his learning. And the way to build
a relation between stimuli and respond is done frequently.
In the theory of trial and error, is occurred to all organism and if this organism is
faced to new condition and situation, so this will be automatically give new respond (trial),
because basically in every stimulus will be found a respond. If those action need to produce
a behavior or suitable action, then this action will be saved in other mind of another
organism. Therefore, the theory of trial and errors will generate other respond to other
stimulus and it will occur repeatedly.
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Law of Learning in Thorndike Theory
In discussing law of learning of Thorndike, there are three mains concept; those are
Law of Readiness), Law of Exercise and Law of Effect.
Firstly is law of readiness, in this law learner must be ready and in good condition in
order to be success in his learning. Readiness here must be in psychology and physically.
Ready in physic means learner is not in sick condition, and ready in psychology means
learner do not have mental sickness and other. Beside, learner must be readiness in
mastering a science and its basic competence.
Based on Thorndike, there are some conditions that appear in this law such as: first, if
there is a preference to act and people want to do it, they will be satisfied. In consequence,
they will do not act other behavior, and it will result unsatisfied. Second, if there is
inclination to act, but people do want to do that, they will replace with other action to lack of
their unsatisfied. And, third if there is no tendency to act, but people are forced to do that, it
will result unsatisfied.
Law of readiness has an implication that every organism acquires changing of
behavior, and in its implication of this behavior result a satisfaction, then the association will
be strengthen. This connectionism theory state that learning is an activity that form
association or connection between an impression of five sense and tends to act., for example
person who likes to cook, then he or she will do that thing, and if he or she does that, he or
she will feel satisfied and happy.
Second is law of exercise. To result suitable and satisfied to respond stimulus, so
person should trials and practice frequently. And suitable and satisfied action can be
acquired in learning. And the trials behavior is an existence of improvement behavior to
make the behavior stronger. And to make them remembered by long term memory of person,
he or she should repeatedly do an action to record the behavior to short term memory and it
will be continued to long term memory.
According to Thorndike the main principle of learning is repetition, because of that
teacher who gives a question (Stimulus) the students will answer it (Respond), and make the
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prestige of student increase. Thorndike states that repetition without reward is not effective,
because association of stimulus and respond can be strengthen through reward. So, in this
law exercise of behavior will direct to amount of repetition which is known as drill.
Principle of law of exercise is connection between condition and action which can be strong
by doing exercises, but it will be weak if the connection between both of them is stopped.
In this case, exercises contain two things. First is The Law of Use; that is connections
between condition and action can be strong if there is an exercise. Second is The Law of
Disue; that is connections between condition and action can be weak if the exercise is
stopped.
The third law is law of effect. Every organism, has own respond in facing a new
stimulus and new situation. If organism determines a respond or action that possesses a
satisfaction to that organism in facing the new situation and condition, they will do the same
action if later they face same situation and condition. Meanwhile, behavior which do not
possesses satisfaction in facing the new situation, this action will be abandoned forever by
the organism. This thing will be occurred to all organisms automatically.
Thorndike states that organism as a mechanist that will react if there is a stimulus an
situation which affect them. In education area, law of effect is happened to someone who
gives punishment or reward. However, in education the thing that can give the reward will
be more effective than a punishment. Thorndike theory actually is state as connectionism
theory because in learning, this theory more emphasize to “Law of Effect” which state that
connection between stimulus and respond can product an effect. Thorndike believes that the
process of animal‟s learning is same with the human‟s learning, although the relation
between situation and action (behavior) of animal is without an understanding. Animal do
the respond directly from what they observed mechanically.
This law shows that if the connection or relation can be modified like relation between
stimulus and respond and that relation can be followed by the expected event in order to
make the relation much stronger. In contrast, if the unexpected event happen, it will the
relation can be weak.

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 Connection between five sense and tendency to act is based on the result. For
example, the teacher who motivate and give reward to students who do a homework, that
students will happily do the homework, but, if the teacher always give a punishment to
student, probability students will be lazy to do the homework.
Next, Thorndike adds some additional laws such as:
1. Law of multiple responses. This law state that every individual is begun by trial and
error process that show kinds of response before the individual finds right response to
overcome the problem.
2. Attitude law. This law explains that learning behavior of persons is not only decided by
the relation of stimulus and response, but also decided by their condition either their
cognitive, emotion, social or psychomotor.
3. Prepotency of element law. This law states that persons who are in learning process give
a respond to the current stimulus that suits with their perception to whole situation and it is
called by selective respond.
4. Respond by Analogy law. This law asserts that persons are able to do a respond to the
situation that is never happened before because the persons can connect that situation to old
situation, until there is a element transfer from old situation to new situation.
5. Associative Shifting law. This law clarifies that process of shifting from known situation
to unknown situation can done gradually by adding the advantage element and delete the non
advantage element.
Then, there is a revision in learning which is explained by Thorndike such as:
1. The law of practice is abandoned because it is found that repetition is not adequate to
strengthen the relation between stimuli and respond. Meanwhile, without repetition, the
connection between stimulus and respond can not be weak.
2. The law of effect is revised. As said by Thorndike that something positive that can affect
behavior is reward, not a punishment.
3. The main requirement to make stimulus and respond is not nearness, but appropriateness
between stimulus and respond.
4. The effect of action can infect to other area or individual.
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5. Here also said that connectionism theory also shows that concept of transfer of training
that is skill which is acquired from learning can be used to overcome the other problem. This
theory is developed based on the experiment to the cat with its box problem.
Application of Thorndike theory to students learning
The things that must be considered in implicating Thorndike theory is the strong
character serve as a basis; those are: advance of environment‟s effect, emphasize detail parts,
emphasize role of reaction., consider important mechanism how stimulus and respond build
a learning result, emphasize to role of previous ability acquirement, advance build a habitual
through training (exercise), repetition and expected learning result.
In Thorndike theory learning is oriented to result that can measured and observed, an
error must be fixed immediately, and repetition and exercise is used to make the behavior
become a habit. Result in application of behaviorist theory is forming an expected behavior
which the expected behavior can be strengthened positively. And unexpected behavior can
be deleted. In this case, evaluation and assessment are based in the appearing behavior.16
The application of Thorndike behaviorist theory that is wrong in learning situation can cause
uncomforted learning to student like teacher as central, authoritative, communicate in one
way, and teacher determine what students should learns. In this situation, students are
passive, need a motivation from the outside and much affected by the teacher. Students
should listen carefully the explanation of the teacher and memorize what they learn, and this
learning is seen as effective ways in teaching learning process. The used of punishment
which is evaded in learning, behaviorist expert precisely use it as most effective ways to
discipline the students.
Application of Thorndike theory in learning consists of a practice value in learning
procedure like: first, before teacher starts to teach in class, students should be prepared in
mental firstly. Second, teachers do a regular test or exercise or drilling system. And third,
teachers give supervising, reward and praise to grow strategic effect for students.
As a consequence for this theory, teacher should has behaviorism paradigm to arrange
a lesson material in order the purpose of learning can be mastered by students. Teacher
should not give a lecturing, but short and clear instruction which is followed by good
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example. The lesson material is arranged hierarchically from simple one to the complex one.
The purpose of learning is divided into small parts which are signed by accomplishment of
specific skill.
This Thorndike method is suitable with the acquirement that needs practice and
habitation contain element like: acceleration, spontaneity, reflex, endurance and other. For
example the conversation of foreign language, typing, dancing, computing, swimming, sport
and etc. This theory is suitable for children which need dominances from the adult‟s role like
imitating, habituating, and direct reward.
Critical Analysis to Thorndike Theory
Every theory and method in scientific study has an excessive and lack. That thing also
happens to theory of Thorndike. Some of lack in this theory can be shown like:
Firstly, in this theory Thorndike use animal as experiment (cat, dog, and etc), in educational
study this thing is considered as controversial thing by education expert, because the
learning of animal skill is different. The skill which is acquired by the animal is called by
dressur. Principally, animals do not have education concept and learning because animals
only use its instinct. So that, there are many experts reject Thorndike theory because
compared the learning with animal.
Secondly, Thorndike theory see human as mechanism that have similarities with
animanl. Although, some of mechanism of human is automatic like animal, but it is not
always affecterd by trials and error process. Trial and error can not effect to human
absolutely.
Third, this theory sees learning as association between stimulus and respond. Till, the
most emphasize thing in learning based on this theory is strengthen the association by
exercise repeatedly. This case does not give a chance to raise a logical reasoning which can
dig more meaning outside the associate thing.
Fourth, because learning is seen as mechanistic system, the definition is not
considered as important thing in learning. This theory ignores the definition as a main
element in leraning.

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 Fifth, implication of this theory in learning process is seen not giving to learner to
create, experiment, and develop their own ability, because this learning system has character
automatic-mechanic in combining stimulus and respond like machine or robot. In a result,
learner is lack to develop their potency.
Sixth, this theory believes that learner as passive object that always need motivation
and reinforcement from educator. By that, educator develop structured curriculum by used
certain standard in learning process which must be reached by learner. And, also in
evaluation, learner is measured from appearing thing, while the abstract one is not
considered in evaluation.
Seventh, learning is most related to discipline. Failure or disability in acquiring
science is categorized as a mistake or error that must be punished and the successful of
learning is categorized as good behavior and appropriate to get a reward. And also students
who obey the rule will be considered as a successful of learning, and so in contrast, until the
control of learning must be stacked on system outside of learner.
Eighth, the delivery of lesson material emphasizes to isolated skill and fact
accumulation which is followed the hierarchy in whole. Learning follows the arrangement of
curriculum tightly, till the activity of learning is based on the text books. Then, the students
should be able to express the containing of textbook back. Learning and evaluation advance
to the result of learning, not a process.
Ninth, evaluation stress to passive response, and usually use a written test. In this
evaluation, learner is demanded to answer correctly based on the expectation. If learner can
reach the expectation, learner will be considered as successful learner. And in this evaluation
learner is seen as separated part from learning activity because this theory stress on
evaluation to learner ability individually.
Conclusion
The main principle of Thorndike theory is learning is exercise repeatedly, because of
that learning must be oriented to give exercise as stimulus, so that learner can give a respond
for that stimulus. And hopefully, by doing those thing, the prestige and ability of student can
be increased. Thorndike states that in learning is process between stimulus and respond. This
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theory have three main concept those are Law of Readiness Law of Exercise) and Law of
Effect.
In journey of his thought about this theory, Thorndike adds some law in his theory and
modifies some of element in it. Beside, in implementing his theory, some of teacher should
consider something such as, how the law work in learning process and how to apply it well.
Finally, although the theory of Thorndike is great and can give contribution in learning
process, but there is also some critic to its theory such as this theory believes that learner as
passive object that always need motivation and reinforcement from educator. By that,
educator develop structured curriculum by used certain standard in learning process which
must be reached by learner. And, also in evaluation, learner is measured from appearing
thing, while the abstract one is not considered in evaluation, and etc.

Edwin Ray Guthrie (1886-1959)

Contiguity Theory and One Trial Learning
Contiguity theory or law of contiguity and one trial learning are ideas introduced in
1920s by American philosopher, mathematician and psychologist Edwin Guthrie in
collaboration with Stevenson Smith. Law of contiguity states that a close temporal
relationship between a stimulus and a response is the only necessary condition for an
association between the two to be established.
Guthrie attempted to explain learning through association of stimuli with
responses. Learning, in terms of behavior is a function of the environment. According to
Guthrie, learning is associating a particular stimulus with a particular response. This
association, however, will only occur if stimuli and responses occur soon enough one after
another (the contiguity law). The association is established on the first experienced
instance of the stimulus (one trial learning). Repetitions or reinforcements in terms of
reward or punishment do not influence the strength of this connection. Still, every stimulus
is a bit different, which results in many trials in order to form a general response. This was
according to Guthrie the only type of learning identifying him not as reinforcement theorist,
but contiguity theorist.
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 More complex behaviors are composed of a series of movements (habits), where
each movement is a small stimulus-response combination. This movements or are actually
what is being learned in each one trial learning rather than behaviors. Learning a number of
moves forms an act (incremental learning). Unsuccessful acts remain not learned because
they are replaced by later successfully learned acts. Other researchers like John
Watson studied whole acts just because it was easier, but movements are, according to
Guthrie what should actually be studied.
Forgetting occurs not due to time passage, but due to interference. As time passes,
stimulus can become associated with new responses. Three different methods can help in
forgetting an undesirable old habit and help replacing it:
Fatigue method - using numerous repetitions, an animal becomes so fatigued that it is
unable to reproduce the old response, and introduces a new response (or simply doesn't
react).
Threshold method - first, a very mild version of the stimulus below the threshold level is
introduced. Its intensity is then slowly increased until the full stimulus can be tolerated
without causing the undesirable response
Incompatible stimuli method - the response is “unlearned” by placing the animal in a
situation where it cannot exhibit the undesirable response.
Although it was intended to be a general theory of learning, Guthrie's theory was tested
mostly on animals.
In Guthrie's own words, “we learn only what we ourselves do”. Learning must be
active, but as such must involve both teacher's and students' activity in order to relate
stimulus with a response within a time limit. Guthrie also applied his ideas to treatment
of personality disorders.
Principles
- The organism must respond in an active manner for the occurrence of learning
- Specific tasks must be presented in the instruction because learning consists of a
movements conditioning

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 - For the production of a generalized response, stimulus patterns must be exposed to
many variations.
- The last response is the one that will be associated due to which it needs to be correct.
Criticisms
Guthrie's theory was first preferred, due to its simplicity, but later criticized for the
same reason. Its simplicity was later turned into incompleteness. It was also based on too
little experimental data and criticized for being unable to explain why people often behave
differently in same situations.

Clark Leonard Hull (1884-1952)

Learning is one of the most important topics in present-day psychology, yet it is an
extremely difficult concept to define. Learning occupies a very important place in our life.
Most of what we do or do not do is influenced by what we learnt it. Learning therefore
provides a key to the structure of our personality and behavior. An individual starts to
learning immediately after his birth or in a strict sense even in womb of the mother.
Experience direct or indirect is found to play a dominant role in molding and shaping our
behavior of the individual from the very beginning. The change in behavior brought about
by experience is commonly known as learning. In this way, the term learning broadly
speaking, stands for all those changes and modifications in the behavior of the individual
which he undergoes during his life time.

DEFINITION
Gardner Murphy (1968) - The term learning covers every modification in behavior to
meet environmental requirements.
Henry P. Smith (1962) - Learning is the acquisition of new behavior or the
strengthening or weakening of old behavior as the result of experience.
Crow and Crow (1973) - Learning is the acquisition of habits, knowledge and
attitudes. It involves new ways of doing things, and it operates in an individual‟s attempts to

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overcome obstacles or to adjust to new situation. It represents progressive changes in
behavior. It enables him to satisfy interests to attain goals.
Kimble (1961) - Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavioral potentiality
that occurs as a result of reinforced practice.
The above definition reveals the following facts:
1. Learning is a process and not a product.
2. It involves all those experience and training of an individual (right from birth) which
help him to produce changes in his behavior
3. Learning leads to changes in behavior but this does not necessarily mean that these
changes always bring about improvement or positive development. One has an equal chance
to drift to the negative side of human personality.
4. Learning prepares an individual for any adjustment and adaptation that may be
necessary

Clark Leonard Hull was born in Akron, New York (May 24, 1884 – May 10, 1952).
He was an influential American psychologist and learning theorist in behaviorism. He
sought to explain learning and motivation by scientific laws of behavior. Clark Hull's most
important contribution to psychology lies in his theory of learning, considered one of the
most important learning theories of the twentieth century. He also conducted research
demonstrating that his theories could predict and control behavior, and inspired many of his
students to continue to develop his theories and maintain his high standards of scientific
method in the field of psychology.
Clark Hull grew up handicapped and contracted polio at the age of 24, yet he became
one of the great contributors to psychology. His family was not well off so his education had
to be stopped at times. Clark earned extra money through teaching. Originally Clark aspired
to be a great engineer, but that was before he fell in love with the field of Psychology. By the
age of 29 he graduated from Michigan University. When Clark was 34 when he received his
Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Wisconsin in 1918. Soon after graduation he
became a member of the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, where he served for 10
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years. Although one of his first experiments was an analytical study of the effects of tobacco
on behavioral efficiency, his lifelong emphasis was on the development of objective
methods for psychological studies designed to determine the underlying principles of
behavior.
Hull devoted the next 10 years to the study of hypnosis and suggestibility, and in 1933
he published Hypnosis and Suggestibility, while employed as a research professor at Yale
University. This is where he developed his major contribution, an elaborate theory of
behavior based on Pavlov's laws of conditioning. Pavlov provoked Hull to become greatly
interested in the problem of conditioned reflexes and learning. In 1943 Hull
published, Principles of Behavior, which presented a number of constructs in a detailed
Theory of Behavior. Soon he became the most cited psychologist. For his effort, Hull
received the Warren medal in 1945 from the society of Experimental Psychology. Hull was
physically disabled most of his life. In 1948 he had coronary attack, and four years later he
died. In his last book he wrote (A behavior system), he expressed regret that the third book
that he had intended to write on learning would never be written.
HULL LEARNING THEORY
1. DERIVE REDUCTION THEORY
Drive Reduction Theory - (Hull) - the notion that behavior occurs in response to
"drives" such as hunger, thirst, sexual interest, feeling cold, etc. When the goal of the drive is
attained (food, water, mating, warmth) the drive is reduced, and this constitutes
reinforcement of the behaviors that lead to the drive reduction, and ultimately learning.
Hull viewed the drive as a stimulus, arising from a tissue need, which in turn stimulates
behavior. The strength of the drive is determined upon the length of the deprivation, or the
intensity / strength of the resulting behavior. He believed the drive to be non-specific, which
means that the drive does not direct behavior rather it functions to energize it. In addition
this drive reduction is the reinforcement.
Hull's learning theory focuses mainly on the principle of reinforcement; when an S-R
relationship is followed by a reduction of the need, the probability increases that in future
similar situations the same stimulus will create the same prior response. Reinforcement can
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be defined in terms of reduction of a primary need. Just as Hull believed that there were
secondary drives, he also felt that there were secondary reinforcements - “If the intensity of
the stimulus is reduced as the result of a secondary or learned drive, it will act as a secondary
reinforcement" (Schultz & Schultz, 1987, p 241). The way to strengthen the S-R response is
to increase the number of reinforcements, habit strength.
1. Change in the traditional S-R notion
Hull introduced concept of intervening variables between S and R. Accordingly, when
a stimulus(S) impinges on the organism, it results in a sensory neural impulse(s) a kind of
stimulus trace. This stimulus trace ultimately causes a motor neural reaction(r) those results
in an overt response (R). Thus we may have the formula S-s-r-R instead of the
traditional S-R. However, there are so many other things within the inner mechanism of the
organism like his interest, needs and drives also the reinforcing mechanism that may
influence his response or behavior.
The link between the S-R relationships could be anything that might affect how an
organism responds; learning, fatigue, disease, injury, motivation, etc. He labeled this
relationship as "E", a reaction potential, or as sEr. Clark goal was to make a science out of
all of these intervening factors. He classified his formula
sEr = (sHr x D ) - (sIr + Ir) - sOr
Habit strength, sHr, is determined by the number of reinforces.
Drive strength, D, is measured by the hours of deprivation of a need.
Inhibitory strength, sIr, is the number of non-reinforces.
Reactive inhibition, Ir, is when the organism has to work hard for a reward and becomes
fatigued.
The last variable in his formula is sOr, which accounts for random error.
Hull believed that this formula could account for all behavior
2. The concept of Drive Stimuli Reduction
Originally, Hull had a drive reduction theory of learning, but later he revised it to a
Drive Stimuli Reduction theory of learning. One reason for the change was the realization
that if a thirsty animal is given water as a reinforce for performing some act, it takes a
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considerable amount of time for the thirst drive to be satisfied by the water. The water goes
into the mouth, the throat, the stomach, and eventually the blood. The effects of ingestion of
water must ultimately reach the brain, and finally the thirst drive will be reduced. Hull
concluded that the drive reduction was too far removed from the presentation of the
reinforce to explain how learning could take place. What was needed to explain learning was
something that occurred soon after the presentation of a reinforce, and that something was
the reduction of drive stimuli (SD).
REASONS
1. Drive stimuli for thirst include dryness in the mouth and parched lips. Water almost
immediately reduces such stimulation thus hull had the mechanism he needed for explaining
learning.
2. It was provided by Sheffield and Roby (1950), who found that hungry rats were
reinforced by non- nutritive saccharine, which could not possibly have reduced the hunger
drive.
Incentive motivation (K)
Results found by Crepsi and Zeaman led hull to reach the conclusion that organism
learn as rapidly for a small incentive as they do for large one, but they perform differently as
size of the incentive (K) varies. The rapid change in performance following a change in
reinforcement size is referred to as the Crepsi effect, after the man who first observed it.
Stimulus-Intensity Dynamism
According to hull, Stimulus-Intensity Dynamism (V) is an intervening variable that
varies along with the intensity of the external stimulus(S). Stated simply, Stimulus-Intensity
Dynamism indicates that the greater the intensity of a stimulus, the greater the probability
that a learned response will be elicited. Thus we must revise hull‟s earlier formula as follows
sEr = (sHr x D x K x V) - (sIr + Ir) – sOr
It is interesting to note that because sHr , D, K and V are multiplied together, if any
one had a value of zero, reaction potential would be zero. For example there could have been
many pairings between S and R (sHr), but if drive is zero, reinforcement is zero or the
organism cannot detect the stimulus, a learned response will not occur.
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Hull’s final system summarized
There are three kinds of variable in hull’s theory:
1. Independent variable –which are stimulus events systematically manipulated by the
experimenter.
2. Intervening variables – which are process thought to be taking place within the
organism but directly observable.
3. Dependent variables – which are some aspect of behavior that is measured by the
experimenter in order to determine whether the independent variables had any effect.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATION
The development of curriculum
- In this reference hull emphasized the importance of needs in learning process and
accordingly the needs of all categories of children should be incorporated in the
curriculum learning becomes meaningful only when it satisfies the needs of children.
- They know actual needs of the students by teacher and parents
- Hull is fells that teachers and parents of the student should also share their
responsibility in teaching the actual needs of the student through various means proper
guidance is must for their attitude and aptitudes.
- Emphasized anxiety as a drive in human learning
- From this line of reasoning, it follows that encouraging some anxiety in students that
could subsequently be reduced by success is a necessary condition for classroom
learning. Too little anxiety results in no learning (because there is no drive to be
reduced), and too much anxiety is disruptive. Therefore, students who are mildly
anxious are in the best position to learn and are therefore easiest to teach.
Hull‟s system of learning advocated the following chain sequence for improved results in the
teaching-learning process:
a. Drive – This is something which is needed by the learner in order to behave or
respond.
b. Cue – There must be something to which the learner must respond.
c. Response – The learner must be made to respond in order to learn some act.
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d. Reward – The learner‟s response must be reinforced or rewarded, thus enabling him to
learn what he wants to learn.
CONCLUSION
Hull‟s system of learning is acclaimed and remembered for putting forward a most
systematic, scientific and mathematical theory of learning. Hull was able to popularize a
very innovative and objective behavioristic approach to learning which was more effective
in comparison to the approach of his predecessors. The greatest contribution of hull‟s theory
lies in its emphasis on linking the learning to the needs of the children. He says that it is the
need, drive or drive stimuli that energies an individual to act or learn or behave. Therefore,
he advocated the need-based goals of education, including need-based curricula and methods
of teaching. Whereas needs start the process of learning, reinforcement and incentives act as
catalytic agents for increasing one‟s efforts towards achieving the goals of learning.
Therefore in any education process we must involve sufficient possibilities of proper
motivation and reinforcement incentives.

GAGNE'S EIGHT LEVEL OF LEARNING

Robert Mills Gagné was an American Educational Psychologist best known for his
conditions of learning. Gagné's work is sometimes summarized as "the Gagné assumption".
Gagné's theory stipulates that there are several types and levels of learning, and each of these
types and levels requires instruction that is tailored to meet the needs of the pupil.
EIGHT LEVEL OF LEARNING :
He identified eight basic types, and arranged these in the hierarchy. According to
Gagné, the higher orders of learning in this hierarchy build upon the lower levels, requiring
progressively greater amounts of previous learning for their success. The lowest four
orders tend to focus on the more behavioral aspects of learning, while the highest
four focus on the more cognitive aspects.
HIERARCHY - a simple outlook

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1. Signal learning

This is the simplest form of learning, and consists essentially of the classical
conditioning first described by the behavioral psychologist Pavlov. In this type of learning
the animal or individual acquires a conditioned response to a given signal.
Example : a. When there is a Red Signal in road, people stop their Vehicles.
b. When door bell rings, people suddenly rushes to door to open it.
Here,
The Signal is : Red Light and Ringing of Door Bell
Conditioned Response is : People Stop their Vehicles and People rush to open the Door
2. Stimulus-response learning
This is also known as operand conditioning, was originally developed by
Skinner. Stimulus-response learning is all about getting a response to a Stimuli.
Example : a. When a Teacher instructs the Students to raise their hands, the
Students immediately raise their hands
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 b. When we place a plant in dark room, it get destroyed and when it is placed in
a sun shade it grows well
Here,
The Stimuli is: Teacher instructing the Students, Placing a plant in dark room
The Response is: Students raising their hands, Plant gets destroyed
3. Chaining
This type of learning is the ability to connect two or more previously-learned
stimulus-response bonds into a linked sequence. It is the process whereby most complex
psycho motor skills (eg riding a bicycle or playing the piano) are learned. In this type of
learning the person links together previously learned Stimulus - Response
Example : a. When a Child saw a Doll, it first represent it as a Baby, it dresses up the
Doll, do make up to the Doll, then Feeds the Doll
b. Selecting an appropriate key from the Bunch of Keys.
Here, a. The Child connects the activities of Bathing, Feeding an taking care of the Doll
that is being learned from the elders. It watches how elders take care of the babies and
recreate it when it looks at the doll. It learns and connects the related stimulus and response.
4. Verbal association
This is a form of chaining in which the links between the items being connected are
verbal in nature. Verbal association is one of the key processes in the development of
language skills. This learning is a type of chaining, but the links are verbal units. The
simplest verbal association is the activity of naming an object, which involves a chain of two
links
Example : a. When a Child names an object "BALL " , it also says " ROUND BALL
", "BLACK and WHITE BALL"
Here, The Child associates the word "BALL" with its "SHAPE", "COLOUR"
5. Discrimination learning
This involves developing the ability to make appropriate (different) responses to a
series of similar stimuli that differ in a systematic way. This involves the development of the
ability to differentiate an OBJECT, by its COLOUR, SHAPE etc..
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Example : a. When a student develops the ability to differentiate and call each student by
his/her correct name.
b. When seeing lots of cars in the road, differentiating the cars by its name
Here,
These are all Cars, the ability to differentiate them, is Discrimination learning
6. Concept learning
This involves developing the ability to make a consistent response to different stimuli
that form a common class or category of some sort. It forms the basis of the ability to
generalize, classify etc. In learning a concept we respond to stimuli in terms of abstract
characteristics like color, shape, position and number as opposed to concrete physical
properties like specific wavelengths or particular intensities.
Example : Observing the Common Concept in the objects.
a. While Driving a bike, one must Start with Clutch, gear and then slowly release
the clutch and raise the Accelerator
b. While Driving a Car, one must Start with Clutch, gear and then slowly release
the clutch and raise the Accelerator
Here,
The Common Concept is "Start with Clutch, gear and then slowly release the clutch
and raise the Accelerator" is being learned.
7. Rule learning
This is a very-high-level cognitive process that involves being able to learn
relationships between concepts and apply these relationships in different situations,
including situations not previously encountered. In learning a rule we relate two or more
concepts. Rules are, in effect, chains of concepts. We may represent knowledge as a
hierarchy of rules, in which we must learn two or more rules before learning a higher order
rule which embraces them.

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Example : When an air filled Ball is kicked, it flies, rolls and revolves, it is a common rule.
In this rule concepts such as flying, rolling, revolving etc are learned. It represents the
chaining of more than one concept in a rule.
Here,
The concepts such as flying, rolling, revolving are chained together
8. Problem solving
This is the highest level of cognitive process according to Gagne. It involves
developing the ability to invent a complex rule, algorithm or procedure for the purpose of
solving one particular problem, and then using the method to solve other problems of a
similar nature.
In the set of events called problem solving, individuals use rule to achieve some goal.
When the goal is reached, however the student has learned something more and is then
capable of new performances using his new knowledge.
hat is learned, is a higher order rule, the combined product of two or more lower order rules.
Thus the problem solving requires those internal events usually called thinking..
Without knowledge of the prerequisite rules, the problem can not be solved.
Educational Implications:
1. Gain Attention: The first event or step of instruction is to gain attention to get the
reception of stimuli.
2 Informing the learners the objective: it is important to inform the learner of the
purpose and expected outcome of the learning to provide the motivation to learners.
3. Stimulating recall of prior learning: the learners are asked to recall the existing relevant
knowledge.
4. Presenting the stimulus: relevant stimulus to the subject matter should be presented.
5. Providing learning guidance: it request instructor to make the stimulus as meaningful as
possible.
6. Eliciting performance: the learners are asked to demonstrate the newly learnt behaviour.
7. Providing feedback: giving informative feedback to learners performance is important.
8. Assessing performance: it consists of assessments to verify the learning has occurred.
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9. Enhancing retention and transfer: it refers to retaining the land capability over a long
period of time and transferring it to new situations outside the learning environment.

Cognitive Theorists
Kohler Learning by Insight theory-Gestalt Theory of Learning
Kohler‟s learning by insight theory is related to the cognitive type of theory of
learning. It was developed by a Gestalt psychologist. This theory is also known as Gestalt‟s
theory of insightful learning. Insight Learning theory was given by Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt
koffka and Max Wertheimer.
This theory implies that when a particular situation is being learnt, it does not help to
learn only it in parts but it helps to learn its whole. Learning is an exploration, purposeful
and creative activity but not a trial and error method of activity. Learning means,
“Reorganization of the perceptual field”. Learning is dependent upon the intelligence of the
individuals.
Kohler Learning by Insight theory
Kohler, first of all, used this term (insight) to describe the learning of his apes. In the
theory of Learning by insight, Kohler did his experiment on chimpanzees and his name is
Sultan. Kohler conducted many experiments on chimpanzees and brought out a book
„Mentality of Apes‟ in 1925 which was the result of his experiments, conducted during the
period 1913-17 on the Canary Island.
Experiment of Kohler Learning by Insight Theory
This experiment shows learning by insight. Some of them are given below-
In one experiment, Kohler put a chimpanzee (Sultan) inside a cage and a banana was
hung from the roof of the cage. A box was placed inside the cage. The Sultan try to reach the
banana by jumping but could not succeed. Suddenly, he got an idea and used the box as a
jumping platform by placing it just below the hanging banana.
In another experiment, Kohler made this problem more difficult. Now it required two
or three boxes to reach the banana. Moreover, the placing of one box over the other required
different specific arrangements.
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 In another experiment, the banana was placed outside the cage of the chimpanzee.
Two sticks, one larger than the others, were placed inside the cage. One was hollow at one
end so that the other stick could be thrust into it to form a longer stick. The banana was so
kept that could not be picked up by one of the sticks.
The chimpanzee first tried these sticks one after another but failed. Suddenly, he got a
bright idea. The animal joined the two sticks together and reached the banana. In these
experiments, Kohler used many different chimpanzees. Sultan, who was the most intelligent
of Kohler‟s chimpanzees, could solve all the problems. Other chimpanzees could solve the
problems only when they saw the sultan solving them.
With such experiments, Kohler concluded that in the solution of problems, his apes
did not restore to blind trial and error mechanism. They could solve their problem
intelligently. Kohler used the term “Insight” to describe the learning of his apes.
Insight involves the following criteria:
- The situation as a whole is perceived by the learner
- The learner tries to see and judge the relationship between various factors involved in
the situation
- As a result, the learner is helped in the sudden grasping of the solution of the problem
Gestalt’s Insight learning theory
Gestalt psychologists also did other experiments they found that at some stage there is
a new organization of the perceptual field resulting in the sudden discovery of the solution.
Therefore, learning according to Gestalt‟s is re-structuring the field of perception thought
insight. As a whole, insight depends upon the following factors:
Experience: Past experience help in the insightful solution of the problems. A child cannot
solve the problems of modern mathematics unless he is well-acquainted with its symbolic
language.
Intelligence: Insightful solution depends upon the basic intelligence of the learner. The
more intelligent an individual is, the greater will be his insight
Learning Situation: How insightfully the organism will react depends upon the situation in
which it has to act. Some situations are more favourable than others for an insightful
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solution. As a common observation, insight occurs when the learning situation is so arranged
that all the necessary aspects are open for observation.
Initial efforts: Insightful learning has to pass through the process of trial and error. But this
stage does not last long. These initial efforts, in the form of a simple trial and error
mechanism. The open way for insightful learning.
Repetition and Generalization: After having an insightful solution to a particular type of
problem, the organism tries to repeat it in another situation, demanding a similar type of
solution. The way found in one situation helps him to react insightfully in the other identical
situation
How do you apply the Gestalt theory of learning to your classroom teaching?
These are implications of the Gestalt principles in the teaching and learning process-
I. Law of Proximity: Related concepts or lessons should be taught aligned or closely to each
other. This is the reason why subtraction is taught after addition, multiplication after
subtraction then divi-sion after multiplication. Imagine teaching addition then jumping
directly to polygons.
II. Law of Similarity: Similar lessons or contents should be grouped together to make
learners develop understanding more efficiently and effectively. This is the reason why
lessons are grouped into units: Unit I is for human body, Unit II is for energy and motion, so
on and so forth.
Ill. Law of Closure: When a concept or topic is incomplete thus isn‟t “closed”, incomplete
information may make learners want to discover what‟s missing, rather than concentrating
on the given instruction. If students find a math algorithm confusing because a
certain question is left unanswered or a step isn‟t clear, they will tend to concentrate on that
confused part of the process rather than the total process as a whole. This is why students get
“lost”„. Thus, make the lesson complete. Present it clearly, simply and always be ready for
students‟ clarifications.
IV. Law of Good Continuation: Lessons should be presented in such a way that learners
will see these as connected and contin-uous. Now you know why we have the “Review” part
of the lesson plan. This way, students will realize that their new lesson actually
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has continuity and is related to what they already know or to the previous lesson.
V. Law of Pragnanz : Pragnanz states that when things are grasped as wholes, the minimal
amount of energy is exerted in thinking. In short, make your lesson holistic, complete and
most of all simple.
VI. Law of Figure/Ground : For a figure to be perceived, it must stand out from the
background. Emphasis should be done on important aspects of the lesson. For example,
teachers should vary the tone of their voice or write boldly or underline the important key
words of the lesson.

Tolman - Latent Learning

Latent learning is a type of learning which is not apparent in the learner's behavior at
the time of learning, but which manifests later when a suitable motivation and circumstances
appear. This shows that learning can occur without any reinforcement of a behavior.
The idea of latent learning was not original to Tolman, but he developed it further.
Edward Tolman argued that humans engage in this type of learning everyday as we drive or
walk the same route daily and learn the locations of various buildings and objects. Only
when we need to find a building or object does learning become obvious
Tolman conducted experiments with rats and mazes to examine the role that
reinforcement plays in the way that rats learn their way through complex mazes. These
experiments eventually led to the theory of latent learning
Cognitive maps as an example of latent learning in rats
Tolman coined the term cognitive map, which is an internal representation (or image)
of external environmental feature or landmark. He thought that individuals acquire large
numbers of cues (i.e. signals) from the environment and could use these to build a mental
image of an environment (i.e. a cognitive map).
By using this internal representation of a physical space they could get to the goal by
knowing where it is in a complex of environmental features. Short cuts and changeable
routes are possible with this model.

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 In their famous experiments Tolman and Honzik (1930) built a maze to investigate
latent learning in rats. The study also shows that rats actively process information rather than
operating on a stimulus response relationship.
To demonstrate that rats could make navigational decisions based on knowledge of the
envi-ronment, rather than their directional choices simply being dictated by the effects of
rewards.
Procedure
In their study 3 groups of rats had to find their way around a complex maze. At the
end of the maze there was a food box. Some groups of rats got to eat the food, some did not,
and for some rats the food was only available after 10 days.
Group 1: Rewarded
Day 1 – 17: Every time they got to end, given food (i.e. reinforced).
Group 2: Delayed Reward
Day 1 - 10: Every time they got to end, taken out.
Day 11 -17: Every time they got to end, given food (i.e. reinforced).
Group 3: No reward
Day 1 – 17: Every time they got to end, taken out.
Results
The delayed reward group learned the route on days 1 to 10 and formed a cognitive
map of the maze. They took longer to reach the end of the maze because there was no
motivation for them to perform.
From day 11 onwards they had a motivation to perform (i.e. food) and reached the end
before the reward group.

This shows that between stimulus (the maze) and response (reaching the end of the maze) a
mediational process was occurring the rats were actively processing information in their
brains by mentally using their cognitive map (which they had latently learned).

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Critical Evaluation
The behaviorists stated that psychology should study actual observable behavior, and
that nothing happens between stimulus and response (i.e. no cognitive processes take place).
Edward Tolman (1948) challenged these assumptions by proposing that people and animals
are active information processes and not passive learners as Behaviorism had suggested.
Tolman developed a cognitive view of learning that has become popular in modern
psychology.
Tolman believed individuals do more than merely respond to stimuli; they act on
beliefs, attitudes, changing conditions, and they strive toward goals. Tolman is virtually the
only behaviorists who found the stimulus-response theory unacceptable,
because reinforcement was not necessary for learning to occur. He felt behavior was mainly
cognitive.

ALBERT BANDURA AND SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

Social learning theory emphasizes on the importance of observing and modelling the
behaviours, attitudes and emotional reactions of others.  Social learning theory focuses on
the learning that occurs within a social context.  He stressed the importance of observational
learning, imitation and modeling.
ALBERT BANDURA
Born on December 4, 1925, Canadian, American Studied at University of British
Columbia and University of Lowa.
Researched and taught at Stanford University
Elected president of American Psychological Association in 1974
Famous for research on social learning theories.
“..most learning is gained by people‟s perception and thinking about what they
experience. They learn by copying the examples of others around them.” - Albert Bandura
BASIC SOCIAL LEARNING CONCEPTS  Observational Learning - People can
learn through observation Intrinsic Reinforcement – Mental states are important for learning

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 The Modeling Process – Learning does not lead to a change in behaviour.
OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING 
A live model: Involves an actual individual demonstrating or acting out a behavior. 
A verbal instructional model: Involves descriptions and explanations of a behavior. 
A symbolic model: Which involves real or fictional characters displaying behaviors
in books, films, television programs, or online media.
INTRINSIC REINFORCEMENT - Intrinsic reinforcement is a form of internal
reward, such as pride, satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment
THE MODELING PROCESS - Not all observed behaviors are effectively learned.
Factors involving both the model and the learner can play a role in whether social learning is
successful.  The following steps are involved in the observational learning and modeling
process:  Attention  Retention  Motor reproduction  Motivation
PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
People can learn by observing the behaviour of others and the outcomes of those
behaviors.  Learning can occur without a change in behavior.  Cognition plays a role in
learning.
SOCIAL LEARNING PERSPECTIVE OF REINFORCEMENT AND
PUNISHMENT 1) SLT proposes that both reinforcement and punishment have indirect
effects on learning. They are not the sole or main cause. 2) Reinforcement and punishment
influence the extent to which an individual exhibits a behaviour that has been learned. 3) The
expectation of reinforcement influences cognitive processes that promote learning. Therefore
attention pays a critical role in learning. And attention is influenced by the expectation of
reinforcement.
Social learning theory, proposed by Albert Bandura, emphasizes the importance of
observing, modelling, and imitating the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of
others. Social learning theory considers how both environmental and cognitive factors
interact to influence human learning and behavior.

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 In social learning theory, Albert Bandura (1977) agrees with the behaviorist learning
theories of classical conditioning and operant conditioning. However, he adds two important
ideas:
- Mediating processes occur between stimuli & responses.
- Behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational
learning.
Observational Learning
Children observe the people around them behaving in various ways. This is illustrated
during the famous Bobo doll experiment (Bandura, 1961).
Individuals that are observed are called models. In society, children are surrounded by
many influential models, such as parents within the family, characters on children‟s TV,
friends within their peer group and teachers at school. These models provide examples of
behavior to observe and imitate, e.g., masculine and feminine, pro and anti-social, etc.
Children pay attention to some of these people (models) and encode their behavior. At a
later time they may imitate (i.e., copy) the behavior they have observed.
They may do this regardless of whether the behavior is „gender appropriate‟ or not,
but there are a number of processes that make it more likely that a child will reproduce the
behavior that its society deems appropriate for its gender.
First, the child is more likely to attend to and imitate those people it perceives as
similar to itself. Consequently, it is more likely to imitate behavior modeled by people of the
same gender.
Second, the people around the child will respond to the behavior it imitates with either
reinforcement or punishment. If a child imitates a model‟s behavior and the consequences
are rewarding, the child is likely to continue performing the behavior.
If a parent sees a little girl consoling her teddy bear and says “what a kind girl you are,” this
is rewarding for the child and makes it more likely that she will repeat the behavior. Her
behavior has been reinforced (i.e., strengthened).
Reinforcement can be external or internal and can be positive or negative. If a child
wants approval from parents or peers, this approval is an external reinforcement, but feeling
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happy about being approved of is an internal reinforcement. A child will behave in a way
which it believes will earn approval because it desires approval.
Positive (or negative) reinforcement will have little impact if the reinforcement
offered externally does not match with an individual's needs. Reinforcement can be positive
or negative, but the important factor is that it will usually lead to a change in a person's
behavior.
Third, the child will also take into account of what happens to other people when
deciding whether or not to copy someone‟s actions. A person learns by observing the
consequences of another person‟s (i.e., models) behavior, e.g., a younger sister observing an
older sister being rewarded for a particular behavior is more likely to repeat that behavior
herself. This is known as vicarious reinforcement.
This relates to an attachment to specific models that possess qualities seen as
rewarding. Children will have a number of models with whom they identify. These may be
people in their immediate world, such as parents or older siblings, or could be fantasy
characters or people in the media. The motivation to identify with a particular model is that
they have a quality which the individual would like to possess.
Identification occurs with another person (the model) and involves taking on (or
adopting) observed behaviors, values, beliefs and attitudes of the person with whom you are
identifying.
The term identification as used by Social Learning Theory is similar to the Freudian
term related to the Oedipus complex. For example, they both involve internalizing or
adopting another person‟s behavior. However, during the Oedipus complex, the child can
only identify with the same sex parent, whereas with Social Learning Theory the person
(child or adult) can potentially identify with any other person.
Identification is different to imitation as it may involve a number of behaviors being
adopted, whereas imitation usually involves copying a single behavior.

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Mediational Processes
SLT is often described as the „bridge‟ between traditional learning theory
(i.e., behaviorism) and the cognitive approach. This is because it focuses on how mental
(cognitive) factors are involved in learning.
Unlike Skinner, Bandura (1977) believes that humans are active information
processors and think about the relationship between their behavior and its consequences.
Observational learning could not occur unless cognitive processes were at work. These
mental factors mediate (i.e., intervene) in the learning process to determine whether a new
response is acquired.
Therefore, individuals do not automatically observe the behavior of a model and
imitate it. There is some thought prior to imitation, and this consideration is called
mediational processes. This occurs between observing the behavior (stimulus) and imitating
it or not (response)
There are four mediational processes proposed by Bandura:
Attention: The individual needs to pay attention to the behavior and its consequences and
form a mental representation of the behavior. For a behavior to be imitated, it has to grab our
attention. We observe many behaviors on a daily basis, and many of these are not
noteworthy. Attention is therefore extremely important in whether a behavior influences
others imitating it.
Retention: How well the behavior is remembered. The behavior may be noticed but is it not
always remembered which obviously prevents imitation. It is important therefore that a
memory of the behavior is formed to be performed later by the observer.
Much of social learning is not immediate, so this process is especially vital in those cases.
Even if the behavior is reproduced shortly after seeing it, there needs to be a memory to refer
to.
Reproduction: This is the ability to perform the behavior that the model has just
demonstrated. We see much behavior on a daily basis that we would like to be able to
imitate but that this not always possible. We are limited by our physical ability and for that
reason, even if we wish to reproduce the behavior, we cannot.
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This influences our decisions whether to try and imitate it or not. Imagine the scenario of a
90-year-old-lady who struggles to walk watching Dancing on Ice. She may appreciate that
the skill is a desirable one, but she will not attempt to imitate it because she physically
cannot do it.
Motivation: The will to perform the behavior. The rewards and punishment that follow a
behavior will be considered by the observer. If the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived
costs (if there are any), then the behavior will be more likely to be imitated by the observer.
If the vicarious reinforcement is not seen to be important enough to the observer, then they
will not imitate the behavior.

Critical Evaluation
The social learning approach takes thought processes into account and acknowledges
the role that they play in deciding if a behavior is to be imitated or not. As such, SLT
provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognizing the role of
mediational processes.
For example, Social Learning Theory is able to explain many more complex social
behaviors (such as gender roles and moral behavior) than models of learning based
on simple reinforcement.
However, although it can explain some quite complex behavior, it cannot adequately
account for how we develop a whole range of behavior including thoughts and feelings. We
have a lot of cognitive control over our behavior and just because we have had experiences
of violence does not mean we have to reproduce such behavior.
It is for this reason that Bandura modified his theory and in 1986 renamed his Social
Learning Theory, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), as a better description of how we learn
from our social experiences.
Some criticisms of social learning theory arise from their commitment to the
environment as the chief influence on behavior. It is limiting to describe behavior solely in
terms of either nature or nurture and attempts to do this underestimate the complexity of

33
human behavior. It is more likely that behavior is due to an interaction between nature
(biology) and nurture (environment).
Social learning theory is not a full explanation for all behavior. This is particularly the
case when there is no apparent role model in the person‟s life to imitate for a given behavior.
The discovery of mirror neurons has lent biological support to the theory of social learning.
Although research is in its infancy the recent discovery of "mirror neurons" in primates may
constitute a neurological basis for imitation. These are neurons which fire both if the animal
does something itself, and if it observes the action being done by another.
Difference Between Behavioral and Cognitive Learning Theories
Behaviorism vs Cognitive psychology
Behaviorism is a branch of psychology that deals with actions of people based on
external environmental influences, whereas cognitive psychology is based on
the mental thought process that alters a person‟s behavior. Both behaviorism and cognitive
psychology are two different schools of thought of the field of psychology. They both deal
with human behavior. The difference lies in what they think is the cause behind the
behavior.
Behaviorists, that is psychologists belonging to the school of behaviorism, believe that
actions are influenced by one‟s external environment. Ivan Pavlov added the two methods of
conditioning behavior: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. In classical
conditioning, a person/animal can be trained or conditioned to act in a particular manner by
repetitive practice, that is conditioning. Operant conditioning is partly based on rewarding
desirable behaviors and partly on punishment for behavior which needs to be curbed.
Cognitive psychology, on the other hand, says actions are based on the mental processes of
reasoning, logical thinking, memory, motivational thoughts, positive and negative thoughts,
etc. It is a very important aspect of psychology as it differentiates humans from animals.
This branch of psychology is based on intellectual and logical reasoning which only humans
are capable of.
Let us take an example of a student trying to learn to understand the difference in
approach of these two schools of thought. According to behaviorism, the student learns
34
mainly due to the rewards that he gets on learning properly and the punishment he gets if
learning is not up to the mark. According to cognitive psychology, students learn due to their
motivational thoughts and inner (mental) thought process, which provokes them to study to
gain more knowledge.
Both the branches have made tremendous contributions to the field of applied
psychology. Behaviorism is useful in detoxification and rehabilitation centers for alcohol
and drug addiction. In cases of de-sensitization to stimuli that provoke panic attacks, it has
been found to be very helpful. Cognitive psychology is used to treat depression, suicidal
tendencies, generalized anxiety disorder and other psychiatric disorders.
For example, if a person with depression gets rejected in an interview, his line of
thought will be that he is useless and that he cannot do anything in life, and that he is
a failure in all aspects, etc. A normal person with a positive attitude in life will think that the
interviewer didn‟t pay much attention to his answers or maybe they found someone better
than him to appoint, etc. A cognitive psychology therapist will help the depressed person to
identify the problem in the situation, logically channelize the train of thoughts to goals
which are achievable and improve the thinking so as to have a positive outlook on life. He
will counsel the patient, mainly to develop a clearer thought process and break the chain of
negative thoughts. In cases of suicidal patients, therapists help to change the attitude of the
patient, make them appreciate the good things in life and try to return to a normal life.
Rather than prescribing anti-depressants, cognitive psychology aims at understanding the
problem and correcting it. It doesn‟t provide merely symptomatic relief as is done by
psychiatrists.
Summary:
Though behaviorism and cognitive psychology are very different, both are needed by
therapists and both are important in their own way depending on the patient and the
situation. While behaviorism rests on the principle that external environment and
circumstances can alter a person‟s behavior, cognitive psychology holds that a person‟s
attitude, logic, reasoning and thinking change the behavior.

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 The main difference between behavioral and cognitive learning theories is
that behavioral learning theory only focuses on external observable behavior while
cognitive learning theory focuses on internal mental processes.
Behaviorism and cognitivism are two theories that explain the learning process of
human beings. Behaviorist approach was developed by John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner in
the early twentieth century while cognitive development theory was developed by Jean
Piaget as a response to Behaviorism. Behavioral approach focuses on behaviors while
cognitive approach focuses on cognitive processes like memory and decision making.

What is Behavioral Learning Theory

Behavioral learning theory is a learning theory that focuses on observable behaviors
and discounts any independent mental activity. According to this theory, learning is
considered to occur only when we can see the results. This is because behaviorists are
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interested in seeing a change in behavior. Moreover, the acquisition of new behavior based
on environmental conditions.
Stimulus and response are a key concept in behaviorist learning theory. In fact, this is
similar to cause and effect. Stimuli are the things that provoke reactions, while responses
are the reaction to stimuli. If you give students the correct stimulus, they will give you the
response they want. This gives birth to the idea of rewards and punishments. For example, if
a student has completed all his homework correctly, the teacher will reward him by praising
him. Likewise, if a student has not done his homework, the teacher will punish him in order
to make sure that he doesn‟t repeat this behavior.
Moreover, the idea of Tabular Rasa (an empty slate) is another concept is
behaviorism. Behaviorists believe that children are born with no knowledge; they learn
through experience and their experience (the rewards and punishments they get) shape how
they behave.
Furthermore, there are two main types of behaviorism as classic conditioning and
behavioral or operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is concerned with involuntary
responses or natural reflexes to stimuli. A student‟s irrational fears or anxieties like fear of
public speaking is an example. Operant conditioning, on the other hand, occurs when a
response to a stimulus is reinforced. Here, if a certain response to a stimulus is rewarded,
that response is more likely to be repeated. If it‟s punished, it‟s not likely to be repeated. The
following diagram explains this concept in detail.

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Figure 1: Operant Conditioning
Limitations of Behavioral Theory
- Ignores thought, motivation and cognition
- Cannot explain all forms of learning since it only focuses on the observable changes in
the behavior and disregards the activities of the mind (for example, a child picking up
a language)
- Ignores social dimensions of learning
What is Cognitive Learning Theory
Cognitive learning theory is a broad theory that explains how humans‟ mind work
while they learn. This theory focuses on how the human brain process information and how
learning occurs through the internal processing of information. This theory is credited to
Jean Piaget, an educational psychologist who believed that learners actively construct
knowledge based on their existing cognitive structures. Moreover, this cognitive learning is
based on individuals cognitively processing input to result in a behaviour. There are various
elements in mental processes such as organizing, interpreting, categorizing, attention,
forming generalizations, etc.
We can further categorize cognitive learning theory into two groups: Cognitive
Behavioral Theory (CBT) and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). CBT focuses on the role of
cognition in the behavioral pattern of individuals. SCT describes the influence of individual
experiences, the actions of others, and environmental factors on individual behaviors.
Moreover, there are three main variables in SCT: behavioral factors, environmental factors
(extrinsic factors), and personal factors (intrinsic factors). These three variables interrelate
with each other, causing learning to occur.
Behavioral learning theory is a learning theory that focuses on observable behaviors
and discounts any independent mental activity. In contrast, Cognitive learning theory is a
broad learning theory that explains how humans‟ mind work while they learn.
Moreover, behavioral learning theory is based on the concept of stimulus and
response, while cognitive learning theory is based on mental processes.

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Focus
Behavioral learning theory focuses on observable behaviors, while cognitive learning
focuses on mental activities and processes.
Key Contributors
J. B. Watson and B. F. Skinner are the main contributors to behaviorist learning
theory while Jean Paget is the main contributor to cognitive learning theory.
Conclusion
In brief, behavioral learning theory is a learning theory that focuses on observable
behaviors and discounts any independent mental activity. In contrast, cognitive learning
theory is a broad learning theory that explains how humans‟ mind work while they learn.
The main difference between behavioral and cognitive learning theory is that the former
focuses on observable behaviors while the latter focuses on mental activities and processes.

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