U3AOS2A - Learning

Question 1

Define learning

Answer 1

• Relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience
• Can be intentional or unintentional (active or passive)

Question 2

How is it known that learning has taken place?

Answer 2

• Can be inferred due to modifications in the response of the organism to stimuli provided in the environment

Question 3

Define behaviourist approaches

Answer 3

• An approach to learning that states that behaviours are learned through interactions with the environment

Question 4

Define conditioning

Answer 4

• The learning process by which the behaviour of an organism becomes dependent on an event/stimulus occurring in its environment

Question 5

Define stimulus

Answer 5

• Any object or event that elicits a response from an organism

Question 6

Define response

Answer 6

• A reaction by an organism to a stimulus

Question 7

Define classical conditioning

Answer 7

• Occurs through the repeated association of 2 or more different stimuli
• Learning is said to have occurred when a particular stimulus consistently produces a response that it did not previously produce
• Involuntary linking of neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus over a number of trials

Question 8

Explain the 5 components of classical conditioning

Answer 8

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) - Any stimulus that consistently produces a particular, naturally occurring, automatic response
• Unconditioned Response (UCR) - Response that occurs automatically when the UCS is presented
  
  • Reflexive involuntary response predictably caused by a UCS
• Neutral Stimulus (NS) - Any stimulus that does not normally produce a predictable response
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS) - Stimulus that is ‘neutral’ at the start of the conditioning process but eventually elicits a similar response to what is caused by the UCS
• Conditioned Response (CR) - Learned response produced by the CS
  
  • Similar to UCR but is triggered by the CS alone

Note : When answering a question, things like ‘Unconditioned Stimulus’ must be written in full at least once because abbreviating

Question 9

Explain the 3 phases of classical conditioning

Answer 9

• Before
  
  • UCS and NS are seperate
  • No learning has taken place yet
• During
  
  • UCS and NS are repeatedly paired together through acquisition
  • Presented simultaneously OR NS is followed closely by UCS
• After
  
  • NS becomes CS and produces a CR without the presence of a UCS
  • Conditioned (learned) response is not necessarily the same as the unconditioned response

Question 10

Explain acquisition in relation to classical conditioning

Answer 10

• The overall process of pairing the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned (neutral) stimulus
• Each pairing is referred to as a ‘trial’
• Stimuli occur in close succession and always in the same sequence
• Duration can vary
• Rate of learning is very fast early on into the acquisition process

NOTE : Questions about acquisition require a statement about the presentation of when the NS and UCS are presented (close succession)

Question 11

What is extinction?

Answer 11

• When the CS is presented alone, CR declines irregularly until it is extinguished and no longer occurs

Question 12

Name and explain the 3 factors that influence classical conditioning

Answer 12

• Nature of Response
  
  • UCR must be automatic and involuntary (reflex)
  • Anticipatory Behaviour - Learning to expect an event, may not occur without any thought like Pavlov proposed
• Association of Stimuli
  
  • If an individual does not associate the 2 stimuli, conditioning will not occur
  • Contiguity - Associating events that occur close together in time and/or space
• Timing of NS and UCS pairing
  
  • NS should be presented before the UCS
  • Should occur not more than half a second before the UCS
  • According to Pavlov, longer time intervals were less effective

Question 13

Define operant conditioning

Answer 13

• Also known as instrumental conditioning
• A learning process where the consequences of the behaviour determine the likelihood that it will be performed again in the future
• Learner is voluntarily aware of the behaviour they are exhibiting in response to stimuli

Question 14

What is an operant?

Answer 14

• An operant is a voluntary response that acts on the environment to produce some kind of consequence
• ‘Operating to produce an effect’
• First appear spontaneously and can be controlled by the organism but are greatly influenced by their consequences

Question 15

Why is operant conditioning a form of associative learning?

Answer 15

• Because stimuli is associated with responses (consequences)

Question 16

What is an antecedent in relation to classical conditioning?

Answer 16

• An antecedent is something that precedes behaviour
• Within classical conditioning an antecedent that elicits a specific response is paired with an antecedent that does not elicit the response

Question 17

Define antecedent

Answer 17

• An environmental stimulus that has become associated with the consequence of a voluntary behaviour
• It NEEDS to be from the ENVIRONMENT and directly precede the behaviour
• Presents a choice

Question 18

Explain the 3 phases of operant conditioning

Answer 18

• Antecedent - What happened before
  
  • Anything in the organism’s environment
  • Already in place before any behaviour occurs
  • Can signal that behaving in a certain way is likely to produce a specific consequence
  • Cues that tell us what to do
  • When it influences behaviour it is called an antecedent stimulus/condition or discriminative stimulus
• Behaviour - What happens
  
  • Voluntary action that occurs in the presence of the antecedent stimulus
  • Can be one specific action or a pattern of actions
  • Has an effect on the environment
• Consequence - What happens after
  
  • Environmental event that occurs immediately after the behaviour
  • Has effect on the occurrence of the behaviour

ABC’s

Question 19

Define reinforcement and punishment

Answer 19

• Reinforcement - Process in which a stimulus strengthens or increases the frequency/ likelihood of a response it follows
  
  • Positive - ADDING a desirable stimulus
  • Negative - REMOVING an undesirable stimulus
• Punishment - Process in which a stimulus weakens or decreases the frequency/ likelihood of a response it follows
  
  • Positive - ADDING an undesirable stimulus
  • Negative - REMOVING a desirable stimulus (response cost)

Question 20

What affects the effectiveness of a consequence?

Answer 20

• Appropriateness
  
  • Recipient must interpret it in the desired way or it will not be effective
• Timing
  
  • Consequence needs to be given immediately after the response
  • If there is a delay, learning will either be slow or not occur at all
• Order
  
  • Consequence needs to be given after a response

Question 21

Distinguish between reward and reinforcement

Answer 21

• Both intended as a positively connotated consequence
• Reinforcer WILL strengthen or increase the likelihood of a behaviour whereas a reward will only tend to
• A stimulus may be a reward but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a positive reinforcer unless it promotes or strengthens behaviour

Question 22

Explain the mechanisms of neural plasticity involved in the process of operant conditioning

Answer 22

• Learning a behaviour demonstrates LTP
• Repeated activation of neurons associated with behaviour and consequence leads to strengthening of relevant synapses
• Allows individual to form strong association between them, making them less/ more likely to repeat the behaviour in future

Question 23

Distinguish between classical and operant conditioning

Answer 23

• Role of Learner
  
  • Classical - Passive
  • Operant - Active
• Timing/Order of Stimulus and Behaviour
  
  • Classical - Stimulus then behaviour
  • Operant - Behaviour then stimulus
• Nature of Response
  
  • Classical - Reflexive, involuntary
  • Operant - Voluntary and involuntary

Question 24

What are similarities between classical and operant conditioning?

Answer 24

• Response Acquisition
  
  • Both have three phases
  • Classical - Before During After
  • Operant - Antecedent Behaviour Consequence
• Response is not Permanent
  
  • Classical - Lost through extinction
  • Operant - Lost over time if there is no consequence
• Require Several Trials in order for learning to occur

Question 25

Is the social cognitive theory seperate from conditioning?

Answer 25

• No because operant and classical conditioning can occur vicariously

Question 26

Is the behaviour in observational learning immediately replicated after observation?

Answer 26

• No because the observer has to first be aware of and process the information relevant to the event
• Need to have a mental representation of the information

Question 27

What are latent skills?

Answer 27

• Things we learn through observation that can remain hidden without any immediately observable change in behaviour because there is no motivation, reinforcement or need to reproduce it

Question 28

Define social cognitive approach

Answer 28

• Active learning that occurs through observing and thinking about behaviours of others

Also referred to as observational learning

Question 29

Why is observational learning referred to as modelling?

Answer 29

• There needs to be an example to observe and replicate

Question 30

Why is observational learning a method of social learning?

Answer 30

• Occurs due to the learner observing a model’s actions and their consequences in a social context in order to guide their future actions

Question 31

What are the two types of modelling?

Answer 31

• Live - Real-Life
• Symbolic - Through media like shows

Question 32

What are the 5 components of observational learning?

Answer 32

• Attention
  
  • Closely watching a model’s behaviour and the consequences
  • Not attending to the behaviour will result in not recognising the distinctive features of the observed behaviour
  • May fail to notice consequences
  • Influenced by if it is a necessary behaviour, important and the effect it may have
  • Generally, the greater the similarities between the model and learner, the more likely they will pay attention to the model
• Retention
  
  • Having a mental representation of the behaviour
  • The more meaningful the representation is, the more accurately we can replicate it
• Reproduction
  
  • Attempt to imitate what has been observed
  • Need to have the mental and physical capacity/capability to do so
  • Behaviour must be within the learner’s competency levels
• Motivation
  
  • Desire to reproduce what was observed
  • Behaviour needs to be useful/ provide an incentive or reward
• Reinforcement
  
  • Influences the motivation to reproduce the desired behaviour
  • Increases or decreases likelihood of reproduction

ARRMR!!

Question 33

When is a learner more likely to imitate a model’s behaviour?

Reproduction

Answer 33

• If the model is reinforced for their behaviour

Question 34

What makes a learner more likely to pay attention to the model?

Attention

Answer 34

• If the model is…
  
  • Attractive
  • Credible
  • Well respected
  • Authority figure
  • Has similar traits to the learner
  • Familiar to the observer and known through previous observation
  • Demonstrating behaviour that the observer percieves themselves as being able to imitate

Question 35

Can one component of observational learning be absent?

Answer 35

• All components have to be present

Question 36

Do the components of observational learning have to be in order?

Answer 36

• The first 3 stages have to occur in order
• Motivation and Reinforcement can occur interchangeably

Question 37

Compare and contrast between observational learning and operant conditioning

Answer 37

• Similarity
  
  • Have consequences
• Differences
  
  • OC is direct, OL is indirect
  • OC’s learned response is shown immediately, OL’s response can be delayed and displayed later

Question 38

Contrast between observational learning and classical conditioning

Answer 38

• OL is voluntary, CC is reflexive
• OL is through watching another’s behaviour, CC is direct
• OL has a stimulus after the behaviour, CC does not
• OL can have a delay between the behaviour and consequence, CC cannot have a lengthy delay between NS and UCS
• OL requires learner to be actively paying attention, in CC learner is passive

Question 39

What are the types of motivation in observational learning?

Answer 39

• Instrinsic - Within individual
• Extrinsic - Outside of the individual

Question 40

What are the types of reinforcement in relation to observational learning?

Answer 40

• Self-Reinforcement
• External Reinforcement
• Vicarious Reinforcement
  
  • Observation of reinforcement of others performing the same behaviour
• Vicarious Punishment
  
  • Observation of punishment of others performing the same behaviour

Vicarious Punishment is not a type of reinforcement but just a consequence to consider

Question 41

What is the form of learning for Aboriginal peoples called? How is it defined?

Answer 41

• Ways of Knowing
• Understandings of Country as a system on inter-related living entities, embedded in cultural practices
• Multimodal form, shared and learnt in multimodal ways
  
  • Narratives
  • Song
  • Dance
  • Ceremony

Question 42

What does ‘Country’ mean?

Answer 42

• The land, waterways and seas to which Aboriginal peoples are connected through ancestral ties and family origins
  
  • Has culture embedded within → Heritage, customs
• Entities are sentient and hold knowledge
• Connection to Country is spiritual and physical

Question 43

Distinguish between Ways of Knowing and the western approach to learning

Answer 43

• Differences
  
  • Ways of knowing combines aspects of day to day life and teaching for learning whereas western culture tends to seperate these aspects (science seperate from art, plumber seperate from teaching)
  • Ways of knowing is multimodal, western is predominantly written

Question 44

State and explain a similarity between observational learning and Ways of Knowing

Answer 44

• Learning is more effective when the model/teacher is familiar to and liked by the learner
  
  • OL - Likely to pay attention to a model that is similar to them and percieved positively
  • WOK - Learner and teacher must know and trust each other for learning to be successful

OR

• Both rely on observation

Question 45

What does a learner have to achieve in ways of knowing?

Answer 45

• Respect to entities other than people
• Learn THROUGH entities and not about them
• Teacher and student having a kinship, defines relationship to Country
• Should choose to be part of the learning journey and to grow with the knowledge system instead of simply just wanting to have a piece of knowledge from the system

Question 46

Describe a benefit of Ways of Knowing approaching knowledge as being ‘collectively owned’

Answer 46

• Collective ownership means one person does not have to bear entire responsibility for the information
  
  • Everyone is encouraged to learn and pass on information → More likely to be retained and transmitted to future generations

Question 47

Outline how Country may play a role in Ways of Knowing

Answer 47

• Provides opportunity to ‘learn by doing’
• Involves ceremonies and traditional practices, which when carried out on Country assists in the learning process

Question 48

Name the interconnected 8 ways in Indigenous learning

Answer 48

• Non-verbal
  
  • See, think, act make and share without words
• Non-Linear
  
  • Different ideas together and creating new knowledge
• Community Links
  
  • New knowledge to help the mob, community benefit
• Land Links
  
  • Working with lessons from land and nature
• Deconstruct/Reconstruct
  
  • Working from wholes to parts, watching then doing
• Symbols and Images
  
  • Images and metaphors to understand concepts and content - Art
• Learning Maps
  
  • Picturing pathways of knowledge
• Story Sharing
  
  • Learning through narrative

Question 49

How would an answer for a question asking about classical conditioning be structured?

Answer 49

• All stages have to be clear with each corresponding element present
• VCAA accepts answers with abbreviations
• When mentioning responses (UCR, CR), must state what they are a response TO (what stimulus causes it)
• Before Conditioning
  
  • Must have NS and UCS as well as the UCR it produces
  • Must include that the NS does not yet produce a response
• During Conditioning
  
  • State that the NS (name related to the question) and the UCS are repeatedly paired
  • (Optional) Mention that the process is called acquisition, with each pairing being a trial
• After Conditioning
  
  • State that the NS has become the CS and can therefore produce a response ON ITS OWN without the UCS
  • Clearly identify the CR, may be slightly different to the UCS

Question 50

How would an answer for a question asking about operant conditioning be structured?

Answer 50

• Explicitly name each stage
• Name the type of consequence
• (For consequence) Explain what is involved and whether it will increase or decrease the likelihood of behaviour reoccuring

Question 51

How would an answer for a question asking about observational learning be structured?

Answer 51

• Must signpost each part of the application with key psychological terms
  
  • Name of the stage
  • Specific behaviour within the scenario
  • Specific model within the scenario
  • Key words relevant to the stage (i.e mental representation in retention)
  • Specific learner within the scenario

Question 52

Why is a negative stimulus effective for establishing an avoidance response to a formerly NS?

Answer 52

• Powerful UCS that produces a reflexive fear response
• Strongly related to innate survival mechanisms
• Learning is quick when related to survival (pain/shock)
• Powerful emotional learning via the amygdala → Strong association with NS