Question 1

Q1: What is learning? What are its distinguishing features?

Accepted Answer

Learning is defined as "any relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential produced by experience". It is a key process in human behaviour that allows us to adapt and solve problems. The distinguishing features of learning are:    Experience is Necessary: Learning always involves...

Question 2

Q1: 1. What is learning? What are its distinguishing features?

Accepted Answer

Based on the chapter, learning is defined as "any relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential produced by experience". It is a key process in human behaviour that allows us to adapt and solve problems. The distinguishing features of learning are:    Experience-Based: Learning a...

Question 3

Q10: 10. Explain the different forms of cognitive learning?

Accepted Answer

Cognitive learning focuses on the mental processes that underlie learning, emphasizing a change in what the learner knows rather than just what they do. The chapter discusses two main forms of cognitive learning: 1.  Insight Learning: This form of learning was demonstrated by Wolfgang Kohler in his...

Question 4

Q11: 11. How can we identify students with learning disabilities?

Accepted Answer

A learning disability is a heterogeneous group of disorders related to difficulties in acquiring skills like reading, writing, speaking, and reasoning. According to the chapter, students with learning disabilities can be identified through several characteristic symptoms, which may appear in various...

Question 5

Q2: How does classical conditioning demonstrate learning by association?

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning, first investigated by Ivan Pavlov, demonstrates learning by association by showing how a neutral stimulus can come to elicit a reflexive response after being repeatedly paired with a stimulus that naturally elicits that response. In Pavlov's experiment: 1.  Initial State: Foo...

Question 6

Q2: 2. How does classical conditioning demonstrate learning by association?

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning, first investigated by Ivan Pavlov, demonstrates learning by association through a process of pairing stimuli. It is a form of S-S learning, where one stimulus becomes a signal for another. The process involves the following: 1.  Initial State: An Unconditioned Stimulus (US),...

Question 7

Q3: Define operant conditioning. Discuss the factors that influence the course of operant conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Operant or instrumental conditioning, first investigated by B.F. Skinner, is a form of learning in which behaviour is learned, maintained, or changed through its consequences. It involves voluntary responses, called operants, which an organism emits to 'operate' on the environment. The core principl...

Question 8

Q3: 3. Define operant conditioning. Discuss the factors that influence the course of operant conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Operant or instrumental conditioning, first investigated by B.F. Skinner, is a form of learning in which a voluntary behaviour (an operant) is learned, maintained, or changed through its consequences. The organism 'operates' on the environment, and the consequences of its actions determine the likel...

Question 9

Q4: 4. A good role model is very important for a growing up child. Discuss the kind of learning that supports it.

Accepted Answer

The importance of a good role model for a growing child is supported by the concept of observational learning, also known as social learning or modeling. This form of learning, investigated by Albert Bandura, explains how individuals, especially children, acquire new behaviours by observing others (...

Question 10

Q4: A good role model is very important for a growing up child. Discuss the kind of learning that supports it.

Accepted Answer

The importance of a good role model for a growing child is supported by the principles of observational learning, also known as social learning or modeling. This type of learning occurs when an individual acquires new behaviours by observing others (the models) and emulating their actions. As explai...

Question 11

Q5: 5. Explain the procedures for studying verbal learning.

Accepted Answer

Verbal learning involves the acquisition of knowledge in the form of words and the associations between them. Psychologists use several methods to study this process in a laboratory setting: 1.  Paired-Associates Learning: This method is used to study how associations are formed between pairs of ite...

Question 12

Q5: Explain the procedures for studying verbal learning.

Accepted Answer

Verbal learning involves acquiring knowledge and associations in terms of words. Psychologists use several specific laboratory methods to study it: 1.  Paired-Associates Learning: This method is used to study how people associate pairs of items, similar to S-S or S-R learning.         A list of pair...

Question 13

Q6: 6. What is a skill? What are the stages through which skill learning develops?

Accepted Answer

A skill is defined as the ability to perform a complex task smoothly and efficiently. It consists of a chain of perceptual-motor responses learned through practice and exercise. Examples include car driving, writing, and piloting an airplane. According to Fitts, skill learning develops through three...

Question 14

Q6: What is a skill? What are the stages through which skill learning develops?

Accepted Answer

A skill is defined as the ability to perform a complex task smoothly and efficiently. Skills, such as driving a car, writing, or piloting an airplane, are learned through practice and exercise and consist of a chain of perceptual-motor responses. According to Fitts, skill learning develops through t...

Question 15

Q7: 7. How can you distinguish between generalisation and discrimination?

Accepted Answer

Generalisation and discrimination are two complementary processes in learning that relate to how an organism responds to different stimuli.    Generalisation: This is the phenomenon of responding similarly to stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimulus. Generalisation is a response...

Question 16

Q7: How can you distinguish between generalisation and discrimination?

Accepted Answer

Generalisation and discrimination are two complementary processes in learning, particularly in conditioning. They can be distinguished based on whether the response is due to similarity or difference between stimuli.    Generalisation:        Definition: Generalisation is the phenomenon of respondin...

Question 17

Q8: Why is motivation a prerequisite for learning?

Accepted Answer

Motivation is considered a prerequisite for learning because it is the mental and physiological state that energises an organism to act vigorously to attain a goal. Without motivation, the drive to engage in the behaviours necessary for learning is absent. Here is why motivation is essential: 1.  En...

Question 18

Q8: 8. Why is motivation a prerequisite for learning?

Accepted Answer

Motivation is a prerequisite for learning because it is the internal state that energises an organism to act vigorously to attain a goal and fulfill a need. Without motivation, an organism lacks the drive to engage in the behaviours necessary for learning to occur. The chapter highlights this in sev...

Question 19

Q9: 9. What does the notion of preparedness for learning mean?

Accepted Answer

The notion of 'preparedness for learning' refers to the idea that different species have biological constraints on their learning capacities. It means that an organism is genetically endowed with mechanisms that make it easy to learn certain associations, while making other associations extremely di...

Question 20

Q9: What does the notion of preparedness for learning mean?

Accepted Answer

The notion of preparedness for learning means that members of different species have biological constraints on their learning capacities. It suggests that an organism can easily acquire certain types of associations because it is genetically endowed with or 'prepared' for that specific kind of learn...

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