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

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 3

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 4

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 5

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 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

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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