- Classical conditioning: A form of learning in which a previously neutral stimulus (a neutral stimulus is one that does not elicit a particular response) acquires the power to elicit a response after the stimulus is repeatedly associated with another stimulus that ordinarily does elicit the response.
- Operant (instrumental) conditioning: A form of learning in which a response continues to be made because it has been reinforced or stops being made because it has been punished; also called instrumental conditioning, because the learner is instrumental in changing the environment to bring about either reinforcement or punishment.
Social learning theory is closely associated with the prominent theorist Albert Bandura. Bandura illustrated that much learning occurs through the observation and imitation of models and that it can be maintained through reinforcement. This means that instruction can be made more efficient by modelling desired behaviours of functional value to learners and by providing situations that allow them to use or practise those behaviours to improve their retention.
While social learning theory has its roots in behaviourism, Bandura found that a simple focus on stimulus and response was too simplistic to explain the complexity of human thought and behaviour. He recognised that the social context of learning is important and that individuals influence their environment as well as being moulded by it. Over thirty years of research, he also became increasingly aware of the role of cognition in learning, understanding that people’s cognitive processes allow them to, for example, pay attention to models, use symbols to stand in for a model’s behaviour, and mentally organise and reorganise information.
Pavlov (1902) started from the idea that there are some things that a dog does not need to learn. For example, dogs don’t learn to salivate whenever they see food. This reflex is ‘hard wired’ into the dog. In behaviorist terms, it is an unconditioned response. In his experiment, Pavlov used a bell as his neutral stimulus. Whenever he gave food to his dogs, he also rang a bell. After a number of repeats of this procedure, he tried the bell on its own. As you might expect, the bell on its own now caused an increase in salivation.
So the dog had learned an association between the bell and the food and a new behavior had been learnt. Because this response was learned (or conditioned), it is called a conditioned response. The neutral stimulus has become a conditioned stimulus.
Pavlov found that for associations to be made, the two stimuli had to be presented close together in time. He called this the law of temporal contiguity. If the time between the conditioned stimulus (bell) and unconditioned stimulus (food) is too great, then learning will not occur.
Pavlov and his studies of classical conditioning have become famous since his early work between 1890-1930. Classical conditioning is "classical" in that it is the first systematic study of basic laws of learning / conditioning.
Ivan Pavlov showed that classical conditioning applied to animals. Did it also apply to humans? In a famous (though ethically dubious) experiment Watson and Rayner (1920) showed that it did.
Little Albert was a 9-month-old infant who was tested on his reactions to various stimuli. He was shown a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey and various masks. Albert described as "on the whole stolid and unemotional" showed no fear of any of these stimuli. However what did startle him and cause him to be afraid was if a hammer was struck against a steel bar behind his head. The sudden loud noise would cause "little Albert to burst into tears.
When "Little Albert" was just over 11 months old the white rat was presented and seconds later the hammer was struck against the steel bar. This was done 7 times over the next 7 weeks and each time "little Albert" burst into tears. By now "little Albert only had to see the rat and he immediately showed every sign of fear. He would cry (whether or not the hammer was hit against the steel bar) and he would attempt to crawl away.
Watson and Rayner had shown that classical conditioning could be used to create a phobia. A phobia is an irrational fear, i.e. a fear that is out of proportion to the danger. Over the next few weeks and months "Little Albert" was observed and 10 days after conditioning his fear of the rat was much less marked. This dying out of a learned response is called extinction. However even after a full month it was still evident.