11 Learning

Dolphins are conditioned to associate performing tricks with receiving tasty rewards.

What are the principles of learning?

• Learning is the process through which experience results in a relatively permanent change in future behavior.
• Behaviorists B.F. Skinner and John B. Watson believed that most behavior can be explained as the product of simple forms of learning.
• Organisms have biological predispositions to learn certain types of associations such as natural fear of situations that threaten survival.

How do reflexes condition our responses to stimuli?

• We naturally respond in certain ways to certain stimuli. Classical conditioning takes advantage of these reflexive responses by teaching us to respond reflexively to formerly neutral stimuli.

How does association shape our behavior?

• When we associate our actions with either positive or negative consequences, we undergo operant conditioning. We are likely to repeat behaviors that have positive consequences and abandon behaviors that have negative consequences.

What can we learn from watching others?

• We can learn to perform certain actions by watching others performing those actions and imitating their actions ourselves. This technique is known as observational learning.
• Through observational learning, we can learn both aggressive and prosocial behaviors.

What brain processes take place when we learn?

• When we learn, neurons fire and the synaptic connections between those neurons become stronger. This process is known as long-term potentiation.
• There are two types of memory consolidation: synaptic consolidation, which takes place hours after learning, and system consolidation, which takes place days or weeks after learning. Sleep helps us retain new information.