5.2 What Is Learning?

LO 1     Define learning.

When does learning begin? Studies suggest that learning can begin before we are even born—prior to birth, a baby has already begun to single out the sound of his mother’s voice (Kisilevsky et al., 2008). And learning may continue until our dying day. But what exactly is learning? Psychologists define learning as a relatively enduring change in behavior or thinking that results from our experiences. Although learning leads to changes in the brain, including alterations to individual neurons as well as their networks, modifications of behavior and thinking are not always permanent (a fact that will be discussed later in the chapter).

CONNECTIONS

In Chapter 2, we described circumstances in which learning influences the brain and how the brain influences learning. For example, dopamine plays an important role in learning through reinforcement, attention, and regulating body movements. Neurogenesis (the generation of new neurons) is also thought to be associated with learning.

The ability to learn is not unique to humans. Trout can learn to press a pendulum to get food (Yue, Duncan, & Moccia, 2008); orangutans can pick up whistling (Wich et al., 2009); and, research suggests, even honeybees can be trained to differentiate among photos of human faces (Dyer, Neumeyer, & Chittka, 2005). One of the most basic forms of learning occurs during the process of habituation (hah-bi-chü-ā-shən), which is evident when an organism does not respond as strongly or as often to an event or occurrence following multiple exposures to that event. This type of learning is apparent in a wide range of living beings, from humans to sea slugs (Chapter 6). Although an organism might initially respond to a stimulus, which is an event that generally leads to a response or reaction, with repeated exposures, the stimulus is increasingly ignored and habituation occurs. Essentially, an organism learns about a stimulus but begins to ignore it as it is repeated.

In Chapter 3, we discussed sensory adaptation, which is the tendency to become less aware of constant stimuli. Becoming habituated to sensory input keeps us alert to changes in the environment.

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A great deal of research on learning has been conducted using a wide range of animals. The history of psychology is full of stories about scientists who began studying animal biology but then switched their focus to the study of animal behavior as unexpected events unfolded in the laboratory. These scientists were often excited to find the connections between biology and experience that became evident as they explored the principles of learning.

CONNECTIONS

In Chapter 1, we described the theme of nature and nurture, which examines the relative weight of biology and environment. Some scientists who initially studied the biological and innate aspects (nature) of animals shifted their focus and began to study how experiences and learning (nurture) influenced these animals.

Animals are often excellent models for studying and understanding human behavior. Conducting research with them sidesteps many of the ethical dilemmas that arise with human research. It’s generally considered okay to keep rats, cats, and birds in cages (as long as they are otherwise treated humanely) to ensure control over experimental variables, but locking up people in laboratories would obviously be unacceptable.

In Chapter 1, we discussed Institutional Review Boards, which must approve all research with human participants and animal subjects to ensure safe and humane procedures.

This chapter focuses on three major types of learning: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. As you make your way through these pages, you will begin to realize that learning is very much about creating associations. Through classical conditioning, we associate two different stimuli: for example, the sound of a bell and food. In operant conditioning, we make connections between our behaviors and their consequences: for example, through rewards and punishments. With observational learning, we learn by watching and imitating other people, establishing a closer link between our behavior and the behavior of others.

Suited Up to Swim Ivonne and her guide prepare for the 2012 Paratriathlon World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand. Ivonne is about to begin the swim portion of the triathlon, which takes place in the frigid ocean waters along Queens Wharf. She wears a wetsuit to keep her warm. The red string just below her knee is the tether that keeps her connected to the guide.
G. John Schmidt/Courtesy Ivonne Mosquera-Schmidt

Learning can occur in predictable or unexpected ways. It allows us to grow and change, and it is a key to achieving goals. Now let’s see how learning has shaped the lives of Ivonne Mosquera-Schmidt and Jeremy Lin. We begin in the most unexpected place: the locker room of a swimming pool.

AN OMINOUS SMELL

Ivonne is on her way to swim practice. As she walks through the locker room and approaches the entrance to the pool, she catches a whiff of chlorine. Immediately, her shoulders tense and her heart rate jumps. The smell of chlorine gives Ivonne the jitters, not because there is something inherent about the chemical that causes a physical reaction, but because it is associated with something she dreads: swimming.

“I’ve never been a strong swimmer,” Ivonne says. “I just survive in water.” Submerging her ears in water, which is necessary when she swims the freestyle stroke in triathlons, makes Ivonne feel disoriented. “I can’t hear what’s around me,” she explains. “There aren’t sounds or echoes for me to follow.”

Feeling awkward in the water wouldn’t be much of an issue were Ivonne just a recreational swimmer, taking occasional dips at the beach or in the pool. But swimming in triathlons is a serious and potentially dangerous proposition. Imagine navigating a mile in the frigid ocean bordering Canada in the Vancouver Triathlon, or plowing through choppy waves (not to mention dodging pieces of trash) in the Hudson River in New York City’s Triathlon. Now imagine doing all of that swimming in the darkness. It’s no surprise that Ivonne feels a little apprehensive about being in the water.

To understand why the smell of chlorine seems to evoke such a strong physiological response for Ivonne, we need to travel back in time to the lab of a young Russian scientist: Ivan Pavlov.

show what you know

Question 5.1

1. Learning is a relatively enduring change in ____________ that results ____________ from our ____________

Question 5.2

2. Learning can often be described as the creation of ____________, for example, between two stimuli or between a behavior and its consequences.

  1. habituation
  2. ethical dilemmas
  3. associations
  4. unexpected events

CHECK YOUR ANSWERS IN APPENDIX C.

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