Learning involves acquiring knowledge or skills through practice, experience, or observation. The results seen after learning are relatively permanent ...

Associative learning occurs when a connection is made between two stimuli or events. For example, a child may learn to clean their room regularly if they ...

While studying dogs' digestive systems, Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, discovered that behaviors can be learned through association. He noticed ...

Classical conditioning typically has five key principles. During acquisition, a neutral stimulus, such as a bell, is paired with an unconditioned ...

Classical conditioning has real-world applications dependent on the conditioning order. Higher-order or second-order conditioning occurs when a neutral ...

Classical conditioning can explain several commonly observed behaviors in daily life. Watson and Rayner observed that pairing a white rat with a loud ...

Operant conditioning involves reinforcing or punishing behavior to alter its likelihood. For example, praising a child for completing homework exemplifies ...

B. F. Skinner built the theory of operant conditioning on the concept of the law of effect, proposed by Edward Thorndike. Thorndike placed a hungry cat in ...

Reinforcement can be positive or negative. Positive reinforcement adds something desirable, and negative reinforcement removes something undesirable. ...

Avoidance learning is a distinct response to negative reinforcement. It occurs when an individual learns that a specific behavior, such as avoiding ...

Negative reinforcement and punishment serve distinct functions in behavior modification. Negative reinforcement improves the desired behavior by removing ...

Shaping is a method in operant conditioning where successive approximations of a target behavior are rewarded. For instance, an individual learns to write ...

Primary reinforcers have innate reinforcing qualities that are not learned. For humans, primary reinforcers include food, sleep, affection, and shelter, ...

Generalization, discrimination, and extinction are key concepts in operant conditioning. Generalization involves performing a reinforced behavior in ...

Continuous reinforcement, like giving a dog a treat every time it sits in a place, reinforces the sitting behavior. Conversely, partial reinforcement ...

In operant conditioning, timing is crucial for reinforcement. Studies show that animals such as rats and cats require immediate reinforcement for ...

Behavior modification is a method used to change someone's behavior through a system of rewards and punishments. It uses operant conditioning to ...

Cognitive learning includes purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning. Tolman proposed that behavior is goal-directed and must be ...

Tolman emphasized that behavior is often purposive or goal-directed. For instance, an employee working towards a promotion consistently puts in extra ...

Observational learning, also known as imitation or modeling, occurs when an individual observes and replicates another's behavior. The Bobo doll ...

Modeling involves four key steps. The first step is attention. Consider a yoga session in which the instructor shows all the participants how to perform ...

Conditioned taste aversion, also known as sauce bearnaise syndrome, occurs when classical conditioning leads to avoidance reactions to certain food ...

Phobias such as darkness, heights, deep water, and blood are common among people and often occur without any prior frightening experiences. Evolution ...

Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to their innate behaviors despite repeated reinforcement. Breland and Breland conducted an ...

Metacognition is a conscious process where individuals are aware of their cognitive processes and executive functioning. For example, a writer reflecting ...