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Unit 1: Introduction to thescientific study of learning
What is learning?
• Learning is based on acquisition of information about/from the environment
• Some organisms, like reptiles, insects or viruses, don’t rely on learning to survive, as they have
automatic programmed responses to survive in the environment.
• Human’s ability to learn to adapt to the environments is a key mechanism for our success
• Humans’ ability to learn and adapt to a constantly changing environment through learning.
• Feelings, language, intelligence, mind... are theoretical concepts that do not actually exist in the real
world, they are terms that humans have made up to help us understand ourselves better and they
are abstract.
Definition: Process that induces a relatively stable change in behavioural activity, as a result of different
types of experiences, acquiring new information from the environment. Changes derived from
motivational states, individual maturation, fatigue, etc. are excluded
Differentiations
A) Learning vs. Action
Learning: Acquisition of information, New ability for a certain behaviour, Observable or not
Action: Observable behavioural change as a result of learning
B) Innate/inherited behaviour vs. Learned or acquired behaviour:
Innate/inherited behaviour: determined by genes, referring to innate behaviours we have as a species
Learned/acquired behaviour: determined by an individual’s experiences. Each individual goes through
different experiences and develops different fears and pains
C) Learning vs. Conditioning:
Learning: A broad term encompassing various ways individuals acquire knowledge and skills
Conditioning: A specific type of learning that focuses on forming associations between stimuli and
behaviours
D) Learning vs. Execution:
Learning: An internal process. It’s a capacity we possess and develops in the mind. It’s not observable;
we can only observe behaviour. Behaviour reflects the level of learning but not always.
Execution: An observable association
, Other causes in behavioural change
I Ontogenetic Changes: Occur throughout an individual's life.
1.1. Short-lived Changes:
1.1.1. Fatigue: Behaviour disappears due to prolonged repetition but reappears after a rest period.
1.1.2. Stimulus Changes: The stimuli we receive affect our behaviour, influencing the level of activation
and organism activity. Increased stimulation raises activation levels (e.g., we are more active in a noisy
environment). The phenomenon of sensory adaptation occurs when we experience a sudden change in
stimulation level
1.1.3. Physiological or motivational alterations: Temporary and unrelated to experiences (e.g., instances
such as hunger or fluctuations in hormone levels)
1.2. More or Less Persistent Changes:
Cause→Learning
They may be more or less persistent as they may not endure throughout an individual's life.
1.3 Permanent Changes:
Last a lifetime. These changes result from biological and psychological maturation. Maturation leads to
new behaviors emerging and others disappearing. These behaviors appear in all members of the
species upon reaching a certain level of development (e.g., newborn babies exhibit reflexes that adults
don't)
II Phylogenetic Changes: Occur throughout the evolutionary history of a species. When we think about
the theory of evolution, we often associate it with physical changes, but it also applies to behaviour.
Mutations are what lead to these changes, and adaptation is what helps them persist. According to
biologists, adaptation is related to biological efficiency.
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