2. LEARNING UNIT VI: Learning

3. Unit Objectives How We Learn and Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning Operant Conditioning Applications, and Comparison to Classical Conditioning Biology, Cognition, and Learning Learning by obeservation

4. How We Learn and Classical Conditioning Learning  the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors.  We are able to learn through associations Habituates:  An organism’s decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it. Associative Learning:  Learning that certain events occur together. The event may be two stimuli or a response and its consequences. Operant Conditioning:  We learn to associate (our behavior) and it consequence. Thus, repeating acts followed by good results and avoid act followed by bad results.

5. We are still trying to learn Cognitive Learning:  We acquire mental information that guides our behavior. Observational learning  One form of cognitive learning, lets us learn from others’ experiences.

6. Classical Conditioning (dance puppets) Classical Conditioning:  A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events. Behaviorism:  The view that psychology should:  Be an objective science  Studies behavior without reference to mental processes.  Most research psychologists today agree with (be an objective science) but not with the second portion. Neutral stimulus:  In classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.