Learning is directly related to the behaviorist school of thought, which offers a different scientific account to the failure of introspection. According to various behaviorists, education is a course of conditioning—the ability to connect stimuli (the changes that occur in the environment) with responses (behaviors or other actions) (Mazur, 2016). However, while conditioning is just one kind of learning, the process can also be accomplished through insight or observation. In this regard, education has numerous aspects that influence learning in everyday living. In some situations, learning can be mal-adaptive whereby, if a person continually experiences similar events for an extended period, they will most likely end up leaning those events.
Additionally, earlier-day philosophers have often questioned why the world around humans is the way it is and why humans behave in a particular manner (Olson, 2015).The curiosity to understand how things function led the scientist to learn what entails the idea of learning and the various ways in which human beings, as well as animals, learn, store and access the information they have learned (Melton, 2014). Several theories explain the way human beings learn, each with its advantages and disadvantages, as well as particular elements that explain how the human brain works especially during learning. The widely known learning concept is the Theory of Classical Conditioning.
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The classical condition was discovered by Pavlov when he was studying the digestion patterns of animals. The dogs could begin to salivate upon seeing the person who usually fed them. This behavior irked his interest and made him abandon his earlier research and opted to research classical conditions (Graziano, 2017). For that reason, this type of condition is also called Pavlovian or respondent condition. Pavlov’s observation led to his conclusion that the act of dogs salivating can be attained by associating unrelated stimuli with food.
Therefore, he set up an experiment where he would ring a bell every time the dogs were being fed. He repeated the procedure and observed that the dogs salivated at the sound of just the bell. Classical Conditioning is the process of learning, which arises based on an individual’s association with a naturally occurring stimulus and the subsequent environmental stimulus (Olson, 2015). The common attribute of classical conditioning is the exposure to a signal before a naturally occurring impulse.
In classical conditioning, a preferred reaction (conditioned reaction) is elicited by the subject by using previous incentives (unconditioned stimulus). Moreover, it involves setting up a connection between the stimulus and the item (unconditioned stimulus, such as food) which draws out the preferred act or draws out an act that is not preferred (unconditioned reaction) (Graziano, 2017). For instance, in Pavlov’s experiment, the induction of saliva by the dogs, the act of salivation in response to the unconditioned stimulus is known as an unconditioned response. The reaction can be changed by providing an incentive in this case, the meat and accompanying it with the sound of a bell. It can be assumed from this that conditioned response is an imitation of unconditioned response. However, according to Pavlov, the composition of saliva is different in conditioned and unconditioned response.
A conditioned response refers to an act that after the repeated presentation with the unconditioned stimulus leads to similar reactions as the unconditioned stimulus. During Pavlov’s experimentation, the sound of a bell acted as a conditioned stimulus that was learned by the dogs after being paired with the food and the response to it alone is referred to the conditioned response (Mazur, 2016). Conditioning is important because it enables organisms to build up expectations that can assist them to prepare for all situations. For example, if an animal learns to smell food before eating, then he can associate the food with the smell and determine the possible outcome of eating the food. If the dog feels that the food can lead to adverse consequences like sickness, then the animal can avoid eating the food.
It is essential to understand that unconditioned stimulus and response, as well as conditioned stimulus and response, infer that one can understand the process of classical conditioning (Olson, 2015). A conditioned stimulus is a process which does not need to be manipulated to generate a reaction from the subject. From Pavlov’s experiment, food acts as the unconditioned stimulus since when it is presented, a hungry dog would naturally salivate regardless of the type of motivation presented. In this regard, the unconditioned response is a typical reaction to the unconditioned stimulus.
A conditioned response refers to a kind of incentive that even though it is neutral, it will set off the conditioned response due to the association with the unconditioned stimuli (Melton, 2014). In Pavlov’s experiment, the conditioned stimulus is the bell and the sound. When these stimuli were initially presented, it did not provoke any feelings of hunger from the dog. However, when they were methodically introduced before food was given to the dog, then, it led the dog to associate the sound with the food. Therefore, the conditioned response is learned relative to the stimulus leading to salivation from the dog. Classical learning conditioning is mainly based on experience, though the learning cannot be based entirely on skill (Mazur, 2016).
Nature plays a role in the learning process just the same way evolution played a part in making humans better and in developing good associations with others. According to clinical psychologists, classical conditioning plays an important role in learning; they call it a “strong and irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation” for example, driving a car does not usually bring forth fear in people (Olson, 2015). If a driver experiences panic attack while driving, he may learn to associate driving with panic while driving. In this example, Panic has become classical conditioning that elicits a fear reaction.
People do not just develop fear out of everything, although people can in some cases develop phobias, the phobias are more likely to be associated with objects such as snakes, insects, heights or even big open spaces: objects that have been dangerous to people in the past (Melton, 2014). In modern times, it is uncommon for people to fall from tall buildings, being bitten by snakes or being attacked in open spaces. Getting injured while driving is a more likely occurrence that can happen to people. However, in the past, it was more likely to be bitten by a snake, spiders or fall from trees (Olson, 2015).These are evolutionary events that have changed over time; on the same note, people have evolved in learning how to deal with these associations.
An additional evolutionary condition is related to food. According to various research studies, it is possible to condition animals by presenting a specific stimulus for a particular period. This kind of conditioning enables animals to learn to avoid a specific incentive based on the condition learned earlier (Melton, 2014). Moreover, taste plays an influential role in conditioning and enables an animal to avoid particular event based on what the animal deduces from the condition. In an experiment conducted on rats, it was discovered that taste conditioning is a dominant condition- the rat learned how to avoid specific tastes associated with sickness even if the illness was brought up to the rat after numerous hours later (Mazur, 2016). These outcomes proved that conditioning is not merely influenced by the environment, but also by the kind of stimulus presented to the respondent and as per the conditioned stimulus. It is also clear that genetics plays a vital role in an organism and can be learned by an organism. Therefore, the capability of an animal to associate smell and illness is crucial for the survival of the animal since it enables an organism to differentiate good food and those that are poisonous.
Classical conditioning is also used to provide explanations on posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder that develops when an individual is exposed to fearful events such as death. PTSD arises when an individual establishes a strong connection between situational factors that enclose distressing events such as wars (Graziano, 2017). Due to the stressful event being exposed to an individual or by just thinking of the event, is enough to produce a conditioning situation of severe worry.
Summary
Learning is an important and a continuous process through which humans can engage in. In this case, there are various ways through which animals and people learn. People can change the way they learn according to different situations and conditions. As highlighted above, one form of learning is conditioning. Conditioning emphasizes the relationship between stimulus and response (Graziano, 2017). There are two kinds of conditioning: classical and operant conditioning. It is essential to understand that learning can occur through observation and Insight. Therefore, despite the form used to learn, education is important for humans since it enables them to adapt to different environmental situations and life challenges.
Classical conditioning is a form of learning through which association of various stimuli and response combine to provide a positive outcome. Learning is said to have occurred once a stimulus produces a response which was not previously generated (Mazur, 2016). In classical conditioning, there is both conditioned and unconditioned stimulus involved and subsequent response to the kind of stimulus involved in the process and which leads to a specific desired outcome. Therefore, humans learn through conditioning which is stimulated by various stimuli.
References
Graziano, A. M. (2017). Behavior Therapy with Children : Volume 1. Routledge.
Mazur, J. E. (2016). Learning & behavior . Routledge.
Melton, A. W. (Ed.). (2014). Categories of human learning . Academic Press.
Olson, M. H. (2015). An introduction to theories of learning. Psychology Press.
