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Theories of Learning - 20 Marks Notes

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Introduction

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1. Behaviourism (Stimulus-Response Theory)

Core Premise

a) Classical Conditioning - Pavlov (1890s)

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) → Unconditioned Response (UCR)
• Neutral Stimulus + UCS → UCR (repeated pairings)
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS) → Conditioned Response (CR)

b) Operant Conditioning - Skinner (1938)

c) Connectionism - Thorndike

Educational Applications

• Classroom rewards and praise, gold stars, grading systems
• Repetition and drill practice for rote learning
• Token economy systems in special education
• Behaviour modification in clinical settings

Criticisms

• Ignores internal mental processes (emotions, thinking)
• Dehumanises the learner
• Cannot explain complex cognitive learning like language acquisition
• Over-reliance on animal experiments generalised to humans

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2. Cognitive Learning Theory

Core Premise

a) Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory

• Schema - Mental frameworks that organise knowledge
• Assimilation - Incorporating new information into existing schemas
• Accommodation - Modifying existing schemas to fit new information
• Equilibration - The drive to balance assimilation and accommodation

b) Bruner's Discovery Learning

• Enactive (action-based, 0-1 yr)
• Iconic (image-based, 1-6 yrs)
• Symbolic (language/symbol-based, 7+ yrs)

c) Ausubel's Meaningful/Reception Learning

Educational Applications

• Age-appropriate curriculum design based on developmental stages
• Discovery-based, problem-solving activities
• Use of concept maps and advance organisers
• Metacognitive strategies (teaching students how to think and learn)

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3. Constructivism

Core Premise

a) Cognitive Constructivism (Piaget)

b) Social Constructivism (Vygotsky)

• Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): The gap between what a learner can do independently and what they can do with guidance from a more knowledgeable other (MKO). Learning happens most effectively within this zone.
• Scaffolding: Temporary support provided by a teacher or peer to help a learner achieve tasks within their ZPD. Support is gradually withdrawn as competence increases.
• Inner Speech: Thought is internalised social dialogue; language and thought are intertwined.

Educational Applications

• Collaborative and group learning activities
• Peer tutoring and mentoring
• Project-based and inquiry-based learning
• Teacher as facilitator rather than lecturer

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4. Humanistic Theory

Core Premise

a) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Self-Actualisation (reaching full potential)
         ↑
    Esteem Needs (respect, achievement)
         ↑
   Social/Love Needs (belonging)
         ↑
    Safety Needs (security)
         ↑
  Physiological Needs (food, shelter)

b) Carl Rogers - Student-Centred Learning

• Unconditional positive regard for learners
• Empathy and authenticity from teachers
• Self-directed, experiential, and self-evaluated learning
• The teacher as a facilitator, not an authority

Educational Applications

• Learner-centred classrooms with student choice
• Nurturing, supportive learning environments
• Counselling and pastoral support in schools
• Addressing socioeconomic barriers to learning

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5. Social Learning Theory

Core Premise

Key Concepts

• Observational Learning (Modelling): Learning by watching a model (parent, teacher, peer, media figure) perform a behaviour.
• Four Processes of Observational Learning:
  1. Attention - The observer must notice the model's behaviour
  2. Retention - The behaviour must be remembered
  3. Reproduction - The observer must be able to perform the behaviour
  4. Motivation - There must be a reason to imitate (reinforcement/punishment of model)
• Self-Efficacy: A person's belief in their own ability to succeed. High self-efficacy increases motivation, effort, and persistence.
• Reciprocal Determinism: Behaviour, personal factors (cognition), and environment all mutually influence each other.

Bobo Doll Experiment

Educational Applications

• Role modelling by teachers and peers
• Demonstration before practice in skill-based learning
• Peer mentoring programs
• Media literacy and responsible use of social media/TV

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6. Experiential Learning Theory

Core Premise

Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle (1984)

Concrete Experience (doing/having an experience)
         ↓
Reflective Observation (reviewing/reflecting on experience)
         ↓
Abstract Conceptualisation (concluding/learning from experience)
         ↓
Active Experimentation (planning/trying out what was learned)
         ↓ (back to Concrete Experience)

• Diverger (feel & watch) - imaginative, people-oriented
• Assimilator (think & watch) - abstract reasoning, theoretical
• Converger (think & do) - problem-solving, technical
• Accommodator (feel & do) - hands-on, risk-taking

Dewey's Contribution

Educational Applications

• Laboratory work, clinical placements, internships
• Simulation and role-play
• Reflective journals and portfolios
• Service learning and field trips

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7. Associative Learning Theory (Historical Basis)

• Law of Contiguity - things occurring together in time/space become associated
• Law of Frequency - more frequent co-occurrence = stronger association
• Law of Similarity - similar things become associated
• Law of Contrast - recalling something can trigger its opposite

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Comparative Summary Table

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Conclusion

• Behaviourist principles for skill drilling and discipline
• Cognitive principles for curriculum sequencing and metacognition
• Constructivist principles for collaborative, discovery-based learning
• Humanist principles for student wellbeing and motivation
• Social learning for modelling and peer learning
• Experiential learning for practical, applied competencies

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THEORIES OF LEARNING - Detailed Exam Notes

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PART 1: BEHAVIOURISM

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What is Behaviourism?

Core Belief: "Tell me the stimulus, I'll tell you the response."

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A. Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov, 1890s)

The Story Behind It

The Mechanism - Step by Step

Food (Unconditioned Stimulus / UCS) ──→ Salivation (Unconditioned Response / UCR)
Bell (Neutral Stimulus / NS)         ──→ No response

Bell (NS) + Food (UCS) ──→ Salivation (UCR)
[Repeated many times together]

Bell alone (Conditioned Stimulus / CS) ──→ Salivation (Conditioned Response / CR)

Key Terminology Explained

Important Phenomena in Classical Conditioning

• Example: Ring the bell 50 times without food → dog eventually stops salivating.

• Example: A week after extinction, ring the bell → dog salivates briefly again.

• Example: Dog conditioned to a 1000Hz bell also salivates to a 900Hz or 1100Hz bell.

• Example: Dog learns bell = food, but metronome = no food; stops generalising.

• Example: Bell (CS) is paired with a light → light alone eventually triggers salivation.

Real-Life Examples of Classical Conditioning

• Dental anxiety: The smell of a dental clinic (NS) is repeatedly paired with pain (UCS). Soon the smell alone causes anxiety (CR).
• Advertising: A beautiful model (UCS → positive feelings UCR) is shown next to a car (NS). Over time, seeing the car alone creates positive feelings (CR).
• Drug cravings: A person who takes heroin in a specific room associates that room (CS) with the drug effect. Just entering that room triggers cravings (CR). This is used to explain relapse.
• Phobias: John Watson's Little Albert experiment - a 9-month-old baby was shown a white rat (NS). Each time the rat appeared, a loud bang (UCS) was made. Albert soon cried (CR) at the sight of the rat alone - and generalised this fear to white rabbits, Santa's beard, fur coats.

Watson's Behaviourism - "Give me a dozen infants..."

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B. Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner, 1938)

Key Difference from Classical Conditioning

The Skinner Box

The Four Quadrants of Operant Conditioning

• Positive = Adding something
• Negative = Removing something
• Reinforcement = Increases the behaviour
• Punishment = Decreases the behaviour

Detailed Examples of Each

• Child answers a question correctly → teacher gives praise → child answers more in future
• Student gets an A grade → feels proud → studies harder next time
• Dog sits on command → gets a treat → sits more often

⚠️ Most commonly confused concept in exams. Negative reinforcement is NOT punishment - it INCREASES behaviour.

• Wearing a seatbelt (behaviour) → annoying beeping stops (removal of unpleasant) → you wear it more often
• Student studies (behaviour) → anxiety about failing is reduced → studies more
• Taking painkiller (behaviour) → headache disappears → takes painkiller more readily next time

• Child misbehaves → gets extra homework → misbehaves less
• Driver speeds → gets a fine → speeds less
• Touch a hot stove → pain → avoid touching it

• Teenager breaks curfew → phone is taken away → breaks curfew less
• Student talks in class → loses free period → talks less
• Child throws a tantrum → is removed from play → tantrums decrease

Schedules of Reinforcement (Very Important for Exams)

Key Exam Point: Variable Ratio is the strongest schedule - explains why gambling is so addictive and hard to stop.

Other Important Operant Concepts

• Example: Teaching a child to write - first reward holding the pen, then making marks, then letter shapes, then actual letters.
• Clinical use: Teaching speech to a non-verbal child with autism.

• Example: Getting dressed - underwear → shirt → trousers → shoes → all steps are chained; the final reward is going outside to play.

• Used in: Psychiatric wards, special education, substance abuse programs, children's classrooms.

• Example: Teacher stops acknowledging a student's attention-seeking behaviour → behaviour eventually stops.

• Reinforcement (positive or negative) always INCREASES behaviour
• Punishment (positive or negative) always DECREASES behaviour

Thorndike's Law of Effect (Historical Foundation)

• Law of Effect: Responses producing satisfying outcomes are strengthened (stamped in); responses producing discomfort are weakened (stamped out).
• Law of Exercise: Responses that are practised are strengthened.

Criticisms of Behaviourism

1. Ignores internal mental processes - emotions, thoughts, memory
2. Most evidence from animal studies - oversimplified generalisation to humans
3. Cannot explain language acquisition (Chomsky's devastating critique of Skinner)
4. Dehumanises the learner - treats people like rats
5. Does not explain latent learning (Tolman showed rats learn mazes even without reward)
6. Cannot explain insight learning (Kohler's chimpanzees solved problems suddenly)

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PART 2: SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY (Albert Bandura, 1977)

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Core Idea

Bandura's key position: Learning occurs in a social context and involves both behaviour AND cognition (thinking). He called his updated version "Social Cognitive Theory."

Reciprocal Determinism: Behaviour ↔ Personal Factors (cognition, emotions) ↔ Environment (all three constantly influence each other)

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The Bobo Doll Experiment (1961) - The Classic Proof

• Group 1: Watched an adult model beat up a Bobo doll aggressively (hit it, kick it, yell at it)
• Group 2: Watched a non-aggressive adult ignore the doll
• Group 3: Saw no adult (control)

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The Four Processes of Observational Learning

1. ATTENTION 👁️

• Factors that increase attention: model is attractive, similar, high-status, competent, or the behaviour has important consequences
• Example: A medical student pays close attention when a senior consultant demonstrates how to take a blood pressure reading.
• If a learner is distracted, drowsy, or the material is complex, attention drops and learning fails.

2. RETENTION 🧠

• Memory is encoded using symbols, language, and mental images
• Example: The student mentally rehearses the steps of BP measurement after watching.
• Factors: repetition, chunking information, using mental imagery

3. REPRODUCTION (Motor Reproduction) 🤸

• You may have watched someone play concert piano perfectly, but if you lack the motor skills, you cannot replicate it immediately.
• Example: A student must practice venipuncture themselves - just watching is not enough to develop the hand skill.
• Practice improves reproduction; self-observation and feedback help refine it.

4. MOTIVATION 💪

• No matter how well you attended, retained, and can reproduce - without motivation, you won't do it.
• Motivation comes from:
  • Direct reinforcement: You get a reward for performing the behaviour
  • Vicarious reinforcement: You saw the model get rewarded → you want the same
  • Vicarious punishment: You saw the model get punished → you avoid the behaviour
  • Self-reinforcement: You reward yourself internally ("I did well - I'm proud")

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Self-Efficacy - Bandura's Greatest Contribution

Self-efficacy = A person's belief in their own ability to successfully perform a specific task in a specific situation.

Four Sources of Self-Efficacy

• Successfully completing a task → raises self-efficacy
• Failing → lowers it
• Example: A student who passes their first anatomy exam feels more confident about the next one.

• Watching someone similar to you succeed → raises your belief that you can too
• Watching someone similar fail → lowers it
• Example: "If my classmate who also struggled with chemistry passed, so can I."

• Being told "you can do this" by a trusted person raises self-efficacy
• Criticism or discouragement lowers it
• Example: A teacher telling a nervous student "I've seen your work - you're ready for this exam."

• Feeling calm and relaxed → higher self-efficacy
• Heart racing, hands shaking, feeling anxious before a test → lower self-efficacy
• Example: Learning relaxation techniques before exams can boost self-efficacy.

Why Self-Efficacy Matters in Education

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Vicarious Reinforcement vs Direct Reinforcement

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Types of Models

1. Live model - Actual person demonstrating behaviour in real time (teacher, parent, peer)
2. Symbolic model - Character in a book, film, TV show, social media influencer
3. Verbal/Instructional model - Someone describing how to do something without demonstrating

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Educational Applications of Social Learning Theory

• Teacher as role model: Teachers who show enthusiasm, curiosity, and respectful behaviour model these qualities for students.
• Peer mentoring: Pairing struggling students with high-performing peers (who are similar enough to be credible models).
• Demonstration before practice: In medical/nursing education, show the procedure before asking students to attempt it (observe → reproduce).
• Media literacy: Children learn violent or prosocial behaviour from TV, games, social media. Schools must teach critical viewing.
• Collaborative learning: Watching peers work through problems models the thinking process.
• Building self-efficacy: Design tasks to ensure early success, give specific praise, assign achievable challenges before difficult ones.

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Criticisms of Social Learning Theory

1. Underestimates the role of biology and genetics in behaviour
2. Does not fully explain individual differences - two people watch the same model but learn different things
3. The Bobo doll experiment - children may have been imitating because it was "just play" (demand characteristics)
4. Overemphasis on external models - ignores spontaneous, internally-driven creativity

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PART 3: EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THEORY

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Core Idea

Dewey's principle: "We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience."

Kolb's definition: "Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience."

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Key Theorists

1. John Dewey (1938) - Learning by Doing

• Education must be rooted in real, meaningful activity
• Mere activity without reflection is not enough - experience + reflection = growth
• Learning prepares students for democratic life, not just exams
• Curriculum should connect to students' real-world interests and problems

2. Kurt Lewin (1940s) - Action Research Cycle

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Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle (1984) - The Core Model

              ┌─────────────────────────────┐
              │    CONCRETE EXPERIENCE      │  ← Doing / Having the Experience
              │         (CE)               │
              └──────────────┬──────────────┘
                             │
                             ▼
    ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
    │         ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION          │  ← Trying it differently
    │               (AE)                      │
    └──────────────┬──────────────────────────┘
                   │         ▲
                   │         │
                   ▼         │
    ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
    │       ABSTRACT CONCEPTUALISATION        │  ← Making sense, forming theory
    │               (AC)                      │
    └──────────────────────────┬──────────────┘
                               │
                               ▼
              ┌─────────────────────────────┐
              │    REFLECTIVE OBSERVATION   │  ← Watching / Thinking about it
              │          (RO)               │
              └─────────────────────────────┘

Each Stage Explained with a Detailed Example

• The student gives an injection to a patient for the first time.
• This is the raw, direct, personal experience - the "doing."
• Without this actual experience, learning remains abstract and superficial.
• The experience may succeed or fail - both are valuable.

• The student reflects: "What happened? What went well? What did I feel? What surprised me? What did the patient say?"
• May use a reflective journal, supervision session, or peer discussion.
• This is the stage most students skip - and that's why their learning doesn't deepen.
• Gibbs' Reflective Cycle (1988) is often used here as a structured reflective tool.

• The student reads about injection technique, discusses with supervisor, links experience to theory: "I understand now why angle and site matter. I see how anxiety in my hands affected the outcome."
• This is where experience becomes knowledge - generalisable rules and concepts are formed.
• Without this stage, experience stays as isolated memory rather than transferable skill.

• The student plans: "Next time, I'll use a warmer hand to relax the muscle, and I'll explain each step to the patient first."
• Then goes back to Stage 1 with a new concrete experience - the cycle continues.
• This stage transforms learning into improved action.

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Kolb's Four Learning Styles

• Grasping experience: Concrete Experience (CE) vs Abstract Conceptualisation (AC)
• Transforming experience: Reflective Observation (RO) vs Active Experimentation (AE)

Exam tip: Divergers = "feeling + watching," Assimilators = "thinking + watching," Convergers = "thinking + doing," Accommodators = "feeling + doing."

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Gibbs' Reflective Cycle (1988) - Applied Version of Kolb

1. DESCRIPTION  → What happened?
2. FEELINGS     → What were you thinking/feeling?
3. EVALUATION   → What was good/bad about the experience?
4. ANALYSIS     → What sense can you make of the situation?
5. CONCLUSION   → What else could you have done?
6. ACTION PLAN  → What will you do next time?

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Applications of Experiential Learning in Education

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Criticisms of Experiential Learning Theory

1. The four stages are oversimplified - real learning is rarely so neat and linear
2. Cultural bias - Kolb's model was developed using Western, educated populations
3. Learning styles concept is controversial - little solid evidence that teaching to preferred styles improves outcomes
4. Neglects the role of prior knowledge and emotion
5. Requires time, resources, and safe environments - not always available

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PART 4: ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING THEORY

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Historical Roots - From Aristotle to Modern Neuroscience

Core Idea: The mind builds knowledge by forming associations (links) between events, stimuli, ideas, or concepts that occur together.

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Aristotle's Laws of Association (4th Century BC)

• Things that occur together in time or space become associated in the mind.
• Example: If you always eat ice cream at a certain beach, thinking of that beach brings up memories of ice cream.

• The more often two things occur together, the stronger their association.
• Example: You associate "Paris" with the Eiffel Tower because you've seen them together thousands of times.

• Thinking of one thing triggers thoughts of similar things.
• Example: Hearing a song that sounds like another song reminds you of the second song.

• Recollecting something also triggers its complete opposite.
• Example: Thinking of the tallest person you know suddenly makes you recall the shortest one.

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Philosophical Foundations - British Empiricists

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Pavlov - First Experimental Associationist

"Pavlov was perhaps the first experimental associationist. He explored the physiologic and psychological mechanisms of association...Pavlov's work provided a framework for broad experimental exploration, some of which indicated that mere contiguity was not sufficient for learning."

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The Problem with Pure Contiguity: Kamin's Blocking Effect

• Phase 1: Train an animal so that a light (L) predicts a shock.
  • L → Shock (animal learns to fear light)
• Phase 2: Now present light + tone (L+T) → shock together.
• Test: Present tone alone.
• Surprising result: The animal shows NO fear of the tone even though it was always paired with the shock!

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The Rescorla-Wagner Model (1972) - The Most Important Associative Learning Model

The Core Equation (conceptually):

ΔV = αβ(λ - ΣV)

• ΔV = Change in associative strength
• α = Salience of the conditioned stimulus (CS)
• β = Salience of the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
• λ = Maximum associative strength possible (determined by the UCS)
• ΣV = Current total associative strength of all stimuli present
• (λ - ΣV) = PREDICTION ERROR - how surprised the organism is

What This Means Simply:

How Rescorla-Wagner Explains Blocking:

• In Phase 1, light perfectly predicts shock → ΣV = λ → prediction error = 0
• In Phase 2, light + tone together: the light already accounts for all the prediction. Tone adds nothing new.
• Prediction error for the tone = 0 → No learning about the tone occurs. Blocked!

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Hebbian Learning - The Neural Basis ("Fire Together, Wire Together")

"When an axon of cell A is near enough to excite cell B and repeatedly or persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change takes place in one or both cells such that A's efficiency, as one of the cells firing B, is increased."

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Attention in Associative Learning

• Mackintosh's model: Stimuli that reliably predict outcomes gain attentional weight; those that don't lose it.
• Pearce-Hall model: Surprising outcomes increase attention to stimuli associated with them → facilitates new learning.

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Prediction Error and Modern Neuroscience

• Fire in response to unexpected rewards (large prediction error)
• Show no activity when reward is fully predicted (zero prediction error)
• Show dip below baseline when an expected reward fails to appear (negative prediction error)

• Reward learning and motivation
• Drug addiction (drugs hijack dopamine prediction error systems)
• Depression treatments (why some antidepressants target dopamine)

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Applications of Associative Learning

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MASTER COMPARISON TABLE

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QUICK EXAM REVISION BULLETS

• Classical conditioning: UCS → UCR; CS → CR; Pavlov's dogs
• Key phenomena: extinction, generalisation, discrimination, spontaneous recovery
• Operant conditioning: Positive/Negative Reinforcement ALWAYS increases; Positive/Negative Punishment ALWAYS decreases
• Schedules: Variable Ratio = strongest/most resistant to extinction (slot machines)
• Shaping = reinforcing successive approximations

• Four processes: Attention → Retention → Reproduction → Motivation
• Vicarious reinforcement: learning from consequences observed in others
• Self-efficacy: belief in own ability; 4 sources = mastery, vicarious, persuasion, physiological states
• Reciprocal determinism: Behaviour ↔ Personal Factors ↔ Environment

• 4 stages: Concrete Experience → Reflective Observation → Abstract Conceptualisation → Active Experimentation
• 4 styles: Diverger (CE+RO), Assimilator (AC+RO), Converger (AC+AE), Accommodator (CE+AE)
• Dewey: experience + reflection = learning
• Gibbs (1988): 6-stage applied reflection model for professional practice

• Aristotle's laws: Contiguity, Frequency, Similarity, Contrast
• Rescorla-Wagner: Learning driven by prediction error (λ - ΣV), not mere contiguity
• Kamin blocking: No new learning when outcome is already fully predicted
• Hebb: "Neurons that fire together, wire together"
• Dopamine = neural prediction error signal

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