LEARNING THEORIES

Cognitive and Behavioral

By Abril Loya
Ivan Pavlov- Behavioral Learning Theorist
(1849-1936)
■ Education-
-University of St. Petersburg.
-The Imperial Medical Academy, M.D.
■ Contributions-
-Classical conditioning
-Conditioned reflex
-Received a Nobel prize for his work
digestive secretions in 1904
(Horsley Gantt, W.)
Image retrieved from https://goo.gl/images/xuQD27
Behaviorist Learning Theory

■ According to Susan B. Bastable,

behaviorist learning theory focuses
“mainly on what is observable,
behaviorists view learning as the product
of stimulus conditions (S) and the
responses (R) that follow” (loc. 2069).
■ Behaviorists don’t focus on the internal
process that occurs during learning.
■ The focus is on the surrounding
environment and conditions that influence
learning and how they can be manipulated
to deliver results.
■ Learning is the result of new behavior, the
results (R) that is influenced by external
factors or the stimulus conditions.

Image retrieved from https://goo.gl/images/gd0uqj

Classical Conditioning (Pavlovian
Conditioning)
■ As mentioned by Susan B. Bastable, “to modify people’s attitudes and responses, behaviorists either alter the stimulus conditions
in the environment or change what happens after a response occurs” (loc. 2081).
■ An example of how an environment is modified to produce a certain reaction can be seen with Ivan Pavlov’s dog experiment.
■ The purpose of this experiment was to prove that new behavior can be learned through manipulation of the stimulus.
■ Subject: hungry dogs
■ Response: measurable salivation to the dog food.
• These were unconditioned seeing as hunger isn’t learned and salivation isn’t either.
■ Neutral Stimulus (NS): lab assistant that provided the food.
■ Conditioned Stimulus (CS): the bell used to let the dogs know they were to be fed.
■ Conditioned Response (CR): Dogs would salivate when they heard the bell.
• The conditioned stimulus (bell) had been associated with the unconditioned stimulus (food) and an association had been made.
The dogs had learned that a bell signified feeding (learned behavior) (McLeod, S.)
• Pavlov thus concluded that learning could be learned through stimuli that affected behavior (McLeod, S.)
 Conditioning Contd.
Subject: hungry dogs

Response: measurable salivation to the dog food.

•These were unconditioned seeing as hunger isn’t learned

and salivation isn’t either.

Neutral Stimulus (NS): lab assistant that provided the food.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS): the bell used to let the dogs know
they were to be fed.

Conditioned Response (CR): Dogs would salivate when they

heard the bell.

•The conditioned stimulus (bell) had been associated with the

unconditioned stimulus (food) and an association had been
made. The dogs had learned that a bell signified feeding
(learned behavior) (McLeod, S.)

•Pavlov thus concluded that learning could be learned

through stimuli that affected behavior (McLeod, S.)

Image retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/pavlov.html

Robert Gagne- Cognitive Learning Theorist
(1916-2002)
■ Education- Yale, A.B. (1937)
Brown, PhD. (1940)
■ Contributions:
-Theory on the five conditions of
learning.
-Early developer of instructional
systems design.
Image retrieved from https://goo.gl/images/VyjqC4
-Gagne’s hierarchy of learning
Information Processing Perspective
(Robert Gagne)
■ Unlike behaviorism, cognitivists focus on the
internal processes that occur during learning.
■ Information processing is a “cognitive
perspective that emphasizes thinking
processes: thought, reasoning, the way
information is encountered and stored, and
memory functioning” (Bastable, S. loc.
2260).
■ It involves four stages; stage 1 is attention,
stage 2 is processing, stage 3 is memory
storage and lastly, stage 4 is action
(Bastable, S. loc 2260, 2272).
■ Gagne’s hierarchy of learning explained that
learners needed to know simpler skills in Image retrieved from https://goo.gl/images/8QMfBp
order to move on to more difficult skills, each
skills drawing from previously known skills
(Robert mills gagne facts).
Information Processing contd.

■ Robert Gagne outlined nine events that supported instruction for effective cognitive learning, they are as follows;
■ Gaining attention (reception)
■ Informing learners of the objective (expectancy)
■ Stimulating recall of prior learning (retrieval)
■ Presenting the stimulus (selective perception)
■ Providing learning guidance (semantic encoding)
■ Eliciting performance (responding)
■ Providing feedback (reinforcement)
■ Assessing performance (retrieval) Image retrieved from
https://goo.gl/images/xuWxVU
■ Enhancing retention and transfer (generalization).
■ This outline helps in the skill building described in Gagne’s hierarchy of learning as they increase in difficulty and they
complement the information processing perspective.
Impact on Teaching/Training contd.
Behaviorism
■ Gagne’s approach to instruction
allows instructors to have systematic
and effective instruction that builds
on prior knowledge in order to expand
on to learning new content.
■ This approach is beneficial to adult
learners in their education and
training because it acknowledges
them as learner’s with experiences
that are applicable to their education,
it’s learner oriented, and helps in
developing critical thinking skills and
is mindful of student’s learning
preferences.
Cognitivism
■ Pavlov’s approach to learning impacts
teaching and training in that not all
behavior is a skill and it can be
learned.
■ Pavlov’s studies along with other
cognitivist theorists provided a
foundation that other theorists, such as
Gagne, used to build other theories on.
■ While learning is impacted by the
environment, not all learning can be
measured by behavior. It’s much more
complex than that.
Applicability of Behaviorism

■ A way that the behaviorism approach can be applied into an adult

classroom/training setting is through classroom etiquette and expectations.
■ For example, seating arrangements are a learned behavior.
■ Students know how to sit, that is an unconditioned response, but where you allow
your students to sit a conditioned response.
■ Similarly, test taking etiquette is a learned behavior that students developed from
years of teachers reminding them to be quiet and not share answers.
■ A conditioned response to this conditioned stimuli is how students know to put away
their materials and take out a pen when the teacher hands out a test.
■ These are some ways that behaviorism can be applied.
Applicability of Cognitivism

■ Cognitivism can be applied to any instruction or training in adult education.

■ It’s learner oriented and it draws on learner’s prior knowledge to increase their understanding of
new content being presented to them and can be modified to various learning styles and
preferences.
■ It provides learner’s with feedback for improvement and vice versa it allows instructors to see what
changes they need to make to produce more effective instruction.
■ As stated by Susan B. Bastable, “Tracking learning through the various stages is helpful in
assessing what happens to information as each learner perceives, interprets, and remembers it,
which, in turn, may suggest ways of improving the structure of the learning situation as well as how
to correct misconceptions, distortions, and errors in learning” (loc. 2260).
■ By following the four stages of information processing you gain the learner’s attention, you inform
learners of the objectives to be met, you help them understand new content by assessing their
previous knowledge and associating it to the new information, you provide them with feedback on
their work, and are able to evaluate if there is more to be done or if learners have acquired the new
skills and met the lesson objective (Khadjooi, Kayvan).
 References

Bastable, S. et al (2010). Health professional as educator: Principles of teaching and learning. (Kindle
version). Retrieved from Amazon.com
Horsley Gantt, W. (N.D.). Ivan petrovich pavlov: Russion physiologist. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ivan-Pavlov
Khadjooi, Kayvan. (N.D.). How to use Gagne's model of instructional design in teaching
psychomotor skills. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4017416/
McLeod, S. (2007). Pavlov’s Dogs. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/pavlov.html
Robert mills gagne facts. (N.D.). Retrieved from
http://biography.yourdictionary.com/robert-mills-gagne
Images provided by Google (in order of
appearance)
https://goo.gl/images/xuQD27
https://goo.gl/images/gd0uqj
https://www.simplypsychology.org/pavlov.html
https://goo.gl/images/VyjqC4
https://goo.gl/images/8QMfBp
https://goo.gl/images/xuWxVU