Learning and behavior

Transfer of learning means the influence of previous learning on new learning or performance. It is positive when earlier learning helps (knowing cycling helps in learning a motorbike), negative when it interferes (driving on the left in Nepal confuses a driver on a right-hand road), and zero when there is no influence. The main factors affecting transfer are as follows.

1. Similarity between tasks The more the two tasks resemble each other in content, method or response, the greater the positive transfer. Learning Hindi helps in learning Nepali because of similar script and words. Where the stimulus is the same but the response must differ, negative transfer occurs.

2. Intelligence of the learner Bright learners see relationships and principles more readily, so they transfer learning more easily than those of low ability.

3. Method of teaching and learning Learning with understanding of principles, rules and meaning transfers better than rote memorisation. Teaching that points out how the knowledge can be applied elsewhere increases transfer.

4. Degree of original learning Thorough, well-practised learning is transferred better than superficial learning. A student who has mastered basic arithmetic does better in algebra.

5. Attitude and motivation of the learner A positive attitude, interest and will to apply what is learned promote transfer. Lack of confidence reduces it.

6. Organisation and variety of experience Learning that is well organised and acquired in varied situations can be applied in more situations. Practice in many examples helps generalisation.

7. Time interval and the task situation When the gap between the first and second tasks is small and the learning is fresh, transfer is better. Learning that is not used for a long time is forgotten.

8. Ability to generalise Learners who can form general principles from examples apply them in new situations.

Teachers can improve positive transfer by stressing principles, giving varied examples, linking new topics to old ones and encouraging application.

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience or practice. Maturation is the natural unfolding of inherited characteristics through growth of the body and nervous system, mostly independent of practice or training. Both are needed for development, and they are closely related.

Relationship

1. Maturation sets the readiness for learning. Learning is effective only when the child is physically and mentally ready. A one-year-old cannot learn to walk by training until the muscles and nerves have matured, and a child of two cannot be taught algebra.
2. Learning builds on maturation. After maturation provides the capacity, learning improves skill. A child matures enough to speak, but learns the language of the home by hearing and practising. Similarly, a child matures to hold a pencil, and learns to write through practice.
3. Training before maturation is wasteful. In Gesell's twin-study (stair-climbing), the twin trained early gained little over the untrained twin who learned quickly later when ready.
4. Maturation without learning is incomplete. A child brought up in isolation may mature physically but does not develop speech and social behaviour.
5. Interdependence. Learning is stimulated by maturation, and experience may speed up or help maturation (nutrition, stimulation).

Differences

Educational importance: teachers should teach according to the readiness of the child and provide suitable experiences at the right stage.

Insightful learning is learning in which the solution of a problem is suddenly grasped through understanding the relationships among the elements of the situation, rather than by blind trial and error. The theory was developed by the Gestalt psychologist Wolfgang Köhler (1913-1917, Tenerife) from experiments on chimpanzees. It is also called learning by insight or the "Aha!" experience.

Köhler's experiment The chimpanzee Sultan was placed in a cage with a banana kept beyond reach outside, and two bamboo sticks of which neither alone could reach. After trying and failing, he sat quietly, looked at the situation, and suddenly joined the two sticks and drew the banana in. In another test, he piled boxes to reach a banana hung from the roof.

Main features

1. Perception of the whole situation: the learner sees the problem as a whole and the relationship between the parts (the stick, the fruit and the distance), not as separate bits.
2. Sudden solution: the answer appears suddenly after a period of thinking, not gradually.
3. Preceded by a period of trial and exploration: there is a pause and mental reorganisation before the solution.
4. Understanding, not blind trial: errors are few, and behaviour is purposeful.
5. Transferable: a solution learned by insight can be repeated at once and applied to similar situations.
6. Depends on intelligence and past experience: higher ability and relevant experience help insight. Younger chimpanzees and persons with more experience succeed more easily.
7. Depends on the arrangement of the situation: insight comes when all required elements are visible in the field.
8. Retained longer: because it is understood, it is remembered well.

Human example: A student struggling with a geometry problem suddenly sees that drawing an extra line makes two triangles similar, and then solves it quickly.

Educational importance: teachers should present problems as a whole, encourage thinking and understanding, and give time for reflection rather than rote learning.

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential that results from experience or practice.

Example: Feeling hungry when you smell food cooking in the kitchen. At first the smell (neutral stimulus) meant nothing, but because it was repeatedly paired with eating (unconditioned stimulus), the smell alone now makes the mouth water and creates hunger (conditioned response).

Comparison and Contrast of Classical and Operant Conditioning

Classical conditioning was proposed by Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) and operant conditioning by B. F. Skinner (1904–1990). Both are behaviourist theories of learning, but they differ in several important ways.

Meaning of the two theories

Classical conditioning is learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a natural (unconditioned) stimulus and begins to produce the same response. Pavlov showed this with dogs: a bell (neutral stimulus) was repeatedly presented before food (unconditioned stimulus). After several pairings, the bell alone (now a conditioned stimulus) made the dog salivate (conditioned response).

Operant conditioning is learning in which behaviour is strengthened or weakened by its consequences. Skinner placed a hungry rat in a box; when the rat pressed a lever, food was delivered. The rat soon learned to press the lever to get food. Here the response comes first and the reward follows.

Points of comparison (similarities)

1. Both are behaviourist theories. They explain learning only through observable stimuli and responses, not through mental processes.
2. Both involve association. Classical conditioning associates two stimuli; operant conditioning associates a response with its consequence.
3. Both follow the law of reinforcement. In both, repeated pairing or repeated reward strengthens the learned connection.
4. Both show extinction. If the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus, or if the reward is stopped, the learned response gradually disappears.
5. Both were established through animal experiments and later applied to human learning.

Points of contrast (differences)

Conclusion

Classical conditioning explains how we learn emotional and reflexive reactions to previously neutral things, while operant conditioning explains how we learn purposeful, goal-directed behaviour. They are not rival theories but complementary ones — together they give a fuller picture of how learning takes place.