Learning is an integral part of all forms of life, from the habituating gill-withdrawal reflex of the Aplysis to the integration

of sensory-perceptual information with verbal information that occurs in the human amygdala (Wickens, 2005). Some behavior is innategenetically predisposed at birth or even conceptionsuch as homeostatic mechanisms, certain reflexes, and some species-specific behaviors. However, the paradigm of learning, in the realm of psychology, is best described as, a relatively permanent change in behavior or in behavioral potentiality that results from experience and cannot be attributed to temporary body states such as those induced by illness, fatigue, or drugs (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2005). Nevertheless, a complete comprehension of the mechanism of learning, as it pertains to modernday psychology, is largely predicated on the understanding of the specific role that behavior plays in learning, the different types of learning, and the relationship between learning and cognition.

Behavior and Learning

Unfortunately the neurological processes of learning cannot as of yet be observed first hand; therefore, science is left with behavior as the only means by which to infer the actual mechanics of learning. Except for B.F. Skinner, who views the duality of reinforcement and punishment as the whole of learning behavior, most learning theorists maintain that learning constitutes an intervening or mediating variable between experience and behavior. To apply the language of the scientific method, the independent variable of experience is mediated by the intervening variable of learning in order to affect the dependent variable of behavior. What's more, it is important to draw a distinction between learninga change in behavior potentialityand performancethe translation of potentiality into behavior. Performance composes the actual exhibition of learning as behavior, but learning itself only has to result in the potential for future behavior. In sum, learning is behavior potentiality that acts as an intervening variable between experience and behavior; eventually finding expression through the instrument of performance.

Types of Learning

Conditioning is a specific type of learning, first formulated by Pavlov and then later amplified by Skinner, which describes the actual procedure by which behavioral modification can take place. Moreover, conditioning can be separated into the two subcategories of classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning. Classical conditioning, as espoused by Pavlov, entails the association of an unconditioned

stimulus (i.e. food) with a conditioned response (i.e. salivation when the tuning fork is rung) through the repeated pairing of a conditioned stimulus (i.e. the tuning fork being rung) with an unconditioned response (i.e. salivation when food is presented). It is through this mechanistic approach to learning that classical conditioning is able to affect behavior change. On the other hand, instrumental or operant conditioning operates through the mechanism of reinforcement by increasing the future likelihood that already emitted behaviors will occur. For instance, if a bird pecks a lever of its own accord and then a pellet of food is released into the animals habitat, then it is much more likely to peck the lever again. In this way, reinforcement can affect future behavior. In all, classical conditioning is implemented in order to determine which objects are necessary for survival and which are not, and instrumental conditioning is more concerned with the acquisition or avoidance of desirable or undesirable objects. Finally, besides conditioning there appears to be many other types of learning that take place in the realm of human experience, but they are all built upon the foundation of conditioned learning. As Kirsch & Lynn (2004) put it, paradigms act as exemplars of permanent solutions to specific scientific quandaries and act as model for later research. So, even though conditioned learning might not explain all forms of learning, it does form a mechanical foundation for the understanding of even more complex paradigms of learning.

Learning and Cognition

Virtually all contemporary theories of learning incorporate cognitive associations into the basic stimulus-response associations espoused by classical and instrumental conditioning (Kirsch & Lynn, 2004). These cognitive associations can form between representations of two stimuli (S-O), representations of a stimulus and a response (S-R), and the representation of responses and outcomes (R-O). The main notion behind all three associations is that the anticipation or expectancy of outcomes plays an intermediary role between learning and performance. Hence, SO cognitive associations can be established through preconditioning procedures such as the pairing of two related stimuli, absent any type of reinforcementwhich brings about the expectancy that future representations of one stimulus will bring the appearance of the other stimulus. Conversely, R-O cognitive associations can be formed through the devaluation of a current schedule of instrumental conditioning by reducing the expected outcome for responses. Altogether, the representations of future expectancy of stimuli or responses act as the backbone of the cognitive perspective of learning.

Conclusion

In conclusion, behavior is the end result of learning by way of the instrument of performance and is the only scientifically verifiable means by which to study learning. Additionally, two types of learning, classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning, make up the most basic paradigm of behavior modification. It is upon these two foundational paradigms of learning that the cognitive associationswhich propose the expectancy of future outcomes as an intermediary variablebuild a framework for understanding the underlying cognitive processes that help explain higher forms of learning.

References

Hergenhahn, B. R., & Olson, M. H. (2005). An introduction to theories of learning (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Kirsch, I., Lynn, S.J. (2004). The role of cognition in classical and operant conditioning. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60(4), 369-392. Retrieved September 29, 2009, from EBSCOHost Database.

Wickens, A. (2005). Foundations of biopsychology, 2e. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Hall.