APPLYING LEARNING THEORIES TO HEALTHCARE PRACTICE BY: PUAN NORIAH HJ AHMAD {MSN, BSc (Hons), ICN, CM, RN}

LEARNING OBJECTIVES At the end of this session, students should be able to: Differentiate among the basic approaches to learning for each of the five learning theories. Define the principal construct of each learning theory. Give an example applying each theory to changing the attitudes and behaviors of learners in a specific situation. Outline alternative strategies for learning in a given situation using at least two different learning theorie

LEARNING OBJECTIVES (cont)… Identify the differences and similarities in the learning theories specific to: a. the basic procedures of learning, b. the assumptions made about the learning, c. the task of the educator, d. the sources of motivation, and e. the way in which the transfer of learning is facilitated

Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in mental processing, emotional functioning, and/or behavior as a result of experience. It is the lifelong, dynamic process by which individuals acquire new knowledge or skills and alter their thoughts, feelings, attitude and actions.

LEARNING THEORIES Behaviorist Cognitive Social learning Psychodynamic Humanistic

BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORY According to the behaviorists, learning can be defined as “the relatively permanent change in behavior brought about as a result of experience or practice.” Behaviorists recognize that learning is an internal event. However, it is not recognized as learning until it is displayed by overt behavior.

BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORY (cont…) The term "learning theory" is often associated with the behavioral view. The focus of the behavioral approach is on how the environment impacts overt behavior. Remember that biological maturation or genetics is an alternative explanation for relatively permanent change.

BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORY (cont…) The behavioral learning theory is represented as an S-R paradigm. The organism is treated as a “black box.” We only know what is going on inside the box by the organism’s overt behavior. Stimulus (S) Organism (O) Response (R)

BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORY (cont…) The feedback loop that connects overt behavior to stimuli that activate the senses has been studied extensively from this perspective.

BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORY (cont…) Notice that the behaviorists are only interested in that aspect of feedback that connects directly to overt behavior. Behaviorists are not interested in the conscious decision of the individual to disrupt, modify, or go against the conditioning process. There are three types of behavioral learning theories: Contiguity theory Classical or respondent conditioning theory Operant or instrumental conditioning theory

CONTIGUITY THEORY Contiguity theory is based on the work of E. R. Guthrie. It proposes that any stimulus and response connected in time and/or space will tend to be associated. EXAMPLE: A student making a good grade on a test after trying a new study technique makes an association between the stimulus of studying and the response of getting a good grade.

CONTIGUITY THEORY (cont…) EXAMPLE: A baseball player wearing a certain pair of socks on the day he hits three home runs associates wearing the socks and hitting home runs. Guthrie’s contiguity theory is one foundation for the more cognitively-oriented learning theory of neural networks.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY Classical conditioning was the first type of learning to be discovered and studied within the behaviorist tradition (hence the name classical). The major theorist in the development of classical conditioning is Ivan Pavlov, a Russian scientist trained in biology and medicine (as was his German contemporary, Sigmund Freud).

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY (cont…) Pavlov was studying the digestive system of dogs and became intrigued with his observation that dogs deprived of food began to salivate when one of his assistants walked into the room. He began to investigate this phenomena and established the laws of classical conditioning. Skinner renamed this type of learning "respondent conditioning” since in this type of learning, one is responding to an environmental antecedent.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY (cont…) General model: Stimulus (S) elicits >Response (R) Classical conditioning starts with a reflex (R): an innate, involuntary behavior. This involuntary behavior is elicited or caused by an antecedent environmental event. For example, if air is blown into your eye, you blink. You have no voluntary or conscious control over whether the blink occurs or not.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY (cont…) The specific model for classical conditioning is: A stimulus will naturally (without learning) elicit or bring about a reflexive response Unconditioned Stimulus (US) elicits > Unconditioned Response (UR) Neutral Stimulus (NS) --- does not elicit the response of interest This stimulus (sometimes called an orienting stimulus as it elicits an orienting response) is a neutral stimulus since it does not elicit the Unconditioned (or reflexive) Response.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY (cont…) The Neutral/Orienting Stimulus (NS) is repeatedly paired with the Unconditioned/Natural Stimulus (US).

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY (cont…) The Neutral Stimulus (NS) is transformed into a Conditioned Stimulus (CS). That is, when the CS is presented by itself, it elicits or causes the CR (which is the same involuntary response as the UR. The name changes because it is elicited by a different stimulus. This is written CS elicits > CR.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY (cont…) In the area of classroom learning, classical conditioning is seen primarily in the conditioning of emotional behavior. Things that make us happy, sad, angry, etc. become associated with neutral stimuli that gain our attention.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY (cont…) For example, the school, classroom, teacher, or subject matter are initially neutral stimuli that gain attention. Activities at school or in the classroom automatically elicit emotional responses and these activities are associated with the neutral or orienting stimulus After repeated presentations, the previously neutral stimulus will elicit the emotional response

OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY Operant conditioning is the study of the impact of consequences on behavior. With operant conditioning we are dealing with voluntary behaviors. The major theorists for the development of operant conditioning are: Edward Thorndike John Watson B.F. Skinner

OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY (cont…) Operant conditioning investigates the influence of consequences on subsequent behavior. Operant conditioning investigates the learning of voluntary responses. It was the dominant school in American psychology from the 1930s through the 1950s. Where classical conditioning illustrates S-->R learning, operant conditioning is often viewed as R-->S learning

OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY (cont…) It is the consequence that follows the response that influences whether the response is likely or unlikely to occur again. The three-term model of operant conditioning (S--> R -->S) incorporates the concept that responses cannot occur without an environmental event (e.g., an antecedent stimulus) preceding it. While the antecedent stimulus in operant conditioning does not ELICIT or CAUSE the response (as it does in classical conditioning), it can influence its occurance.

OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY (cont…) When the antecedent does influence the likelihood of a response occurring, it is technically called a discriminative stimulus. It is the stimulus that follows a voluntary response (i.e., the response's consequence) that changes the probability of whether the response is likely or unlikely to occur again. There are two types of consequences: - positive (sometimes called pleasant) - negative (sometimes called aversive)

OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY (cont…) Two actions can be taken with these stimuli: - they can be ADDED to the learner’s environment. - they can be SUBRACTED from the learner’s environment. If adding or subtracting the stimulus results in a change in the probability that the response will occur again, the stimulus is considered a CONSEQUENCE. Otherwise the stimulus is considered a NEUTRAL stimulus.

OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY (cont…) There are 4 major techniques or methods used in operant conditioning. They result from combining: - the two major purposes of operant conditioning (increasing or decreasing the probability that a specific behavior will occur in the future), - the types of stimuli used (positive/pleasant or negative/aversive), and - the action taken (adding or removing the stimulus).

OPERANT CONDITIONING Outcomes of Conditioning Increase Behavior Decrease Behavior Stimulus Add Positive Reinforcement Subtract Response Cost Positive/pleasant Subtract Negative Reinforcement Add Punishment Negative/Aversive

OPERANT CONDITIONING MODEL Contingencies to increase and decrease the probability of an organism’s response To increase the probability of a response: A. Positive reinforcement: application of a pleasant stimulus. Reward conditioning: a pleasant stimulus is applied following an organism’s response.

OPERANT CONDITIONING MODEL (cont)… B. Negative reinforcement: removal of an aversive or unpleasant stimulus. Escape conditioning: as an aversive stimulus is applied, the organism make a response that causes the unpleasant stimulus to cease. Avoidance conditioning: an aversive stimulus is anticipated by the organism, who makes a response to avoid the unpleasant event.

OPERANT CONDITIONING MODEL (cont)… 2. To decrease or extinguish the probability of a response: A. Nonreinforcement: an organism’s conditioned response is not followed by any kind of reinforcement (+ve, -ve or punishment). B. Punishment: following a response, an aversive stimulus is applied which the organism cannot escape or avoid.

THANK YOU ANY QUESTION/S ?