Learning is basic for understanding behavior. Learning may be defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as the result of prior experience. "Learning is a permanent change as the result of specific experiences." Types of learning There are several types of learning. First we will explain associative learning. This is the most basic form of learning. It is making a new association between events in the environment. Psychologists distinguish two types of associative learning: the classical conditioning and the operant conditioning. Classical conditioning will be explained in this paragraph; operant conditioning will be explained in the following paragraph. The more complicated types of learning are called cognitive learning. This types of learning as a large overlap with memory and language. People in all cultures cry in response to pain. This reaction does not have to be learned. Classical conditioning is illustrated by the observation that children do not cry when they see a doctor with a needle when they visit the doctor for the first time. However, in the future they will immediately cry when they see a doctor or a needle. This response is an example of classical conditioning. Pavlov The study of classical conditioning started with a series of experiments conducted by the Russian scientist (and Nobel Prize winner) Ivan Pavlov. He did one of the most famous experiments ever done in history: A dog was prepared for this experiment by having a small operation exposing the salivary gland to the surface, which made it possible to measure salivation automatically. Then the dog, which is fastened by leashes such that he cannot move, is given food while ringing a bell. This procedure was repeated several times. Normally, when ringing a bell, a dog does not salivate. A dog salivates when he gets food. However, when the bell is ringing every time when the dog receives food, he will salivate while the bell is ringning, even when there is no food. Pavlov called this the conditioned response. The dog had been conditioned to associate the bell with food and to respond to it by salivating. Pavlov's experiment was an example of the classical conditioning. A new association between a conditioned stimulus and a response through the repeated pairing of the conditioned stimulus (the bell) with an unconditioned stimulus (the salivating when eating food), that elicts the response.  Further reading:   Conditioning 1   Conditioning 2   Conditioning 3 Do you have more information about Classical conditioning? Please share it in our database. [ TOP ]   © ThinkQuest Team 26618. All Rights Reserved.