Correct Answer - Option 2 : Reinforcement
Learning has been defined as a relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of practice/experience. Learning is central to our behaviour as we learn to speak, write, think and perceive.
There are a number of theoretical explanations about the process of learning. These are classical conditioning of operant conditioning which emphasize stimulus-response (S-R) relationships and explain learning as an associative process.
- The term coined by B.F. Skinner means that the likelihood of a behaviour depends on the significance of the event immediately following it to a person showing the behaviour.
- If the event following the behaviour is positively reinforcing or rewarding, then it will recur. If it is not reinforced or is punished, then it is less likely to recur and eventually stops completely a process known as ‘extinction’.
- Operant conditioning relies on a fairly simple premise: Actions that are followed by reinforcement will be strengthened and more likely to occur again in the future.
- This form of learning is also known as instrumental conditioning because some action or behaviour of the learner is instrumental in bringing about a change in the environment that makes the action more or less likely to occur again in the future.
- For example, putting food in your mouth (an operant) is likely to be repeated because of its pleasant consequences.
Thus from the above-mentioned points, it is clear that the important basis of operant conditioning in the learning process is reinforcement.
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Classical Conditioning-
- This is the simplest form of conditioning, described Pavlov, a Russian Psychologist. Conditioning is a term used to describe the process by which a neutral stimulus gains the power to elicit a specific conditioned response.
