NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Psychology (Introduction to Psychology) Chapter 5 Learning

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 11th

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Book : Psychology Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 6 Psychology

Class : 11th
Subject : Psychology
Chapter : 6
Chapter Name : Learning

Q1 What is learning? What are its distinguishing features?

Answer. Learning can be described as permanent behavioural changes occuring in an individual
over a period of time, which may be due to their own experiences. People always learn things
either by experiencing them or practicing them. However, the changes that occur due to
maturation of an individual can not be counted as learning. The changes that occur as a result
of learning should be permanent to be characterised as learning.
1) Learning always involves the processing of some or the other kinds of experiences.
2) Changes that occur due to this process are relatively permanent.
3) Learning should be distinguished from performance as it is a conclusive process.

Q2 How does classical conditioning demonstrate learning by association?

Answer. The kind or learning in which an individual learns to associate learning with a certain
stimulus is known as classical conditioning. It was first explained by Pavlovs and his
experiments with dogs. This experiment was conducted in two phases, and based on saliva
secretion as a response to food. In the first phase, the dog was left inside a box, harnessed. A
surgery was conducted, where, one end of a certain tube was put inside the dog’s jaw and the
other one inside a glass jar. The dog was left there for sometime.
In the second phase, the harnessed dog was presented with food after the sounding of a bell
and it was allowed to eat it. This was carried out for a couple of days, until test trial was
introduced and the food was not presented at the sounding of the bell, however, it was notable
that the dog still secreted saliva. Hence, the dog acquired a new response in terms of secretion
of saliva, by associating food and the sound of the bell.

Unconditioned stimulus (US): This stimulus is always followed by a response.

Conditioned stimulus (CS): Also known as a neutral stimulus, because initially when this is
presented, it doesn’t revoke any response. Although, this stimulus develops its capacity to
originate natural responses when associated with unconditioned stimuli.

Unconditioned Response (UR): The natural responses evoked by the unconditioned stimulus
are unconditioned responses.

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Book : Psychology Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 6 Psychology

Conditioned Response (CR): When responses are evoked by presenting of the neutral
conditioned stimulus, they’re known as conditioned responses. This is learned.

Q3 Define operant conditioning. Discuss the factors that influence the course of operant
conditioning.

Answer. Operants were originally defined by B.F. Skinner, as the responses which were under
the control of human beings and/or animals and are produced voluntarily.

Determinants of operant conditioning are:

1. Reinforcer: The probabilities of any desired response occurring is increased with the
presentation of a reinforcer. A reinforcer can be of the types: positive and/or negative. The
former implies that the stimuli involved would be pleasant and maybe positive.
On the other hand, negative reinforcement implies that the stimuli involved would be unpleasant
and can be painful as well. However, negative reinforcements lead to better and faster learning
as the negative and painful consequences motivates the individual to get rid of them as soon as
possible. For this, they learn to avoid it and have an escape.

Frequency of occurring reinforcements: Frequency of trials under which an organism has been
reinforced and the amount of reinforcement

Quality of reinforcement: it refers to the kind of reinforcements.

Schedule of reinforcement: this is the timely manner in which reinforcements were presented
during the trials.
It may be noted that any kind of reinforcement ceases to be useful or effective if there is a delay
while presenting the reinforcements as the whole process becomes uncertain.

Q4 A good role model is very important for a growing child. Discuss the kind of learning that
supports it.

Answer. It’s no secret that the people and environment with which a person lives have an effect
on their behaviour and learning. Observational learning is when an individual acquires certain
aspects of behaviour by observing many ranges of social skills. This is also known as social
learning because mainly the skills that are acquired are social in nature. This concept was first
introduced by Bandura as a way of showing that personality development and its characteristics
are an aftermath of this learning. It was shown that although the behaviour of the model is

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observed, the individual shows such behaviour depending upon if that behaviour is rewarded or
punished.

Q5 Explain the procedures for studying verbal learning.

Answer. As individuals grow up, they learn how to respond verbally to a verbal stimulus. This
may include words, nonsense syllables etc. This is carried out as follows:

1. Associated learning involves preparing a list of paired associates, where the first one acts as
a stimulus while the second one is the response. The former is nonsense syllables while the
latter are english words.

2. Serial learning involves preparing a list of words, which can be familiar or unfamiliar or
nonsense syllables. The participant is supposed to repeat the list in such a manner that they’re
in the same order and the declaration of one of these leads to recalling of the next word.

3. Free Recall involves presenting the participants with a list of words, each of them having a
certain exposure time duration. After all of them are presented, participants are asked to recall
these in any order they may fancy.

Q6 What is a skill? What are the stages through which skill learning develops?

Answer. The ability to form certain complicated tasks with utmost efficiency is known as ability.
Skill learning develops and goes through three stages, according to Fitts.

Cognitive Phase: In this the learner has to understand and memorise how a certain task is to be
performed.

Associative Phase: Different sensory stimuli are associated with different responses and
practicing these, decreases errors and the time taken to perform them.

Autonomous Phase: the amount of attention required to perform a particular task, decreases, so
does the inference by external factors, with time.

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Q7 How can you distinguish between generalisation and discrimination?

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Answer. Pavlov proved generalisation to be true by noticing that conditioned stimulus and
conditioned responses form a bond by conditioning. This meant that any stimuli which are
similar to conditioned stimuli are bound to produce the same response and this is known as
generalisation. For example, if anyone is conditioned to get food and hence, secrete saliva, after
the sounding of a particular bell, the sounding of another kind of bell, like, a phone ring can
produce a similar response.

Discrimination involves making different specific responses to different stimuli, this may also
include making no responses to some particular stimuli. For example, if a child is conditioned to
be afraid of black cars, no signs of fear would be shown when the child is encountered with a
white car.

Q8 How does transfer of learning takes place?

Answer. The human brain also works by transferring skills that we learn in one situation to
others. For example: learning to use water colours may give rise to certain skills involved with
learning to make oil paintings. However, if the learner has benefitted with that particular skill in
the past, only then, transfer occurs. Referring to the effects of prior learning to new learning,
negative transfer is made when the new learning is related. Zero transfer is when the prior
learning has no effects on the new one.

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Q9 Why is motivation a prerequisite for learning?

Answer. Motivation is a must for learning. It's a mental as well as a physiological state which
rigorously energises an individual to do a certain task at hand.

Motivation has two main sources:

Intrinsic motivation: one learns things faster and with efficiency when its the topic of their
personal interest, or would help them achieve a certain goal.

Extrinsic motivation: any person has the ability to attain their chosen knowledge and skills and
get the job done.

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Q10 What does the notion of preparedness for learning mean?

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Answer. Any organism is able to associate some particular combinations of stimuli, responses
and reinforcements, better than others. This maybe their preparedness acting. This notion of
preparedness implies that there are genetic restrains on organisms’ abilities to acquire or to
learn. Different species have different response abilities, it all depends on their genetic blueprint,
or they are prepared for in terms of the capacity of acquiring stimuli through senses and
responding to the same..

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Q11 Explain the different forms of cognitive learning.

Answer. In cognitive learning, changes take place in terms of what the learner knows. This can
be noticed in insight and latent learning.

1) A sudden perception about the relationship of a learner, their goals to be achieved and
the obstacles that intervene is associated with insight learning. Insight learning is a type
of cognitive learning.
2) Latent learning occurs without the use of reinforcements and changes are observed in
the way information is processed. Therefore, it is a type of cognitive learning as well.

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Q12 How can we identify students with learning disabilities?

Answer. Learning disabilities can be a heterogeneous group of disorders. The sources can be
genetic but there are ways to identify people with disabilities.

1. Children with such disabilities are very different from their age mates, when it comes to
learning. They have great difficulties in reading, writing, speaking out loud and may also have
listening problems, without the presence of any auditory defects.

2. Such children are easily distracted. Sometimes this grows into attention deficit hyperactive
disorder, in this, the children are described to be driven by “motor” and have a hard time
concentrating for long.

3. Such children tend to get lost and poorly adjust to new surroundings and situations. They lack
the time sense, are confused in working with directions and misjudge right and left.

4. They have a lack of balance and very poorly formed motor skills and coordination is broken

5. Oral instructions to do things or to follow directions is their weak point.

6. Such children fail to understand other people’s body language and misjudge it.

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