Compare theories of learning including classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning, and outline models of memory

What this dot point is asking

SCSA Unit 3 asks you to compare the main theories of learning and to describe how information is encoded, stored and retrieved. You must define the key terms of each theory, name the foundational studies, and apply them to behaviour. This is high-yield content for both school assessment and the external examination.

Classical conditioning (Pavlov)

Classical conditioning is learning by association, first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov with dogs. A neutral stimulus becomes able to trigger a reflex response after repeated pairing with a stimulus that already triggers it.

The terms you must use precisely:

• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): food, which naturally causes salivation.
• Unconditioned response (UCR): salivation to food (a reflex).
• Neutral stimulus (NS): the bell, before learning.
• Conditioned stimulus (CS): the bell, after pairing with food.
• Conditioned response (CR): salivation to the bell alone.

The Little Albert study by Watson and Rayner extended classical conditioning to humans, conditioning a fear response in an infant by pairing a white rat (NS) with a loud noise (UCS).

Operant conditioning (Skinner)

Operant conditioning is learning controlled by the consequences of behaviour, developed by B. F. Skinner using the operant chamber (Skinner box). Behaviour followed by a desirable consequence is more likely to recur; behaviour followed by an undesirable consequence is less likely.

• Positive reinforcement: adding a pleasant stimulus to increase behaviour (a reward).
• Negative reinforcement: removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase behaviour (escaping discomfort).
• Positive punishment: adding an unpleasant consequence to decrease behaviour.
• Negative punishment: removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease behaviour (response cost).

Skinner also showed that schedules of reinforcement matter. Continuous reinforcement produces fast learning but fast extinction; variable-ratio schedules (rewarding an unpredictable number of responses) produce the highest, most extinction-resistant response rates, which is why gambling is so persistent.

Observational learning (Bandura)

Albert Bandura argued that we also learn by watching others (models), without direct reinforcement. His Bobo doll study showed children who watched an adult act aggressively toward an inflatable doll later imitated that aggression, especially when the model was rewarded.

Bandura identified four conditions for observational learning: attention (noticing the model), retention (remembering the behaviour), reproduction (being able to perform it), and motivation (a reason to imitate, often vicarious reinforcement). This bridges behaviourist and cognitive views because it requires internal mental processes.

Comparing the theories

• Classical conditioning explains involuntary, reflexive responses through stimulus pairing.
• Operant conditioning explains voluntary behaviour through consequences.
• Observational learning explains behaviour acquired by imitation, requiring cognition.

Models of memory

The Atkinson-Shiffrin multi-store model describes memory as three stores:

1. Sensory memory: a brief, large-capacity register holding raw sensory input for a fraction of a second.
2. Short-term memory (STM): limited to about seven items (Miller's magic number) and roughly 18 to 30 seconds without rehearsal.
3. Long-term memory (LTM): effectively unlimited and potentially permanent.

Information moves from sensory to STM through attention, and from STM to LTM through rehearsal, especially elaborative rehearsal that links new material to existing knowledge.