Welcome to an exciting journey through Class 11 Psychology, Chapter 5! This chapter is a fascinating exploration into the world of psychology, where we dive deep into the intricate workings of the human mind. As you embark on this adventure with WitKnowLearn, you'll discover answers to many intriguing questions that have puzzled scholars for years. This chapter, rich in knowledge and insight, is not just about reading and memorizing facts. It's about understanding the essence of human behavior and the processes that govern our learning.

Imagine unlocking the secrets behind why we behave the way we do and what motivates us. Class 11 Psychology Chapter 5 does exactly that! It's like having a roadmap to the human mind, guiding you through the complexities of psychological principles. The solutions and question answers provided in this chapter will not only prepare you for your exams but also equip you with skills to understand the world around you better.

For every student eager to learn, every parent interested in their child's education, and every teacher looking for effective teaching methods, this chapter is a treasure trove of knowledge. You'll find that learning Class 11 Psychology can be both enjoyable and enlightening. As you delve into this chapter, remember, every page turned is a step closer to unraveling the mysteries of the human mind. Let's embark on this educational journey together, with WitKnowLearn as your guide, and discover the wonders of psychology!

Q1. Why is motivation a prerequisite for learning?

Ans: Motivation is a prerequisite for learning because it energises the organism to act vigorously in order to attain some goal. It provides a purpose to actions that continue till the goal is attained and the need is satisfied. It also provides impetus to the need for survival and growth that is essential for learning. Thus, an organism works harder when the motivation is high. For example, a student studies in order to achieve a good result. This is because the student is motivated towards a good result for which she/ he learns to achieve a specific goal

Q2. What is learning? What are its distinguishing features?

Ans: Learning can be defined as any relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential produced by experience. Changes that occur due to practice and experience, and are relatively permanent, are a component of learning. Its distinguishing features are:

1. Learning always involves some kind of experience. For instance, a child gets lost at a place on leaving the hands of the parents, would learn not to leave the hand of elders the next time.

2. Behavioural changes that occur due to learning are relatively permanent and are different from temporary behavioural changes caused by habituation, drugs or fatigue. For example, feeling tired after studying is a temporary change and does not involve learning.

3. Learning is an inferred process that involves a series of psychological events. It is also different from a performance.

Q3. What does the notion of preparedness for learning mean?

Ans: Preparedness for Learning: The members of different species are very different from one another in their sensory capacities and response abilities. The mechanisms necessary for establishing associations, such as S-S or S-R, also vary from species to species. It can be said that species have biological constraints on their learning capacities. The kinds of S-S or S-R learning an organism can easily acquire depends on the associative mechanism it is genetically endowed with or prepared for. A particular kind of associative learning is easy for apes or human beings but may be extremely difficult and sometimes impossible for cats and rats. It implies that one can learn only those associations for which one is genetically prepared.

Q4. How can you distinguish between generalisation and discrimination?

Ans: Generalization: When a learned response occurs or is elicited by a new stimulus it is called generalization. Example: Suppose an organism is conditioned to elicit a CR (Saliva secretion or any other reflexive response) on the presentation of a CS (light or sound of bell). After conditioning is established, and another stimulus similar to the CS (e.g., ringing to telephone) is presented, the organisms make the conditioned response to it. This phenomenon of responding similarly to similar stimuli is known as generalization.

Dscrimination: Discrimination is a response due to differences. Example: Suppose a child is conditioned to be afraid of a person with a long moustache and wearing black clothes, in the subsequent situation, when she/ he meets another person dressed in black clothes with a beard, the child shows signs of fear. The child’s fear is generalized. She/ he meets another stranger who is wearing grey clothes and is clean-shaven. The child shows no fear. This is an example of discrimination. Occurrence of generalization means failure of discrimination. The discriminative response depends on the discrimination capacity or discrimination learning of the organism.

Q5. What is a skill? What are the stages through which skill learning develops?

Ans: A skill is defined as the ability to perform some complex task smoothly and efficiently, e.g. car driving, writing etc. Skill consists of a chain of perceptual-motor responses or as a sequence of S-R associations, e.g.: Movements of legs, feet and toes etc.

According to Fits skill learning develops through three stages.

1. Cognitive Phase: In cognitive phase of skill learning, the learner has to understand and memories the instructions. The learner has to understand how the task has to be performed. In this phase every outside cue instructional demand and one’s response outcome have to be kept alive in consciousness.

2. Associative Phase: Different sensory inputs or stimuli are to be linked with appropriate responses. As the practice increases, errors decrease, performance improves and time taken is also reduced.

3. Autonomous Phase: Two important changes take place in performance. The Attentional demands of the associative phase decreases. Inference created by external factors reduces. Finally, skilled performance attains Automaticity with minimal demands of–conscious effort.

Q6. Define operant conditioning. Discuss the factors that influence the course of operant conditioning.

Ans: Operant or instrumental conditioning is a form of learning in which behaviour is learned, maintained or changed through its consequences. Determinants of operant conditioning:

Reinforces: A reinforcement is defined as any stimulus or event which increases the probability of the occurrence of a desired response. The type - positive or negative, frequency, quality and schedule or reinforcer are determinants of operant conditioning.

Type of reinforcement:

Positive reinforcement involves stimuli that have pleasant consequences. They strengthen and maintain the responses that have caused them to occur. Negative reinforcer involves unpleasant and painful stimuli. Responses that lead organisms to get rid of painful stimuli or avoid and escape from them provide negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement leads to learning of avoidance and escape responses. Frequency/ number of reinforcement and other feature:

Frequency of trial on which an organism has been reinforced or rewarded. Amount of reinforcement i.e. how much of reinforcing stimulus (food or water) one receives on each trial. Quality of reinforcement i.e. to the kind of reinforcer. Bread of inferior. Quality as compared with pieces of cake have different reinforcing value.

Schedule of reinforcement:

This refers to the arrangement of the delivery of reinforcement during trials. When a desired response is reinforcement every time it occurs we call it continuous reinforcement. When according to schedule responses are sometimes reinforced, sometimes not it is known as partial reinforcement and has been found to produce greater resistance to extinction.

Delayed reinforcement: It is found that delay in the delivery of reinforcement leads to poorer level of performance.

Q7. Explain the different forms of cognitive learning?

Ans: Insight learning is a form of cognitive learning. Insight is defined as sudden perception of relationship between the learner, the goal and intervening obstacles. Insight occurs when the learner suddenly sees the relations between two valuables. Many experiments have been performed on insight learning. One of the simplest of these experiments requires the chimpanzee to reach food with a stick when it cannot be reached by hand and when nothing else other than a stick is a available in the room. Latent learning is another form of cognitive learning. The word latent means ‘hidden’ and thus latent learning is learning that occurs but is not evident in behaviour until later, when conditions for its appearance are favourable. Latent learning is said to occur without reinforcement of particular responses and seems to involve changes in the ways information is processed. Thus latent learning is an example of cognitive learning.

Experimental evidence:

Rats in an experimental group the latent learning group were first given plenty of experience in a maze. After they thoroughly experienced the maze, reinforced maze learning under instrumental conditioning began ie. They were rewarded for their successful effort. The rats in a control group are not being given experience with the maze. The control group animals were put in a box that is unlike the maze. When reinforcement for maze learning starts, the experimental group did better than the rats in the control group.

The latent learning group rats learned the maze faster and with fewer errors than did the control animals. It proves that the latent learning showed up in their performance.