There are several classifications of learning. The most frequently isolated non-associative or simple, and associative learning. Sometimes there are also complex associative learning. The result of nonassociative learning the organism acquires the ability to respond or not to respond to a stimulus without the use of a signal, without the Association (connection) with some signal. Associative learning occurs when a coincidence at first indifferent stimulus (signal) with the activity of the body. This forms the relationship (Association) between a signal and the subsequent activity of the body (reinforcement).
All forms of learning depending on the degree of activity of an animal or human in the course of learning are combined in four main groups:
1) passive (reactive) learning;
2) operant learning;
3) cognitive learning:
4) learning by insight.
Passive (reactive) learning occurs in all cases where the organism passively, i.e. without deliberate effort, responds to some external factors and when in the nervous system, forming new memory traces. Passive forms of learning are habituation, sensitization, imprinting and classical conditioned reflexes by I. P. Pavlov.
Addictive is the extinction of an orienting response. If the stimulus is repeated many times, and has no special value for the organism, then the organism ceases to react to it. The result is addictive, and estimated reaction quenched. The addiction arises not as a result of fatigue, as a result of a special adaptive neural process. So, humans and animals, a new stimulus causes a variety of changes: the change in the frequency and depth of breathing, heart rate, EEG desynchronization, motor reactions, etc. If the stimulus turned out to be indifferent for the body, that subsequent repetitions of the reaction to it fade away.
Habituation is the simplest and probably the most common form of learning in humans and animals. It is important for the formation of behavior in a young body, because it helps him to recognize the neutral elements of the environment. Due to addiction the body cannot ignore the stimuli do not contain anything new and does not have value for him. While attention focuses on more important events.
Sensitization (sensitization) is to strengthen the body's response to repeated stimulus if it causes every time discomfort. For example, repetitive buzzing of the flies becomes unpleasant and unbearable. The basis of this kind of learning is a mechanism postethnicity-term potentiation, or synaptic facilitation. The value of the synaptic facilitate is that it helps to improve the processes of information processing in the neurons of the nerve centers. For example, it is very important for learning during the development of conditioned reflexes. The re-emergence of the phenomena of relief in the nerve center may cause a transition of the center from the normal state to the dominant.
Imprinting is a simple, specialized form of learning, which manifests itself during critical (sensitive) periods of development of the organism. Acquired behavior is relatively stable and difficult to change. There are several varieties of manifestation of imprinting.
1) Imprinting of images and objects: parents, brothers, sisters, food, etc.
2) the Assimilation of behavioral acts, or the so-called imitation behavior (children repeat the actions of the parents).
3) Reaction distance "blind", automatically following the newborn for parents. This reaction is well studied in precocial birds the Austrian ethologist Konrad Lorenz (attachment goslings to the Lorentz). Imprinting is that in the brain of just born baby (or chick) is imprinted the image of another individual (visual imprinting), usually the parent, or some large object and creates a special "attachment" to it. When the first moving object that the goslings saw at the time of hatching was from the egg, was not their mother, and K. Laurence, the goslings followed him around and acted as if he was their mother. His real mother they didn't pay any attention and tried under the protection of K. Lorenz.
In natural conditions, imprinting is adaptive value in helping the cubs to quickly learn the necessary skills from parents (e.g., learning to fly) and remember characteristics of the environment (for example, for salmon it can be "smell" of the river (olfactory imprinting), where they hatched and where they return to spawn).
Think motor equivalent to the reaction sequence of animals the child is a smile, the constant change of expressions, the appearance of the complex of revival already at the 2nd month of life.
Imprinting is similar to the unconditional and conditional reflexes at the same time different from them. The similarity with an unconditioned reflex is that imprinting the reaction persists, usually for life and are congenital. The similarities with the conditional reflex is revealed in the fact that manifestations of imprinting reactions need certain conditions. The difference between imprinting and unconditional and conditional reflexes is that, first, the imprinting is manifest at certain critical periods (often immediately after birth, and in the short term, but sometimes the terms can be separated). Secondly, the marking is very fast, sometimes, as for example the reaction sequence, the first time.
Observation of children's development suggests that an important role in the psychological development of the child imprinting, influencing future behavior, prejudice his for many years. There is a perception that the age from six weeks to six months is critical for the formation of relations of the child with the mother.
In newborn infants the first months of life a determining factor in the occurrence of attachment to mothers is a feeling of comfort and sense of security. Essential feeding mother of his child, hygiene care, the tone of voice and speech sounds required in the communication of a waking infant.
Acquired in early ontogenesis experience in the mechanism of imprinting, being extremely durable, it can have a decisive influence on the further behaviour of the person, defining its attitude to all aspects of life, including household and social aspects.
That's why from the point of view of pedagogy, it is extremely important for a child is his childhood environment and above all family relationships. It is quite clear that early experience can be both positive and negative, respectively, forming the whole mental makeup of the child and his future life. In this sense, early conditional reflexes formed by the mechanism of imprinting, are the vector that determines, ultimately, the destiny of man. Negative experiences in early ontogeny, can sometimes serve as a clue to the antisocial behaviour of the person.
Many researchers believe that imprinting is a special, third form of response (except for conditional and unconditional reflexes) to the environment.
Classical conditioned reflexes by I. P. Pavlov are one of the types of associative learning. They are characterized by signalvalue: initially indifferent stimulus with the development of a conditioned reflex takes on the role of warning factor that indicates the occurrence of subsequent events and prepares the body to interact with them. The body itself cannot radically change the sequence of events, and passively awaiting the filing of conditional and unconditional stimulus.