Figure 3-2.  Learning theories of psychology include classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning.  Classical conditioning is learning based on an association made between a neutral environmental stimulus and a natural stimulus. For  example, the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov discovered that a dog could be trained to associate the sound of a beating metronome  with being fed. Pavlov would start the metronome before presenting the dog with food. Over time, the dog learned to associate the  unique sound with receiving food and, as a result, the dog would physically respond to only the sound of the metronome. Today, this  experiment is commonly referred to as Pavlov’s Dog.$_{ }$ Operant conditioning is very similar to classical conditioning in which forming associations is the fundamental tool of learning.  However, in operant conditioning, the association is made between behavior and the consequences of that behavior. In this learning  method, a positive behavior creates a positive consequence; a negative behavior creates a negative consequence. The learner then  makes an association between behaviors and consequences and then predicts that future behaviors will result in similar consequences.  Social learning is simply learning by observation. Psychologist Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory suggests, basically, that we  all learn from each other. Learning occurs by observing the actions of those around us, imitating those actions, and finally modeling  those actions ourselves that others around us may then observe, effectively perpetuating the learning process through continued social  interactions. Bandura's theory states that there are four stages associated to social learning:  Various branches of learning theory are used in formal training programs to improve and accelerate the learning process. Key  concepts such as desired learning outcomes, objectives of the training, and depth of training also apply. When properly integrated,  learning principles can be useful to aviation instructors and developers of instructional programs for both pilots and AMTs.  Many psychologists and educators have attempted to explain how people learn. While variations abound, modern learning theories  grew out of two concepts of how people learn: behaviorism and cognitive theory.  Behaviorism explains animal and human behavior entirely in terms of observable and measurable responses to stimuli. Behaviorism  was introduced in the twentieth century and its followers believed all human behavior is conditioned more or less by events in the  environment. Thus, human behavior can be predicted based on past rewards and punishments. Classic behaviorist theory in education  stressed a system of rewards and punishment or the “carrot and stick” approach to learning. In modern education circles, behaviorism  stresses the importance of having a particular form of behavior positively reinforced by someone (other than the learner) who shapes  or controls what is learned. In aviation training, the instructor provides the reinforcement.  Today, behaviorism is now used more to break unwanted behaviors, such as smoking, than in teaching. The popularity of behaviorism  has waned due to research that indicates learning is a much more complex process than a response to stimuli. Humans, far from being  passive products of experience, are always actively interacting with the environment.  Behaviorism  1.  Attention—the ability of the observer to pay attention to others around him or her in order to learn.  2. Retention—the ability to remember an observed behavior to later repeat that behavior.  3. Reproduction—the act of producing a previously observed behavior. This may require additional skills  beyond what was initially observed.  4. Motivation—the reason to reproduce an observed behavior.  3-3 