By Mark E. Bouton, University of Vermont. Basic principles of learning are always operating and always influencing human behavior. This module discusses the two most fundamental forms of learning -- classical (Pavlovian) and instrumental (operant) conditioning. Through them, we respectively learn to associate 1) stimuli in the environment, or 2) our own behaviors, with significant events, such as rewards and punishments. The two types of learning have been intensively studied because they have powerful effects on behavior, and because they provide methods that allow scientists to analyze learning processes rigorously. This module describes some of the most important things you need to know about classical and instrumental conditioning, and it illustrates some of the many ways they help us understand normal and disordered behavior in humans. The module concludes by introducing the concept of observational learning, which is a form of learning that is largely distinct from classical and operant conditioning.

This is a YouTube channel with about three dozen short (15 min) talks about various topics related to learning and behavior or conditioning and learning. The talks cover the full range of topics typically included in a course on learning, including habituation, classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning, schedules of reinforcement, theories of reinforcement, behavioral economics, the Premack principle, extinction, stimulus control, and memory, The talks were written and delivered by Michael Domjan, Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and are based on Domjan's popular textbooks, The Principles of Learning and Behavior (published by Cengage) and The Essentials of Conditioning and Learning (published by the American Psychological Association). The number of talks and range of topics is sufficient to make up all of the lectures needed for a course on learning.

This YouTube channel hosts a series of short (about 15 min) talks and performances for the Pavlov/Tertis Project, which explores connections between music and psychology. The talks were written and delivered by Michael Domjan, Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas, who is an internationally recognized expert in conditioning and learning. Dr. Domjan also received training as a violist in the preparatory division of the Juilliard School of Music. In this series of videos, he combines his knowledge of psychology with his knowledge of music. Topics include How is psychology relevant to music, Neuroscience and music, Habituation and sensitization in the music of J. S. Bach, Types of memory in musical performance, Why is it harder to teach playing the violin. than playing baseball, What is a Tertis viola?, How is Pavlovian conditioning relevant to music?, Talent vs practice in musical expertise, Why is it important to practice a musical instrument, and What I learned in a music conservatory that made me a better scientist.