Which of the following statements are correct?

A. Gagne has classified learning into Six (06) types in a hierarchical order.

B. The study of instrumental conditioning started from the puzzle box experiments on cats by Skinner.

C. The law of disuse states that when a modifiable connection between stimulus-response (S-R) is not made over a period of time, the strength of the connection is weakened.

D. Hull’s theory of learning is called ‘Drive-Reduction Theory’.

E. Shaping is the most important mechanism used in classical conditioning.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Correct option is D

The correct statements are:
· C: The law of disuse states that if a stimulus-response (S-R) connection is not used over time, the strength of that connection weakens. This idea was proposed by Thorndike in his theory of learning.
· D: Hull's Drive-Reduction Theory suggests that learning occurs when an organism's behavior reduces a physiological drive, such as hunger or thirst. This theory explains motivation in terms of biological needs.
Incorrect statements:
· A: Gagne's hierarchy includes eight types of learning, not six.
· B: Instrumental conditioning was developed by Thorndike through his puzzle box experiments, not by Skinner. Skinner's work focused on operant conditioning.
· E: Shaping is a mechanism used in operant conditioning, not classical conditioning.
Information booster:
1. Thorndike’s law of disuse emphasizes that connections between stimuli and responses weaken if they are not used regularly, impacting the retention of learned behavior.
2. Hull’s Drive-Reduction Theory posits that organisms learn behaviors that reduce their drives (e.g., hunger, thirst), which strengthens the learned behavior.
3. Shaping, used in operant conditioning, involves reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior until the final behavior is achieved.
Additional Knowledge:
· Gagne’s learning hierarchy includes eight types of learning, such as signal learning, stimulus-response learning, and problem-solving, progressing from simpler to more complex skills.
· Operant conditioning is associated with Skinner and involves learning from the consequences of behavior, while instrumental conditioning was first demonstrated by Thorndike.
Key Points:
· Thorndike’s law of disuse explains how forgetting occurs when learned behaviors are not practiced.
· Hull’s Drive-Reduction Theory focuses on biological needs driving learning.
· Shaping is an important part of operant conditioning, used to teach complex behaviors step by step.