Maze Learning
MAZE LEARNING
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MAZE LEARNING Ana Iqbal Mirajkar Bahria University BS-04
MAZE LEARNING
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Abstract This experiment was conducted to uncover the underlying principles of transfer of training in maze learning. The aim was to see if transfer of training facilitated maze learning. It was assumed that practice of one maze would assist the chances of transfer in another and that participants who had prior knowledge of mazes would perform better. A sample of 56 students was chosen conveniently from Bahria University. All participants performed the same experiment on maze A and B, which is they traced a maze twice with the experimenter’s help, had a break of ten seconds and then had five minutes to find the goal. The results were analyzed using percentages. The findings of the results indicated that practice of one maze assists transfer of training on the other and that participants with prior knowledge had more successful trials than the ones who did not. Thus, both hypotheses were proved. Key words: maze, learning, memory, cognitive mapping
MAZE LEARNING Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience (Feldman, 2009). Peter Gray, a psychologist, defines learning as any process through which experience at
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one time can alter an individual's behavior at a future time. Hence learning can be anything that brings about a change in one’s behaviour, or another definition common to all theories of psychology would describe simply a stimulus that generates a response(S-R) (Herbert Terrace). Learning has been an important area of research in psychology; psychologists have done extensive research on how human beings acquire learning and what factors facilitate learning. One such experiment is done by Ivan Pavlov where he introduced the concept of classical conditioning and concluded that learning occurs gradually through pairing and association (Pavlov). Whereas a gestalt psychologist by the name of Wolfgang Kohler
1
MAZE LEARNING Ana Iqbal Mirajkar Bahria University BS-04
MAZE LEARNING
2
Abstract This experiment was conducted to uncover the underlying principles of transfer of training in maze learning. The aim was to see if transfer of training facilitated maze learning. It was assumed that practice of one maze would assist the chances of transfer in another and that participants who had prior knowledge of mazes would perform better. A sample of 56 students was chosen conveniently from Bahria University. All participants performed the same experiment on maze A and B, which is they traced a maze twice with the experimenter’s help, had a break of ten seconds and then had five minutes to find the goal. The results were analyzed using percentages. The findings of the results indicated that practice of one maze assists transfer of training on the other and that participants with prior knowledge had more successful trials than the ones who did not. Thus, both hypotheses were proved. Key words: maze, learning, memory, cognitive mapping
MAZE LEARNING Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience (Feldman, 2009). Peter Gray, a psychologist, defines learning as any process through which experience at
3
one time can alter an individual's behavior at a future time. Hence learning can be anything that brings about a change in one’s behaviour, or another definition common to all theories of psychology would describe simply a stimulus that generates a response(S-R) (Herbert Terrace). Learning has been an important area of research in psychology; psychologists have done extensive research on how human beings acquire learning and what factors facilitate learning. One such experiment is done by Ivan Pavlov where he introduced the concept of classical conditioning and concluded that learning occurs gradually through pairing and association (Pavlov). Whereas a gestalt psychologist by the name of Wolfgang Kohler