Learning

Last post I described what a dyadic interaction is and why we think it is a useful way to learn.
This post will explore what learning is and how we learn.

Merriam-Webster defines learning as:
1. knowledge or skill acquired by instruction or study
2. modification of a behavioral tendency by experience (as exposure to conditioning)


     There are many different types of learning that include, but are not limited to, habituation, sensitization, classical conditioning and observational learning. Each type of learning describes a different process which enables an individual to retain some sort of skill or knowledge. 
     Classical conditioning, for example, describes the process of using an unconditioned stimulus and response and pairing them with a conditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response. The archetype for this type of learning is Pavlov's dogs. The unconditioned stimulus was meat powder and the unconditioned response to this powder is salivation by the dogs. Pavlov then paired this stimulus with a conditioned stimulus, a bell, to produce the unconditioned response of salivating to the bell. Every time Pavlov introduced meat powder to the dogs he would also ring a bell and after enough repetitions of this, the dogs began salivating when no meat powder was introduced at all and just the bell was rung. 
     Observational learning is learning which occurs after observation of a model. This is the type of learning which occurred in my first paper, when our subjects' performance improved after watching an avatar perform a task. This is also the type of learning which we hope will occur when we introduce dyadic interactions into a virtual environment. The other humans in the scene will help our subjects to mimic observed actions and learn from watching the results of actions taken within the environment.