Question

What type of changes in behavior qualify as learning?

• A. Temporary changes due to illness
• B. Permanent changes due to drugs
• C. Deliberate changes due to instruction
• D. Relatively permanent changes brought about by experience

Hint:

Learning = Lasting behavioral change from experience, not temporary or drug-induced effects.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Learning is defined in psychology as a relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge resulting from experience.
- (1) is incorrect: Temporary changes due to illness (e.g., fatigue or confusion) are not learning, as they are not permanent or experience-driven.
- (2) is incorrect: Permanent changes due to drugs (e.g., neurological damage) are physiological, not learning, as they are not based on experience.
- (3) is incorrect: While instruction can facilitate learning, the change must be relatively permanent and experience-based, not just deliberate. For example, memorizing something temporarily through instruction does not always qualify as learning unless retained.
- (4) is correct: Learning involves changes that are relatively permanent (i.e., lasting but not necessarily irreversible) and result from experiences, such as practice, observation, or training. Thus, option (4) is correct.

Answer 2

Keyword-elimination method:
The standard definition of learning requires two conditions together: the change must be relatively permanent, not fleeting, and it must arise from experience, not from biology or instruction alone. Testing each option against both conditions, illness-based change (1) is temporary, failing the permanence test; drug-induced change (2) is permanent but physiological, failing the experience test; instruction-based change (3) need not be lasting and can be purely deliberate rather than experiential, so it also fails. Only option (4) satisfies both conditions simultaneously, making it the correct definition of learning.