Non-Associative Learning

This is divided into two categories: habituation or sensitisation.

The first is due to the development of a habit in which a stimulus has little or limited response. Essentially someone is little affected by a stimulus because they have become so used to it that it no longer influences their reactions.

However, initially the stimulus would have resulted in a positive or negative response because it was newly encountered, and the individual would have been unsure of its impact.

A habit can become an expectation in some learners, so if they are consistently criticised for doing something wrong, expressing an opinion, or giving incorrect answers then the likelihood of them not engaging with learning will increase as they will have realised that the best way to avoid this negative situation is to not keep quiet and to not show initiative.

The second category results in an individual gradually increasing their response to a stimulus.

This can often be a negative reaction to a saying or behaviour, with an individual becoming more annoyed, frustrated or demotivated each time the stimulus occurs. This could also lead to a situation in which a learner reacts quite aggressively to a situation, so understanding emotional responses will play an important part of course design.

Within any training course or material used in its delivery, be aware of any potential repetitive or contentious wording or media used (which might include a term or concept which is consistently poorly described and therefore not communicated effectively, increasing the frustration of a learner), or behaviour by the trainer, otherwise learning (or the potential for it), can be nullified quite quickly.