Psychological Processes Involved in Learning - Research Paper Example

Psychological Processes Involved in Learning Introduction The processes that take place inside a human mind when it comes to leaning have not only astonished scientist but also scholars in the field of psychology and philosophy. One area that psychology has focused on when it comes to the ability and process of the brain to learn is in infants where the brain learns new things. This paper will use the process of teaching a two-year-old baby how to brush its teeth to understand different approaches to learning. It will focus in the various psychological processes that are involved in this learning process by relating the specific problem with how children learn and develop where theories such as behaviourism, social constructivism among others will be focused on where each theory will be focus on in detail. The paper will then relate the key points in these theories with the example of brushing teeth. Finally, it will conclude by summarizing the learning outcomes of this exercise. Context Alex’s case is being used as context to examine what processes the brain requires to undertake when it comes to learning in children. One of the Major aspects of the brain, which is crucial in teaching Alex how to brush his teeth, is memory. This is because, it is important for Alex’s mind to remember how he saw his mother brushing her teeth in order for Alex to learn how to brush his teeth. For instance, Alex’s mother congratulates him when he is able to brush his teeth. When the memory part of Alex’s brain associates brushing with a reward, which is in this case, is the congratulations, then it will result in Alex being able to learn how to brush his teeth by himself. This is mainly so since deep in his mind he feels that his mother will congratulate him. However, there are more processes involved in the process of Alex learning how to brush his teeth other than memory. These processes are well defined in the various theories of learning. In this case, the paper will consider social leaning theory, Behaviourism theory, social constructivism theory, and the constructivism theory. Behaviourism Between the 1920s and 1950s, behaviourism was the major paradigm that was used to understand human behaviour. It combined methodology, psychology, theory. The theory was generally based on various assumptions (Crain, 2000). The first assumption was that psychology was a form of science hence theories should be supported by data that is empirical gotten from the controlled and careful observation and the measurement of behaviour. Thus, its goal was to predict and control. The second assumption that the theory took was that the primary concern when it came to understanding human behaviour as observable without the influence of things such as emotion or thinking. The theory was based on the assumption that the environment around them determined human behaviour thus people did not possess free will. The theory also assumed that very little difference existed between the learning process of human beings and animals. The theory assumed that the brain was born blank and that human beings assimilated behaviours because of some stimulus. This meant that any behaviour that human beings can be traced down to a specific stimulus and from the stimulus the different way in which the human would assimilate certain behaviour could be determined. Behaviourism theory was also used in philosophy. Though somehow similar , the philosophical approach of the theory stipulated that the behaviour of human beings should be viewed as natural science where what they do can be traced to a stimulus assuming that they did not think or be emotionally influenced into perfuming the action. Edmund Fantino developed this aspect of behaviourism Social learning Theory The social learning theory is an approach to psychology in understanding the learning process in human beings. The theory stipulates that human beings learning outcomes are indeed based on the social context that they are in. This theory, relates more to children where it proposes that children learn and acquire behaviours from the environment they are in where they seek to be accepted by the society by learning different things from people who they view as role models. For example, a child who is brought up around other children usually learns and behaves differently from a child who is brought up in the surrounding of adults. The theory is based on different models that have been proposed by various scholars who have specialised in the theory. Fig 1.a is an example of such models. Figure 1.a Source (Mithunss, 2013) From the figure, one is able to understand how the social learning theory works where it is clearly that the personal determinants and behavioural determinants are all linked to the environmental determinant. The social learning theory is generally based on three concepts. The first concept is that human beings learn through observation. The second concept is that the mental states internally are very important aspects of the process of learning. Finally, the theory is also based on the assumption that the fact learning something does not necessarily result in a human being changing their behaviour. Constructivism Constructivism is a philosophical approach to education where learning is viewed as the process where information is linked together with knowledge existing in the brain which was generated by experiences in the past. The theory also has its roots from an approach to education through biology and cognitive psychology. Theses theory is derived from various roots. They include; the nature of the particular learner, the role of the teacher or instructor, the specific nature of the process of learning, the collaboration between learners, and the scope, selection , and the sequencing of the matter in question. All the above roots all elate to the ability and the learning process of a particular matter. For instance, the nature of the learner is very crucial when it comes to learning. This is because of the fact that different people have different ways and abilities to learn, for example, teaching someone with a high IQ is very different from teaching someone with a low one. Persons with high IQs tend to learn faster that people with w IQs. The nature of the person who is teaching the learner is also instrumental since it greatly determines how fast the person will learn. For example, a trainer who is impatient might result in a learner not learning the matter in question. In the same, the nature of the matter being learned is also a factor since if it is complex in nature it will result in a lot of time being taken to learn the particular matter. Social constructivism Social Constructivism is a learning theory, which stipulates that the potential development of a human being have directly, determines the level or amount which learning occurs. The theory puts emphasis on the act that learning should be approached in a collaborative nature. Lev Vyogotsky is the psychologist from the Soviet Union who is responsible of coming up with the theory. Through the theory, he dismissed the fact that learning experiences can be separated from the different social contexts. Lev proposed that the learning process of a child usually takes place in two ways. The first way is with regard to the social environment surrounding the child while the second level happens later individually where it is first considered to be inter-psychological and then intra-psychological. This means that a child learns behaviour especially cultural ones from the society surrounding the child where later on the child determines whether to assimilate the behaviour by viewing other children or determining by himself the positive or negative effects of acquiring the behaviour. For instance, the feeding behaviour of a child can be used to examine this. When a child is given food at home, there are those who tend to reuse or have difficulty during feeding. However, one notices that gradually the child begins to accept food when it is fed together with other children. This steadily goes on to a point where the child accepts to feed without any difficulties. Relation of the Theories to the Case The different theories discussed above relate to the case differently while some work in relation resulting in the child learning how to brush his teeth. By examining how the theories apply in this case, we are able to determine which theories work and in what situation. When one considers the behaviourism, theory it helps in understanding how Alex got to learn to brush his teeth. According to the theory the learning processes of humans is similar to that in animals. When one considers animals their instincts mature through viewing what their mother is doing. The case of Alex proves this theory since Alex gradually learns how to brush by practicing what his mother does. The theory stipulates that human beings learn through observation. Indeed this is the case since Alex observes his mother using the tooth brush resulting in him learning to brush his teeth. The stimulus in this case can be considered to be the reward from his mother which results in the brain associating brushing of the teeth with being rewarded with congratulation. Clearly, Alex does not have free will. The social learning theory can also be used to understand the process of earning that takes place in Alex. This is where the behaviour learned by Alex is determined by the society and environment around him. This means that Alex will learn behaviours that the people around him have. Hence, the fact that he sees his mother brush his teeth using a toothbrush results in Alex learning the behaviour from his mother. However, it does not mean that Alex would have learnt how to brush his teeth just because any adult does so. The child will observe but it does not necessarily mean that will start behaving in the same way. This can be supported by the concept of the social learning theory that stipulates that learning does not directly result in change in behaviour. Other factors such as the relationship between the learner and the instructor greatly influence the outcome. Constructivism plays a huge role in the case of Alex learning how to brush his teeth where it links together past experiences in his memory. This is where in order for the child to learn how to brush his teeth there must be repetition in order for his brain to link together the tooth brush and brushing. This is where his mother must repeatedly brush her teeth in front of the boy to associate himself with the toothbrush and brushing his teeth. Constructivism theory plays a role in the child learning how to brush his since it depends on the number of times it will take for Alex to learn from his mother on how to brush his teeth. The nature of Alex also determines how fast he will be able to learn to brush his teeth. As the theory stipulates the nature of the instructor also influences the learning process. As one can see Alex is able to learn quickly since his mother is positive which is shown by the fact that she encourages her. Conclusion On reading and examining the different theories discussed in the course, then it possible for one to understand the learning process and how the different theories play part in the process. Alex is able to learn the different processes as a result of the combination of the different processes proposed by each theory. It is important to understand that there are other factors that determine how the learning process works especially in children. These are factors that have been considered by institution when setting up curriculums. For instance, it is a known fact that different people possess different intelligence quotients (IQ) thus making the learning process to be different to be applied differently in various children. For instance, it is not obvious that it will take only one time to see a parent brushing for the child to learn how to brush their teeth as in Alex case. However, it is important to acknowledge that these are proposed theories by different scholars, which means that they are not the only processes involved in learning, this are just but a few theories that try to explain how the brain works when it comes to learning. References Crain W. 2000. Theories of Development: concepts and applications, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Print Mithunss, 2013. Social learning theory Pictures Retrieved from http://withfriendship.com/user/mithunss/social-learning-theory.php Read More