Learning and Memory - Research Paper Example

Learning is something which takes place when we repeat something again and again. There is another definition, according to which “learning is either a case of differential strengthening of one from a number of responses evoked by a situation of need, or the formation of receptor-effector connections de novo; the first occurs typically in simple selective learning and the second in conditioned reflex learning” (cited in Dudai 2008). So, learning is strengthening of available responses and making of new ones which takes place because of repetition or practice.

How much repetition is needed? It depends. Sometimes one repetition session is enough and sometimes you need much practice to learn car driving. Now, let’s discuss what memory is. Again if we refer to Kandel, ". . . memory is the process by which that knowledge of the world is encoded, stored, and later retrieved.” According to this definition, memory is a process but not a thing. There is another definition which says that "Memory is a phase of learning . . . learning has three stages: Acquiring, wherein one masters a new activity . . .

or memorizes verbal material . . . Retaining the new acquisition for a period of time; and remembering, which enables one to reproduce the learned act or memorized material. In a narrower sense learning merely means acquiring skill ..” From this definition it is clear that memory deals with keeping knowledge and retrieving it when necessary. The process of memory is "responsible" for fixing the links between the signals in the brain at one time. Anything that gets into the brain at the same time is connected.

The brain can record communications in various ways. Learning is a complex process of accumulation of systems of connections in the brain through which people can reproduce the necessary information. In learning memory, attention, thinking, feeling, and imagining are "involved". Violation of the work of even one of these processes is immediately reflected on memorization, even if the process of "memory" is absolutely perfect. Psychology highlights involuntary learning, voluntary learning and super-voluntary learning.

Involuntary learning. When you are in your apartment, your brain automatically fixes the relationships between the perceived objects, as well as internal relationships of the objects. In this case, learning happens by itself, you need not make any effort to learn. Brain is "tuned" to commit relationships between actually existing objects (images, smells, tastes, sounds, etc.) Voluntary learning. For example, you are trying to learn a poem. Voluntary learning necessarily means validation phase, control.

After reading a few lines, you will try to repeat a passage from the poem by memory; if you fail, you will read it again and again and try to repeat it. Although you are making efforts to learn, however, the process of learning is "blind". In this case, people are not aware of the mechanisms of learning and do not use special learning methods. Surer-voluntary learning. An example of surer-voluntary learning may be learning of a list of phone numbers. A person gets familiar with the list (even if it contains 50 phone numbers) and says that to remember this amount of information he / she would need about 30