Theories of Learning - Assignment Example

Module Theories of Learning There are three basic theories of learning, ly The Behavioral Theory, Cognitive Theory and Constructivist Theory. First of all let us see what does the Behavioral Theory says. The two most famous names attached with this theory are B.F Skinner and John Watson. Both these psychologists are American. John Watson’s contribution spanned in the years 1920 to 1930. Skinner had his time in 1950s and 1960s. This theory presents the following features described in the following. The first thing this theory includes is that the whole course is divided into smaller parts. It includes all the skills, the knowledge and the information which is to be taught to the students. The second thing which is done is to give the students feedback and reinforcement on a regular basis throughout the course. The third feature of this theory is that the entire focus of teaching is given on the content which is being taught and the context in which it can be used is excluded from the material or content. The teaching should be context free according to this theory. Fourthly, the classrooms are teacher centered which means that the teacher is the only person in the classroom who is talking and controlling the communication. The second theory is The Cognitive Theory or the Theory of Cognitivism. As the name suggests, it is based on mind and thought process. It studies those mental factors which result in a specific behavior or a change in the behavior. The theorists following this theory say that most of the learning is made possible with the combination of contiguity and repetition. However, they do not discard the significance of reinforcement. According to these theorists the basic role of the reinforcement is to correct the mistakes in the responses and not just as a source of motivation for the learners.(Good and Brophy, 1990, pp.187). The third theory which is Constructivists Theory suggests that everyone sees the world with the perspective which he creates from his personal experiences. This theory implies that the reality is only known by the person who knows it and resides inside the mind, it is not in the outside world. This theory assumes that knowledge is based on experience and learning is a personal phenomenon of interpreting the world. It calls learning an active process and results in the construction of meaning based on experience. The concepts grow from the negotiated meanings, different perspectives which are shared and the changes in the internal thought process by collaborative learning. According to this theory the process of learning should be done in actual situations and settings, and testing should not be an isolated activity but included in the task. (Merrill, 1991, in Smorgansbord, 1997). After discussing all three theories we can see that the quotation given in the first question belongs to the constructivist theory as it says that every person has some mental structures in his mind which help him interpret the world and construct the knowledge of reality. It implies the same thing that some biological factors play their role in the learning process of human beings and because those structures in the mind of one person differ from others, people learn some things better than the others and the other person will learn the other things better than the first person. Contention of Maslow : Answering to the second question about Maslow’s concept of human motives, it can be interpreted that he means to say that the learning process should be made in an organized manner. First of all you have to make the learners feel comfortable with what you are going to teach them. In addition to it the settings and the environment of the classroom and/or the school and college should be friendly and not scary. According to Maslow the students become able to think critically and their psychological abilities are enhanced when they are not bothered about their basic needs like safety and nutrition etc. no one can learn and think better if he is afraid of the teacher, subject or the classroom. Maslow suggests that the teaching method should be organized and the students should be taught in an organized ascending manner. In which the easiest thing is taught first and then the harder and then the hardest. An example can be of driving lessons to a beginner. First of all he is told theoretically about the car, its components and how they work. Then about the rules and regulations of the road and traffic signs etc, and after that he is made to drive the car in an isolated place (empty ground). It would be catastrophic to ask him to drive on the busy road without having to know how the car works. An example of this can be a situation where terrorists have occupied a place and they are trained and smart. If the law enforcement agencies want reduce the rate of casualties to a minimum, they will try to buy time and will make sure that there is no food supply active to the terrorists and will wait until they are finished with their nutrition back up. Then water connection will be cut of. These steps will slow down the mental ability of the terrorists to think smartly and to react effectively. Then the strike is made on the right time when they are not in a position to fight. The concept of Maslow is related to the Behaviorist Theory. In this theory the learners are taught the things which they will face later in the course or in the life. The knowledge is given prior to the experience. It makes them already prepared to react smartly when the time comes. Role of Psychology in Workplace : The role of psychology in a workplace is very significant because psychology deals with the behaviors shown by the people at the work place, their thoughts, how they feel and also the experiences of the employees in the workplace. In this way the psychology helps the organization to identify the potential of the members of the staff and help decide the management about what to do with them. From the employees’ perspective, psychology helps them to understand the needs and requirements to stay in the company and to identify their friends and enemies. It helps them to get to know what others think of themselves and so to react appropriately. Another role of psychology is played at the time of hiring the employees. Nowadays every panel of management interviewing the employees include a psychologist as well. This is done to judge the applicants in terms of their psychological power and mental capability to handle responsibility and pressure situations which will be a part of the daily job. A careful selection of the employees with the help of the psychologist prevents the organization to make a wrong decision in hiring the correct person for the right job. In this way the psychology prevents the loss of finances and time to the company. A psychologist is able to measure the intelligence of the applicants thus short listing them for the appropriate jobs according to the capabilities of the candidates. The business psychology enables the employees to handle the pressure moments and also to take the risky decisions at the most crucial of the times. In the continuously changing world of business, there come a lot of challenges where you have to digress from your original path in order to compete with the competitors. It requires a lot of character to recollect you and remain the same enthusiasm in doing the hard work. A person who is psychologically strong or have a psychologist with him can survive the challenges of the corporate world. Examination : 1. Many television commercials use attractive actors or pleasing music because these can serve as _______. (a) conditioned stimuli 2. A child is told "No!" loudly whenever he starts to cross the street in front of his house. Soon, the child does not approach the street unless an adult is holding his hand. What procedure was used to teach the child this safety precaution? (b) reinforcement 3. Bill loves to play golf. Although he frequently wins championship trophies, Bill feels that his greatest pleasure lies in "just playing the game." For Bill, playing golf is _______. (c) intrinsically reinforcing 4. Social learning theorists differ from behaviorists by suggesting that _______. (d) genetic inheritance has little or no influence on behavior 5. When you believe that you are responsible for the events in your life, then _______. (a) you are intrinsically motivated. 6. Which of the following individuals is BEST described as having a strong gender identity with little sex typing? (d) Seth feels confident about his "masculinity" and does not mind when his friends tease him about his love of cooking. 7. Which of the following child-rearing practices is MOST likely to increase a childs aggressiveness? (b) intermittent punishment and power assertion 8. What is a major barrier to using frequent reinforcement in the classroom as a means of improving the quality of education? (a) The extra work required of teachers. 9. Some cancer patients develop conditioned taste aversions when a meal is followed by chemotherapy. In this situation, learning occurs because of _____. (b) classical conditioning 10. Which of the following situations best illustrates negative reinforcement? (d) John didnt get his allowance this week because he borrowed his sisters surfboard without asking permission. 11. Whenever the telephone rings, five-year-old Louis goes to answer the front door. Louis always seems surprised when there is no one at the door. Little Louis is exhibiting _____. (c) stimulus generalization 12. What specifically would a social learning theorist mean when she says that a person is motivated to show a high level of academic achievement? (d) Earning good grades has a greater effect on the individuals behavior than avoiding bad grades. 13. Recent research suggests that self-efficacy _____. (a) is only achieved in adulthood 14. Children who are cooperative, socially mature, and cheerful are likely to have parents who _____. (c) use a permissive parenting approach 15. Johnnie has learned that he is in trouble when his parents refer to him by his full name, "Jonathan Lucas McNamara". Now Johnnie has learned to hate his first grade teacher because she always calls him by his full name. This situation illustrates _____. (c) operant conditioning 16. Little Patricia is too young to speak. Which of the following is true about her learning abilities at this age? (a) Despite her age, she can learn through observation of others. 17. If you have a strong belief that you have control over the events of your life, it can be beneficial because such beliefs have been shown to be directly associated with _____. (a) a realistic viewpoint 18. From the social learning perspective, a persons internalization of moral standards requires _____. (a) intuition 19. While behavioral psychotherapies are often very effective, they are generally ineffective, even in the short-term, when they are used to _____. (a) teach social skills 20. Ms. Santos wants to improve the quality of her teaching by using frequent reinforcement and allowing each student to learn at his or her own pace. A major barrier that could prevent Ms. Santos from achieving these goals is _____. (b) the increase in her workload that will result 21. Perceptual sets affect our perceptions by changing them based on _____. (a) sensations 22. Research has shown that personality traits such as persistence, independence, and confidence, are associated with creativity. Mrs. Smiley, a third grade teacher, wants to use these findings to increase divergent thinking in her children. Mrs. Smiley may be unable to produce any changes, because _____. (d) creativity is related more to convergent thinking than to divergent thinking 23. Research has shown that the memory of eyewitnesses _____. (b) can be improved by avoiding immediate questioning 24. Imagine that you can carry on a conversation and describe the events of your childhood, but you have difficulty remembering new information for more than 30 seconds or so. Transfer of information _____ is probably at fault. (b) from long-term to short-term memory 25. Think about a time when you played a practical joke on one of your friends. This would be an example of _____ memory. (a) episodic 26. You can improve your memory by thinking about the meaning of the information you want to remember because, when you use deep processing, _____. (a) you build stronger associations 40. When studying, you should use _____ to identify the difficult material in a course so that you can spend more time studying that information. (a) metacognition References Thompsondunn.com,. (2014). What Role Does Psychology Play in Business?, Thompson Dunn, Business Psychologists. Retrieved 2 July 2014, from http://thompsondunn.com/index.php/2009/03/14/what-role-does-psychology-play-in-business/ Viking.coe.uh.edu,. (2014). Behavioral Theories. Retrieved 2 July 2014, from http://viking.coe.uh.edu/~ichen/ebook/et-it/behavior.htm Read More