Applying Learning Theory to Life

Applying Learning Theory to Life

PSY 331- Psychology of Learning

Introduction

The nature of how humans learn has been debated and studied for decades, perhaps even centuries. All types of animals have been compared against humans by scientists and psychologists in an effort to gain insight into how we learn. Due to various limitations restricting the amount of information we can gather and different interpretations of the information that we do have, the world of psychology is at odds. The psychology field is broken down into different schools of thought, each with their own theories and sub-theories. The four most influential schools of thought include behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, and humanism. This paper will explore the importance of learning psychology through a brief overview of these four schools of thought with a focus on two sub-theories for each framework, a discussion of theoretically supported strategies to support my personal learning success, and a discussion of theoretically supported strategies to support the learning success of others.

Theories of Learning

Learning is crucial for individuals to continue to develop throughout life. The different theories of learning are necessary for individuals to attempt to understand how individuals learn specifically so that we may increase the effectiveness of our learning. There are several different processes occur when an individual is learning. There are also several factors that can influence an individual’s learning. Individuals learn through different experiences, social interactions, and environmental interactions. As we develop, we reflect on ourselves and our experiences and try to determine how to be our ideal selves. According to Rosser-Majors (2017), comprehension of human knowledge acquisition can have ardent outcomes on efficiency, achievement, and self-fulfillment (sec. i.1). Understanding how we learn can help us learn more effectively and help us to teach others how to as well. The different theories of learning help us to achieve this.

Behaviorism

B.F. Skinner (1976) describes behaviorism as the philosophy of the science of human behavior (para. 1). The foundation of behaviorism emphasizes that learning can be trained. They study human behavior through how we respond to stimulus. For example, a child will learn a desired behavior through the receival of a reward or punishment. Behaviorism consists of four branches: psychological behaviorism, radical behaviorism, molar behaviorism, and neo-behaviorism. Psychological behaviorism theorizes that behaviors are learned through reinforcers (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. i.2). Radical behaviorists suggest that behavior should be the central concentration of psychology, rather than intellectual conditions and notions (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. i.2). Molar behaviorists suggest that the length of time a behavior is reinforced, rather than the amount of times a behavior is reinforced, that is most important for learning (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. i.2). Neo-behaviorism theorizes that all knowledge and actions can be defined through stimulus-response connections (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. i.2). Each of these branches of behaviorism have contributed to the many different sub-theories of behaviorism.

Conditioning

Conditioning is a theory in which a response to a stimulus can be altered or learned. The behavioral perspective can be structured into two general types of learning: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Although they are comparable, classical and operant conditioning are separate processes. According to Rosser-Majors (2017), classical conditioning encompasses continually coupling two stimuli so that ultimately one of the stimuli elicits an automatic response that formerly the other caused by itself (sec. 1.3). The most well-known example of this is Pavlov’s experiment, in which he trained a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell. In contrast, operant conditioning uses stimuli to provoke a desired response, or desist an undesired response, willingly (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. 1.3). Operant conditioning uses stimuli to train behavior through positive and negative reinforcers and punishments. Reinforcers are rewards that are used to proliferate sought-after behavior voluntarily. Punishers are consequences that are used to diminish unwanted behavior voluntarily. Positive refers to adding on, whereas negative refers to taking away. For example, positive reinforcement would be increasing a child’s allowance for getting good grades. Negative reinforcement would be taking away chores from the child when they get good grades. Using the same example of grades, positive punishment would be adding more chores for the child if they get bad grades. Negative punishment would be taking away privileges such as tv time or allowance for getting bad grades. These concepts tend to be effective because people tend to search for social approval.

Connectionism/Laws of Learning

As the field of behavioral psychology grew, Edward Thorndike’s theory of connectionism and the laws of learning became more prominent. Thorndike believed that learning occurred through making habitual connections between stimuli and responses, in any milieu (Saari, 2016, pg. 596). Thus, he developed the connectivist laws of learning to explain how people learn through these connections. These elemental laws consisted of the law of effect, the law of exercise, and the law of readiness. As cited by Antti Saari (2016, pg. 596), “The law of effect refers to the way positive or negative reinforcement can either strengthen or weaken the bond between stimuli and responses” (Thorndike 1912/1999, pp. 70–71). In other words, the consequences of a behavior determine the likeliness of the behavior to reoccur. For example, if you praise a child for a behavior, they are more likely to perform that behavior again. If you scold or punish a child for a behavior, they are less likely to repeat that behavior again. Antti Saari (2016) describes the law of exercise as the laws of use and disuse, which explain that reiteration, or lack there-of, fortify or deteriorate stimulus-response connections (pg. 596). Essentially, this law states “practice makes perfect.” You cannot learn a skill or behavior unless you practice because the practice is what strengthens the connection. For example, you learn how to play an instrument by continually practicing. Finally, there is the law of readiness.

“Briefly the law of readiness may be stated: When a bond is ready to act, to act gives satisfaction and not to act gives annoyance. When a bond which is not ready to act is made to act, annoyance is caused” (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. 1.2).

Basically, you cannot force a behavior unless the person is ready and willing to do so. For example, if a person is not ready or willing to start a new diet, they will not be successful because it will cause annoyance and no bond will be formed.

Cognitivism

Cognition is the mental action of knowledge acquisition through integrating and processing information obtained from various sources. Cognitivism refers to the study of cognition. Cognitivists emphasize that the combination of stimuli and thought produce a response (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. i.3). Cognitivists believe in applying reinforcers to change an unwanted behavior to a desired one. Cognitivists contend that thinking is important for explaining behaviors, thus why it has been integrated into many studies of psychology. Cognitivism offers many valuable concepts to the theory of learning.

Schema Theory

One of the key sub-theories of cognitivism is schema development. As cited by Farangi & Zahra (2017, pg. 2), “Schema is a structure consisting of individuals’ knowledge and past experiences classified into different sections based on similarities facilitating retrieval of saved information and incorporating new information” (Anderson, 2012). As we acquire knowledge, we transfer it from our working memory to our long-term memory, if we deem it important. All the information we store in our long-term memory gets mentally organized develops our schemata. Our schemata are ever changing and are necessary for continual learning. There are four types of schema: content, textual, intertextual, and linguistic content. Content schema refers to a person’s previous information about the substance of a text (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. 4.2). Textual schema refers to a person’s previous knowledge of the organizational features of the printed dialect (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. 4.2). Intertextual schema refers to the associations between concepts revealed in one text that can be related to another text (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. 4.2). Finally, linguistic content schema refers to an individual’s evolving schema that emphasizes the magnitude of linguistic use (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. 4.2). There are many ways to develop one’s schema including reading, cinema, computers, and story-telling. Developing one’s schema makes learning more effective because it allows you to more effectively process and store information into long-term memory, thus making more information easily accessible.

Cognitive Load Theory

Cognitive load refers to the whole amount of mental commotion forced on our working memory at a given time. When learning, the information we obtain must be held in our working memory long enough to be processed and transferred to our long-term memory. When the cognitive load is too heavy, information is missed or not properly stored. There are three types of cognitive load: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane. “The more content elements that need to be processed by working memory at a given time and/or the more interaction between elements (i.e., element interactivity), the more ICL for a learner” (Leppink, 2017, para. 2). Basically, the higher the degree of difficulty of the information, the heavier the intrinsic cognitive load will be. “ECL is cognitive load due to cognitive processes that as such do not contribute to learning” (Leppink, 2017, para. 2). In other words, the higher number of stimuli that is distracting, as opposed to trying to learn it and commit it to memory, the higher the extraneous cognitive load is. “Finally, GCL has been viewed as cognitive load due to the deliberate engagement in cognitive processes that are beneficial to learning” (Leppink, 2017, para. 2). Simply put, germane load refers to the methods and materials used to simplify learning. Even though a high cognitive load is bad for effective learning regarding intrinsic and extraneous load, a high germane load is very conducive and beneficial to effective learning. An individual’s success with learning relies on their ability to filter distractions and manage cognitive load.

Constructivism

The constructivist perspective was instituted from cognitivism. Constructivists theorize that individuals learn by connecting prior knowledge to new information (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. i.4). This approach can be referred to as stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model. Unlike behaviorists, constructivists incorporate the role of the organism in stimulus-response connections. The approach is effective because the connection gives meaning to learning (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. i.4). There are three branches of constructivism: cognitive, dialectical, and radical.

Cognitive Constructivism

Cognitive constructivism, also referred to as endogenous constructivism, emphasizes that new knowledge is constructed internally and is prompted by existing knowledge from personal experiences and conflicts to achieve psychological equilibrium (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. 5.1). This concept, derivative of Piaget’s theory, proposes that individuals are responsible for their own knowledge acquisition and schema development. “Substantial individual thought needs to be acquired in content or subject areas for students to actually understand the material instead of just being able to recite it” (Powell & Kalina, 2009, pg. 242). In other words, individuals must use their schema and analyze information to truly understand it. If they just memorize the information being presented, they are not learning effectively. A perfect example of the importance of this concept in action is children in school learning how to count. Initially, children perform rote counting, where they just memorize the numbers and can recite them in order. However, this does not help them understand the value of numbers or provide them the ability to perform mathematics. Hence, students go to school and do homework and eventually, the can perform rational counting, where they actually understand the order and value of the numbers. Once they can count rationally, it helps them to understand and perform mathematic equations.

Dialectical Constructivism

Dialectical constructivism, or social constructivism, emphasizes that knowledge is acquired through the constant interactions between the growing individual and their environment (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. 5.1). Vygotsky, whom developed social constructivism, contended that social interaction was a crucial part of learning (Powell & Kalina, 2009, pg. 243). An important interrelated concept of Vygotsky’s is the concept of the zone of proximal development, or ZPD. As cited by Powell & Kalina (2009, pg. 244), “ZPD has been described as a zone where learning occurs when a child is helped in learning a concept in the classroom” (Vygotsky, 1962). Basically, the interaction with the other students and the instructor, is what helps an individual learn more effectively. Once the individual understands the task at hand, due to the assistance of others, their “zone” grows, as does their knowledge and schema development.

Humanism

Humanism is a psychological school of thought that considers the whole person. As cited by Rosser-Majors (2017, sec. i.5), “Humanism proposes that people act and learn through intentional behaviors, and that their behaviors are influenced by their values” (Huitt, 2001; Kurtz, 2000). Humanists stress the possible worth and virtue of people. Humanists stress the role of the individual in their own personal growth. Drive, self-sufficiency, and self-improvement are key concepts to humanists.

Self-Determination Theory

Self-determination theory is a motivation theory concerning an individual’s ability to make their own choices and be in control of their own life. According to Rosser-Majors (2017, sec. 6.4), there are three variables backing motivation: autonomy, competence, and belonging. Rosser-Majors also states that there are two different alignments with motivation: self-goals and mandatory requirements. Each of these variables or alignments can influence an individual’s motivation and learning success.

“A task that is inherently interesting may generate autonomous regulation because the task is pursued for its own sake, for the enjoyment and interest that it produces. For work tasks that are not inherently pleasurable, however, external factors may come into play to motivate the individual to perform the task” (Manganelli et al., 2018, pg. 228).

Essentially, the more a task interests an individual, the more autonomous they will be in finding motivation and completing the task (intrinsic motivation). In contrast, when an individual does not enjoy a task and is doing the task simply for the outcome, they are less autonomous in their motivation (extrinsic motivation). Internalization and integration are utilized to increase motivation and autonomy and improve self-perceptions and effective learning.

Experiential Learning

Experiential learning, advocated by John Dewey, is a process of learning where an individual learns through experiences. According to Schaller (2018), learning is most effective upon completion of four stages: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and finally active experimentation (pg. 98). The completion of these learning stages increases effective learning because it maximizes the depth of learning. When a person learns through experience, and then reflects upon and analyzes that experience, it broadens the individual’s understanding of the acquired knowledge. Experiential learning is said to further engage individuals learning and increase their intrinsic motivation.

Personal Learning Strategies

Due to my high grades, I have always considered myself to be very smart and an effective learner. However, after the last few weeks of taking this course, I realize that I am not as effective a learner as I had thought. Through the information I have learned throughout this course, I believe there are several strategies that I could use to increase my learning success. Motivation has always been my primary learning strategy. I have always been intrinsically and extrinsically motivated. I genuinely love school and learning, but I am also determined to earn a degree and create a better life for myself and my child and not end up like my parents. I think another strategy that would be beneficial for my learning success would be to consider Vygotsky’s social learning theory. I have always preferred working alone because I felt that I could learn better that way. If I am being honest, a lot of the time I feel like there is not much I could learn from peers that I do not already know. In fact, part of the reason that I chose to enroll in online university is because I felt that I could do a better job at teaching myself. I think that I would greatly benefit from interacting with others more and absorbing whatever information or experiences they have to offer and learning from them. I feel another strategy that would increase my learning success would be to better manage my cognitive load. When I sit down to do my school work, I do not bother putting myself in an environment that is very conducive to learning. I allow others to be in the room and talk to me, I allow my son to come in my room to play instead of his own, and I do not try to make the information any easier or interesting to take in. I just sit at my computer with all kinds of distractions and continually reread the text the same way over again to try to make sense of it. If I would decrease my intrinsic and extraneous loads, and increase my germane load, I would find much more success in my learning.

Learning Strategies for Others

Over the past few weeks in this course, I have learned a lot of different strategies that I think would help anyone increase their learning success. However, I can think of one person in particular. This person is a part of my personal and professional circles. She is my best friend, my supervisor at work, and she also attends Ashford University like myself. The first strategy that I would recommend to her would be to become a self-regulated learner. “Self-regulated learning is thus the process of setting, monitoring, regulating, and attaining goals through cognition, metacognition, and motivation (Rosser-Majors, 2017, sec. 8.3). However, to be able to become a self-regulated learner, my friend must first utilize the strategies of metacognition and motivation. According to Kellenberg, Schmidt & Werner (2017), a person’s metacognitive regulation of the learning process is a vital qualification for self-regulated learning (pg. 25). Metacognition is so imperative and beneficial to learning for many reasons. As cited by Stanescu, Draghicescu, & Petrescu (2018, pg. 93),

“Flavell noted (1979, p. 906): investigators have recently concluded that metacognition plays an important role in oral communication of information, oral persuasion, oral comprehension, reading comprehension, writing, language acquisition, attention, memory, problem solving, social cognition, and, various types of self-control and self-instruction; there are also clear indications that ideas about metacognition are beginning to make contact with similar ideas in the areas of social learning theory, cognitive behavior modification, personality development, and education.”

In addition to metacognition, motivation is key to becoming a self-regulated learner. Motivation helps to improve cognition and metacognition, as well as driving self-regulated learning. As previously mentioned in this paper, self-determination theory states that there are three important variables to motivation: autonomy, competence, and belonging. As my friend is extrinsically motivated to learn in school and at work, she is becoming more competent and feeling like she belongs in her program. As she is advancing in her job and her degree program, she is starting to see the value of the information she is acquiring and understanding how it applies to her career goals. She is starting to become more intrinsically motivated. The combination of the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation will lead her to be more autonomously motivated. Autonomous motivation is key for learning success and for becoming a self-regulated learner. As cited by Manganelli et al. (2018, pg. 229),

“Specifically, autonomously motivated employees display greater persistence, concentration, effort, and engagement in their work tasks (Deci & Ryan, 2008; Haivas, Hofmans, & Pepermans, 2013). Moreover, they are more likely to fulfill the prescribed requirements of their role, cope with change more effectively, and display proactive and innovative work behaviors (Devloo, Anseel, De Beuckelaer, & Salanova, 2015; Gagné et al., 2015).”

Ultimately, it behooves us to have a functional understanding of the various learning theories to identify our strengths and weakness, so that we may utilize the learning strategies to optimize our effective learning success.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the different theories of learning are crucial to understanding our learning so that we may learn more effectively. The four most influential perspectives in psychology are behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, and humanism. Each theory contributed many influential concepts and strategies to the psychology of learning that have since been applied to life. Behaviorism contributed beneficial concepts such as conditioning and connectionism and the elemental laws of learning. Cognitivism conceptualized the valuable theories of schema development and cognitive load. The constructivist perspective bestowed the respected theories of cognitive constructivism and social constructivism. The humanist perspective provided the advantageous concepts of self-determination theory and experiential learning. To increase my learning success, I will continue to utilize motivation, and also start to utilize social learning theory and manage my cognitive load. To increase my friend/coworker’s learning success, I recommend becoming a self-regulated learner by increasing her autonomous motivation and metacognition. All these theories and strategies will increase effective learning. Soon, I will be a successful self-regulated learner and I will help others to be too.

References

Farangi, M. R., & Zahra, K. S. (2017). Dynamic assessment or schema theory: The case of listening comprehension. Cogent Education, 4(1) doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1080/2331186X.2017.1312078

Jimmie Leppink, P. D. (2017). Cognitive load theory: Practical implications and an important challenge. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, Vol 12, Iss 5, Pp 385-391 (2017), (5), 385. https://doi-org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1016/j.jtumed.2017.05.003

Kellenberg Frank, Schmidt Joel, & Werner Christian. (2017). The Adult Learner: Self-Determined, Self-Regulated, and Reflective. Signum Temporis: Journal of Research in Pedagogy and Psychology, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 23-29 (2017), (1), 23. https://doi-org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1515/sigtem-2017-0001

Manganelli, L., Thibault-Landry, A., Forest, J., & Carpentier, J. (2018). Self-Determination Theory Can Help You Generate Performance and Well-Being in the Workplace: A Review of the Literature. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 20(2), 227–240. https://doi-org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1177/1523422318757210

Powell, K. C., & Kalina, C. J. (2009). Cognitive and social constructivism: developing tools for an effective classroom. Education, (2), 241. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsric&AN=edsric.A216181184&site=eds-live&scope=site

Saari, A. (2016). Knowledge Without Contexts? A Foucauldian Analysis of E.L. Thorndike’s Positivist Educational Research. Studies In Philosophy & Education, 35(6), 589-603. doi:10.1007/s11217-016-9527-2

Schaller, T. K. (2018). Field Learning: Experiential Learning through Participant Observation and Self-Reflection of Consumer Behavior at Sporting Events. Marketing Education Review, 28(2), 98–103. https://doi-org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1080/10528008.2018.1437354

Skinner, B. F. (1976). About behaviorism. Retrieved October 27, 2018, from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=K7WKkwPzNqsC&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=behaviorism&ots=3g2Ir7GmAi&sig=lv8I9bjUpv_qeN8n9GWglJArCVE#v=onepage&q=behaviorism&f=false

STĂNCESCU, I., DRĂGHICESCU, L. M., & PETRESCU, A.-M. A. (2018). Metacognition – A Premise for a Qualitative Academic Learning. Romanian Journal for Multidimensional Education / Revista Romaneasca Pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, 10(3), 91–102. https://doi-org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.18662/rrem/65

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