Recommended Classes: PSY 201, PSY 300
Psychology - Theories
of Learning & Memory
A major subject of focus for psychologists in the last
century has been how we learn. Different
kinds of psychologists have different theories for learning. Memory is one
aspect of how we learn that is rooted in biological processing. For some
psychologists, we are conditioned as we learn. All of these different aspects
of learning are useful to know for our own benefit by understanding how our own
learning processes work and how they may differ from others.
Three main psychological frameworks for learning theories
are behaviorism, constructivism and cognitivism. These frameworks differ in
fundamental ways; behaviorism focuses on observable aspects of learning,
constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively
constructs new concepts, and cognitive theories look beyond behavior at
brain-based learning processes. The first theory, behaviorism, was developed by
B.F. Skinner and is essentially views learning as the acquisition of new
behavior through conditioning. Environment shapes behavior and the principles
of contiguity and reinforcement are central to the behaviorism explanation of
the learning process. Two types of conditioning have been studied and theorized
by behaviorists, classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
Under the
behaviorist framework of learning, classical conditioning is a type of learning
that develops out of response to certain stimuli that are not naturally
occurring. Pavlov’s dogs were conditioned to believe they would receive meat
when a bell rang and would start to salivate. The salivation would occur later
when they heard the bell even if meat was not presented to them, demonstrating
learning through classical conditioning. We are classically conditioned every
day by stimuli around us. Operant conditioning is similar to classical
conditioning, however it refers to how an organism operates in its environment.
Operant conditioning, therefore, is based on how we respond to natural
consequences of our actions in an environment. If someone makes a mistake, such
as touching a hot surface and getting hurt, they will remember that mistake and
learn from it. The pain involved with touching the hot surface reinforced a
learned change in behavior, to not touch a hot stove. Positive operant
conditioning also occurs when we do something that has a positive outcome, such
as getting an amazing night sleep after stretching before bed. That person will
most likely continue to stretch before bed in order to continue getting a good
night’s sleep.
Constructivism
theories of learning developed out of educational psychology. Constructivists
view learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds
new ideas or concepts built on current knowledge, past knowledge, and
experience. As such, constructivism-learning theories believe that learning is
a personal endeavor whereby an individual constructs their own knowledge based
on their own experiences. We construct knowledge by applying existing knowledge
to realistic problems in our every day lives.
A third framework
is cognitive learning theories, which developed out of Gestalt psychology in
the early 1900’s that emphasize the whole of the human experience rather than
isolated events Cognitivists assume, similarly to constructivists, that prior
knowledge plays an important role in learning. Another assumption is that our
senses are organized into perceptions of the world around us, while our memory
system is an active organizing processor of this information. Cognitivists
highlight the brain-based process of memory as working to promote learning. Memories
are stored in a three-stage process; the sensory store, short-term/working
memory, and long-term memory. The sensory store takes in all stimuli registered
by the senses, but is retained for only three seconds maximum. Short-term memory, or working memory, registers the stimuli in the sensory store that we
consciously pay attention to. About 7 items of information can be kept for
about 30 seconds in the short-term memory. Through rehearsal and repetition of
the information for at least 30 seconds, the information can be moved to the
third stage of the memory process – long-term memory. An unlimited amount of
information can be held indefinitely in long-term memory, but some information
is lost with time, and can be retrieved for further thought processing in
short-term working memory in the future.
Knowing how memories are stored helps
people learn how to remember what they need to remember, making learning
processes efficient. By understanding the different theories of how we learn,
we can begin improve our own learning processes, build cognitive skills,
recognize positive forms of conditioning as a tool for teaching, and realize
that we are active participants in the learning process.
References
Ormrod, Jeanne
(2012). Human learning (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
