In psychology, the most common definition of learning is that it is a relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of experience. However, this definition does not include behavioral changes due to physical damage, illness, drugs, or maturation processes.
Learning is, along with perception, one of the first cognitive processes to be studied by scientific psychology, to the point that the first thirty years of the history of the discipline can be studied through experiments and discoveries in this field. study. In this Psychology-Online article, we are going to try to answer precisely this question: What is learning in psychology?
Meaning of learning in psychology
Learning in psychology is the modificationmore or less stable and permanent, in the specific behavior of a person that results from the experience of it.
The learning process in psychology involves the acquisition of a new and permanently different mode of response. However, this does not mean that acquired behaviors or schemes are not prone to modification, whether in an augmentative or diminutive sense. Furthermore, the things learned, if they are not consolidated with repetition, can be lost and become unavailable over time.
The definition of learning in psychology is the result of an experience, since there is no learning that does not go through a perceptual and cognitive treatment of a stimulus. In this article, you will find more information about .
Learning theories in psychology
Psychology and pedagogy have often been interested in learning processes, producing numerous and different interpretive theories classified in relation to the great schools of psychology of the 20th century. Next, we will see the main theories of learning in psychology:
- Behaviorism: at the base there is an associationist conception. The learning process in psychology, from the behaviorist point of view, is the result of new associations between stimuli and behaviors in response to the stimuli themselves. A summative conception of learning, which considers the subject as essentially passive. The main authors of this current are JB Watson, IP Pavlov, E. Thorndike and B. Skinner.
- Cognitivism: In the theories of learning in psychology, according to cognitivism, attention is shifted from the concept of association to the active subject in the elaboration of reality. Emphasize the internal elaboration and representation processes. Learning is redefined in relation to the different cognitive components involved. The reference authors of cognitivism are C. Hull, E. Tolman, W. Kohler, KJW Craick, GA Miller, E. Galanter, K. Pribram and U. Neisser.
- Constructivism: According to the constructivist school, the student assumes a central role in the learning process. This is an active part of the knowledge process, while the teacher plays a marginal role, intended to facilitate the construction of said process. The most important authors of learning in psychology of this current are L. Vygotskij, J. Piaget, J. Bruner and D. Merrill. In the following articles, you can consult and .
Types of learning in psychology
To understand what learning is in psychology, it is important to take into account its different typologies. Let’s see what the types of learning in psychology are.
- Non-associative learning: This is a relatively permanent change in the strength of response to a single stimulus after repeated exposure to it. Non-associative learning can be divided into habit and awareness.
- Associative learning: learning process in psychology in which someone learns an association between two stimuli, or a behavior and a stimulus. The two forms of associative learning are classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
- Active learning: occurs when a person takes control of their own learning experience.
- Imprinting: This type of learning in psychology occurs at a certain stage of life. It is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behavior.
- Learning by imitation or vicarious: one of the examples of learning in psychology is this way. Specifically, it focuses on the imitation process that exists between the observer and the observed.
You can expand the information about learning in psychology in this article about the .
Learning styles in psychology
Learning is not a standard path that is the same for everyone. Individual predispositions, life experiences, structure, and environmental demands shape particular ways of learning. We generally refer to these ways as “learning styles.”
In the literature There are many learning models and styles.. One of the most popular models is that of Felder and Silverman (1988), within which we can distinguish five categories of students. Let’s see what the learning styles are in psychology according to the aforementioned model:
- Sensory vs. intuitive
- Visualities vs. Verbal
- Inductive vs. Deductive
- Assets vs. Reflective
- Sequential vs. Global
Learning factors in psychology
To understand the concept of learning in psychology, there are different components that must be taken into account. In this section, we will identify the factors of learning in psychology.
- Previous cognitive prerequisites: they include the contribution of previous experience and current learning processes related to the problem of cognitive transfer operations.
- Affective prerequisites: affective maturation consists of achieving the basic autonomy necessary to manage oneself and one’s things. It also consists of acquiring that serenity that allows you to concentrate on an activity for the time necessary to learn.
- Didactic experience: Another factor in learning in psychology is the didactic experience. It may be the space, the participants, the activities, the groups or the management modalities.
- Quality of the family environment: This is one of the main learning factors involved in determining differences between people in learning levels.
- Sociocultural factors: Since learning takes place in a social and cultural context, it is clear that we must address the social and cultural factors and group dynamics that influence it.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Canestrari, R., Godino, A. (2002). Introduction to general psychology. Milan: Mondadori.
- Coinu, M. (2007). The theory of learning. Retrieved from: http://www.icferraripontremoli.it/materiale/2marzo/Nuova%20cartella/1%20TEORIE%20APPREND%20-%20COINU%20dispense.pdf
- Hardy, M., Heyes, S. (1983). Introduction to psychology. Milan: Feltrinelli.
- Lucchiari, C. (et al.) (2018). Psychology at school. A practical-theoretical journey. Padua: Webster.