Theories of Learning

Any changes in the behaviour of an individual due to practice and experience which are relatively permanent can be termed as learning.  It is a key process in human behaviour because it allows us to adapt to the changing conditions of the world. The psychology behind learning is centred on a variety of topics related to how people learn and interact with their environments. Learning is a continuous process, and it starts when a person is born and continues till death. When learning occurs, the brain goes through physical changes, which in turn cause changes in an individual’s behaviour.  The different theories of learning in psychology give a better understanding of what it means. 

Some Theories of Learning 

During the 19th century, psychologists started questioning how individuals learn and what are the different ways in which learning can be enhanced. They proposed multiple theories to study learning. The 5 widely accepted theories of learning are – 

• Cognitive learning theory 

Cognitive learning theory focuses on the way people think. Mental processes (all the covert or internal activities of the mind such as thinking, remembering, feeling etc.) are the key to understanding how an individual learns. The cognitive theory emphasizes that people can be influenced by both internal and external elements and this will, in turn, impact the way in which they learn. 

• Constructivism learning theory 

Constructivism learning theory is centred around the notion that individuals create their own learning based on their previous experiences. Individuals take what they’re being presented and add it to their pre-existing knowledge and experiences, thereby, creating a reality that’s unique to them. A learner needs to be engaged and put in effort in order to learn, it won’t happen passively. In simple terms, people use their previous knowledge as a foundation and keep building on that foundation as they learn. 

• Humanism learning theory

Humanism is centred around the idea of self-actualization. According to Abraham Maslow, every action of a person is motivated by a certain physiological and psychological hierarchy of needs, with  self-actualization being at the top of the pyramid. It is a transient period, where all the needs of an individual are met and that they’ve reached their full potential. We all are striving to attain this. Learning environments will either move a person towards fulfilling needs or away from fulfilling needs. Humanistic theory focuses on the idea that learners bring out the best in themselves, and that they’re much more driven by their feelings than rewards and punishments.

• Connectivism learning theory 

Connectivism is comparatively the most recent learning theory.  It is centered around the idea that people evolve and learn from the connections they form during their life. This includes connections with other people or connections with themselves, their obligations and duties in their lives. Any individual’s goals, hobbies, and his relationships with other people significantly influence learning. 

• Behaviourism learning theory

Behaviourism learning theory is based on the idea that how a person behaves is based on their interaction with their surroundings. It emphasizes that behaviours are influenced and learned from external forces rather than internal forces. Positive reinforcement is the key element of behaviourism– classical conditioning observed in Pavlov’s dog experiments showed that behaviours are motivated by the rewards that can be achieved on the completion of a task. 

Classical conditioning theory

Ivan P. Pavlov was the first person to have studied this theory. He was conducting a study regarding the physiology of digestion. While conducting the study he noticed that dogs, on whom the experiment was being conducted, started secreting saliva as soon as they saw the empty plate in which food was served. Pavlov devised an experiment to understand this reflexive response in detail. 

In the first part of the experiment, Pavlov placed a dog in a box and harnessed it. The dog was left inside for some time. This process was repeated quite a number of times on different days. Simultaneously, a simple surgery was conducted on the dog and to connect one end of a tube to its jaw and another end was put inside a measuring flask. 

In the latter part of the experiment, the dog was kept hungry and placed in a harness

with one end of the tube inside the dog’s jaw and the other end in the glass jar. A bell rang and immediately thereafter food was served to the dog. Pavlov allowed the dog to eat it. This continued for the next few days and every time the food was presented, it was preceded by the sound of a bell. After many such trials, a test trial was conducted in which everything was the same as before except no food was given to the dog. The dog still salivated to the sound of the bell, expecting food because he had started associating the sound of the bell with food. This association resulted in the acquisition of a new response by the dog, i.e. salivation to the sound of the bell. This is termed conditioning. Here, food is the unconditioned stimulus and salivation is the unconditioned response. After conditioning, the bell becomes the conditioned stimulus and salivation is the conditioned response. This is known as classical conditioning. It can be defined as learning that elicits an involuntary reflex-like response to a stimulus other than the original stimulus that naturally produces that response.

Conclusion

Learning is any relatively permanent change in the behaviour brought about by experience. The 5 main theories of learning are-Cognitive learning theory, Constructivism, Humanism, Connectivism and Behaviourism 

Classical conditioning is defined as learning that elicits an involuntary reflex-like response to a stimulus other than the original stimulus that naturally produces that response.