UNIT THE SELF IN THE LEARNING PROCESS

4
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Module Overview:

Learning is defined as relatively permanent changes in behavior, skills, knowledge or attitudes

resulting from identifiable psychological or social experiences. Some learning is immediate, induced by
a single event (e.g. being burned by a hot stove), but much skill and knowledge accumulate from
repeated experiences. Human learning starts at birth (it might even start before) and continues until
death as a consequence of ongoing interactions between people and their environment.
Knowing the ‘self’ is not enough. Since ‘who you are’ is partly made up of your choices, you
must also have the ability to choose especially to be better ‘you’.
This module will presents several techniques that you adapt depending on your situation and
preferences to make you a better learner. Learning should not just mean studying for your quizzes and
exams in school. Learning could also occur outside the confines of a book or classroom, like when you
want to acquire a new move in your favorite sports, or the skills for a certain hobby, among others.
Furthermore, the techniques here are not the only techniques available and months or years from now,
new ways on how to study better will be discovered or rediscovered. What is important at this moment
is that you learn how to learn these things.

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit, the students must be able to:
o Explain the three cognitive processes;
o Assess the role of culture in your sense of self and identify;
o Identify and explain multiple intelligence; and
o Develop ways to become an effective learner.
________________________________________________________________

Bandura's
Social
M Learning
M Theory
O Learning, Gardner's
D Memory, and
U
Multiple
L
Intelligence Intelligence
E

Map The Self

in the
Learning
Process
 Definition of Terms

Conjure – to call or bring upon outside our mind

Cosmic – relating to universe, especially as distinct from the earth.

Covert – not openly acknowledged or displayed

Feminine – having qualities or an appearance traditionally associated with women.

Introspective – person examining his own thoughts and feelings; to look inside.

Laborious – requiring or characterized by hard and sustained effort.

Masculine – having qualities or appearance traditionally associated with men.

Myriad – a countless or extremely great number; a unit of ten thousand.

Nuances – a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound.

Oedipus complex – the complex of emotions aroused in a young child, by an unconscious sexual
desire for the parent of the opposite sex and wish to exclude the parent of the same sex.

Overt – done or shown openly: plainly or readily apparent, not secret or hidden.

Reflexive – persons thinking deeply; characterized by or being a relation that exists between an entity
and itself.

Reinforcement - the process of encouraging or establishing a belief or pattern of behavior, especially

by encouragement or reward.

Sociocultural – system which a human population viewed in its ecological context and as one of the
many subsystems of a larger ecological system.

Vicarious – experienced in the imagination through the feelings or actions of another person

TOOL No. 1 Learning, Memory, and Intelligence

Nearly all human behavior involves learning. The process of learning occurs not only in school
but also in practically everything that we do everyday. A baby learns to walk, play with toys, etc. a
student learns so many things in school by listening to the teacher and his classmates, reading books,
magazines, etc. every kind of habit formed in life is learned.
Learning implies memory and intelligence. We are able to reflect on what we have learned from
our experiences through a wide range of mental activities that occur in thinking.
This unit deals with these two cognitive processes; learning and memory. As well as
Intelligence.
 TOOL BOX

Learning is a relatively permanent change in immediate or

potential behavior that results from experience, and
memory is the ability to store information so that it can be
used at a later time.
-Ludy T. Benjamin

What is Learning?
Learning is defined as relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of prior
experience (Atkinson 1990). It is a process in which the person interacts with the effective environment
to produce a stable change in behavior (Worell and Stilwell 1981). Basically, a change in behavior is a
product of learning. Learning could therefore be simply defined as “profiting” from experience. However,
some learning dos not really result to “profit” for the learner, since useless and harmful habits are
learned just as well as the useful ones.

For example, after being reprimanded by your teacher for coming late to class, you learn to
be punctual. You may also learn not to attend your class because you see your friends doing it.

Basic Elements of Learning

Learning involves changing one’s behavior under the influence of one’s environment. There are
four important prerequisites to learning:

1. Learning involves a person. Learning is a continuous process which is influenced by

traits carried by one’s genes which emerge through the process of maturation.

2. Learning involves an environment. A person’s environment is neither constant nor

stable. It is changing from moment to moment. The environment may consist of a person,
an object, an event, or situation to which the individual is responding.

3. Learning involves interaction. We interact with our environment to promote learning. We

develop through a process of interaction with our family and friends. We react to the social
and physical stimuli around us.

4. Learning involves behavior change. If the behavior is repeated under more or less similar
environmental conditions, we may say that the behavior change is stable and that the
behavior has been learned. Changes in behavior due to fatigue or drugs, however are not
considered as learned behavior. Behavior change may be visible and overt or it may be
invisible and covert. Covert behavior such as drying of the mouth, stomach pains, and
feelings of love or fear can only be discerned by the person concerned. However, we know
that covert behavior change occurs when we observe some changes in the overt behavior.
Theories of Learning
Three popular psychologists made experiments with animals as subjects; they were able to
postulate three theories of learning: classical condition, operant conditioning and cognitive learning.

Classical Conditioning. This is the simplest form of learning. It is a type of learning in which
an originally neutral stimulus evokes a new response after having been paired with another stimulus
that reflexively evokes the same response.

Pavlov’s experiment in classical conditioning

Ivan Pavlov conducted an experiment with dogs. Normally, a dog salivates when presented
some food. In his experiment, Pavlov rang a bell and presented a piece of meat to the dog. After several
repetitions of the pairings of the sound of the bell and dog, the dog’s salivation response became
conditioned not only by the food but also by the sound of the bell, with or without the presence of the
food. The sound of the bell is called conditioned stimulus or CS and the salivation produced by the CS
is conditioned response or CR. The meat is called unconditioned stimulus (US). The US is a stimulus
which can naturally produce a response without training. The response to the US is called unconditioned
response (UR).

Pavlov’s experiment shows that learning occurs from the pairing of US and CS, resulting to UR.

US UR
(meat) (salivation)

CS
(sound)
In classical conditioning, learning operates under the following principles:

1. Association – learning the association between the unconditioned stimulus (US) and he
conditioned stimulus (CS).

There are three conditioning processes in which association of the two stimuli takes place:
a. Simultaneous conditioning. The CS is presented a fraction of a second before the US is
given and this is left until the subject responds.
 b. Delayed conditioning. The CS is presented several seconds before the US is given and
this is left until the subject responds.
c. Trace conditioning. The CS is presented and then removed before the US is given,
leaving only a memory trace of the CS to be conditioned.

2. Extinction – the period in classical conditioning when there is a decrease in response

due to the absence of the US. The dog will stop in salivating if the sound is repeatedly
presented without food.

In actual life situations, an individual may gradually forget what he has learned, when the
stimulus that produced learning is removed.

3. Generalization – a phenomenon in classical conditioning when, a stimulus similar to the

CS elicits the same conditioned response. Thus, the dog salivates on hearing sounds
coming from other similar sources, such as buzzer or tuning fork. Generalization is reaction
to similarities.

4. Discrimination – the principle in classical conditioning, which is the opposite of

generalization. In the case of Pavlov’s experiment, the salivation of the dog is elicited only
by the original stimuli (sound of a bell) and not by the other stimuli (sound of a fork, buzzer,
etc.). Discrimination is reaction to differences.

Operant Conditioning. It is also called instrumental learning. Operant conditioning is a type of

learning in which organism learns through consequences of its behavior. Operant conditioning is divided
into two categories: 1. Reinforcement 2. Punishment

REINFORCEMENT refers to anything that increases the likelihood of a response to occur.

Reinforcement is defined by the effect that it has in behavior-- it increases or strengthens the response.
Both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement encourage a behavior. There are two types of
reinforcement, namely the positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement- To increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future, an operant
response is followed by the presentation or addition of an pleasant or rewarding stimulus.

 example: A teacher gives 100 pesos load to a student who got the highest score in
midterm exam.

-100 pesos load will serve as a positive reinforcer, in order for the students to study harder and got the
highest score in the midterm exam.

Negative Reinforcement- To increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future, an operant
response is followed by the removal of an unpleasant stimulus.

 Negative reinforcement is not a negative thing. Instead, it's about removing a negative thing.
Negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment or a negative consequence for an
action. Negative reinforcement is about encouragement.

 example: A teacher will exempt students from taking the midterm exam if she got an
average higher than 2.0 in her quizzes and performance.

-Being exempted from taking the midterm exam will act as negative reinforcer and increase the
likelihood of the students to study harder whenever there are quizzes and they will also perform well
in the class.
 PUNISHMENT is a process by which a consequence immediately follows a behavior which
decreases the future frequency of that behavior. Punishment is used to reduce a behavior. There are
two types of punishment: the positive punishment and negative punishment.

Positive punishment- Presentation or addition of an unpleasant stimulus after an undesired

behavior is exhibited, making the behavior less likely to happen in the future.

example: A father scolded his son after knowing that he got failing grades in Math.

- The unpleasant stimulus in the given example is the scolding of the father and the undesired
behavior exhibited is the failing grades of the son. So in the future, the son will study well in order to
pass his subject and not be scolded again by his father.

Negative punishment- Removal of a pleasant or rewarding stimulus after a particular undesired

behavior is exhibited, resulting in the behavior happening less often in the future.

example: Parents confiscated daughter's cellphone because he got failing grades in Math.

-Confiscation of the cellphone is the removal of rewarding stimulus because of the undesired behavior
which is the failing grades of the daughter. So in the future, the daughter will work harder to pass her
subject and she will be able to get her phone back.

Experiment in operant Conditioning

B.F. Skinner conducted an experiment using a rat as his subject. He placed the rat in a cage
which he called Skinner’s box. In the box are two bars, one that releases food pellets and the other
produces electric shock. After a period of training and movement in the cage, the rat learned to press
the lever that releases food pellets and avoided the bar the produces electric shock.

Behavior is strengthened by the satisfying condition or reward. If a behavior is rewarded, most

likely the same behavior will be repeated. When a behavior is followed by punishment, it is avoided
because it is not satisfying. Learning occurs when the response or behavior is reinforced either
positively or negatively. For a reinforcement to be effective, it must be given right after the behavior is
elicited. According to Skinner and his followers, most behaviors are influenced by one’s past history of
reward and punishment.

Training animals do certain tricks is made possible through reward and punishment.
 Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning

State of Learner passive Active

Response Elicited emitted

Reinforcement Simultaneous, delayed or traced The learner is asked to do the

reinforcement occurs no matter response before a reinforcement
what the learner does follows

Extinction When the CS is presented without When response is not followed by

the US a reinforcement

Cognitive Learning. This is a form of learning

which involves organizing information, making
comparison, and forming association resulting to
new information (Engle and Shellgrove 1979). This
form of learning gives importance to the roles of
perception and knowledge. This is demonstrated in
an experiment conducted by Kohler.

Kohler used a chimpanzee as the subject

in his experiment on cognitive learning. The
chimpanzee was kept in a cage. He placed a fruit
beyond the chimpanzee’s reach outside its cage
and sticks of varying length. Upon seeing a fruit,
the chimpanzee tried to reach for it but failed. Then
he picked the shorter stick near the cage and tried
to get the fruit with stick. He failed again. After some pauses, he reached for the longer stick using the
short stick. With the longer stick, the chimpanzee finally got the fruit. The chimpanzee’s learning and
satisfaction was dependent on its ability to discover the uses and relationship of the objects around it.
He was able to solve the problem by understanding the relationship between the sticks and the fruit.
Learning occurs when the situation is taken as a whole, not in parts.

A person’s behavior is dependent on his perceptions of the environment or situation he finds

himself in. For example, if you consider a book relevant and useful to your studies, you will learn from
it faster than a useless material. One’s knowledge or previous experience also influences one’s
behavior.

Cognitive learning is learning through insight or “aha” phenomenon, the flash of insight that all
of us had experienced. Learning is therefore considered as a process, whereby problems are solved
through a series of discoveries facilitated by our experience.

Classical and operant conditioning theories of learning are essentially behavioristic, whereas
cognitive theory is humanistic.
The Learning Process
There are several factors that can help or hinder the learning process. Defective senses, illness,
fatigue, and lack of sleep are some of the factors that can hinder learning. Among those that facilitate
learning are: (1) feedback, (2) transfer of learning, (3) practice, and (4) motivation.

1. Feedback. This enables you to know the results of your action or performance, and
thereby avoid repeating the same mistakes. The feedback serves as a reinforcement for
continuing the action that you know is right or satisfying,

Knowing your grades serves as a basis whether or not you need to study harder.

2. Transfer of Learning. This occurs when your learning in one situation influences your
learning and performance in other situations. There are two types of transfer:

a. Positive transfer – when a previously learned response helps you to learn a new task.
For example, if you know how to ride a bicycle, it will be easier for you to learn how to
drive a motorcycle.
b. Negative transfer – when a previously learned task hinders present learning. For
example, an expert drivers in the Philippines may find it difficult to drive a car in Japan
since there are steering wheel is on the car’s right side while here, it is on the left side.

3. Practice. The repetition of a task binds responses together. Psychologists have found out
that it is better to space out practice (distributive practice) rather than do it all at once
(massed learning). It is better to study one chapter at a time rather than to study two or
more chapters at one time.

Preschoolers learn to read and write the letters of the alphabet through frequent
practice. The children learn a few letters over a period of time before learning the
succeeding letters.

4. Motivation. The sources of motivation may be internal or external.

a. Self or intrinsic motivation. The self-motivated person sets realistic goals, takes
concrete steps to meet those goals, and evaluates progress accordingly (Worell and
Stilwell 1981). The desire and the interest to learn comes from the person himself. If
you really want to learn, you don’t need your parent or teacher to push you to study
hard.
b. Environmental or extrinsic motivation is a motivation provided by others. It is provided
by the situation, the tasks on which the person is working, and the consequences of
his efforts. If you go to school because you want to be with your friends, most likely you
will quit school when your friends stop studying.

5. Learning Styles. Drs. Kenneth and Rita Dunn developed the Learning Styles Model.
They believe that each person has a unique learning style. Learning is situational and one
may prefer different styles of learning in different situations.

a. Visual Learning Style. Visual learners make use of visual imaging to picture what they
are trying to learn. They use visual words to describe shape, form, color, or size.
b. Auditory Learning Style. Auditory learners learn by listening and prefers to read aloud
while studying,
c. Kinesthetic (Manipulative) Learning Style. Kinesthetic learners learn best through
movement and manipulation of object. They are interested to know how things work.
These type of students want involvement in experiments, field works and other similar
activities.
 They contend further that one may learn better with the music on. Another one
learns faster while eating. Other may find studying with friends more effective than studying
alone.

Memory
Learning and memory are closely related. We cannot reproduce from memory what has not
been learned and we cannot assess what has been learned without tapping memory (Schnieder 1980).
Learning always implies memory. If we cannot remember anything from our experiences, we learn
nothing.

Stages of Memory

The intellectual ability of an individual to organize materials in his memory is one factor that
contributes to a well-rounded personality.

Memory passes through three stages: (1) encoding, (2) decoding, and (3) retrieval.

Encoding. The information brought about by an object, person, experience, or environment is

transformed. Illustration: on the bus to school, you met a friend. He asked you to call him; he gave you
his telephone number. You deposited these numbers into your memory so you can call him later.

Storage. The information can be stored and retrieve in your nervous system for a span of time.
To continue with the illustration: the telephone number your friend gave you stayed in your mind while
you were in school until you reach home.

Retrieval. The information stored can be retrieved or recalled later from your memory. In the
illustration: you decided to call up your friend. You get from storage the phone numbers needed. You
dialed the numbers correctly and you were able to call and talk to your friend.

Memory can fail at any of these three stages. Memory failure may be due to your limitations in
acquiring the materials (encoding and storage), or it can be due to difficulty in retrieving information
from storage, or both. Mental operations are not the same in all three stages. Some situations ay require
you to store materials and information for a matter of seconds and some for longer periods of time.

Any information that is active in your consciousness, which can be retrieved easily and
immediately, Is found in Short-term Memory (STM). Those information that are coded for meanings are
stored in Long-term Memory (LTM).

Three Stages of Memory

Stages Short-term Memory Long-term Memory

Encoding Encodes only what has been Encodes material based on meaning
selected; the code may be acoustic of items, imagery and by elaboration.
(sound), mental picture (visual) or
semantic (meaning)

Storage Has a limited capacity; the limit is Depends on context and organization
seven items (7); one displaced by the of materials stored by means of
other items, the original is lost; items categories, hierarchical arrangement,
that are rehearsed are not orders, and cues
immediately or easily displaced.
 Retrieval Access to information is immediate; Difficult to retrieve and requires the
requires a search in which the items right kind of retrieval cue; the
are examined one at a time. information is not listed, it only waits
for the right cue

Improving Memory
There are certain techniques to improve memory. You can try them to improve your memory.

Grouping letters, words and numbers stored in the Long-term Memory into larger meaningful
units and then storing them into smaller units called chunking. In remembering phone numbers, we
usually chunk the numbers. Instead or remembering 5246671 separately, we chunk them into 524-66-
71.

When the information consists of verbal items such as digits, letter or words, repeating it over
in our mind may help us retain the items. This is called rehearsal. Reading your lessons several times
will make remembering them easier.

But when a new items enters the STM, the old item is displaced in your memory. This is called
displacement. The old item is now difficult to retrieve when it is displaced. This somehow causes the
item to be on the “tip of [your] tongue”. You seem to know the information but cannot retrieve it form
storage. To overcome displacement, you need to overlearn the information through rehearsal.

Some people have photographic memories. This makes them recall easily the image of what
they hear, see or experience. This is called eidetic image.

Organization is a process used in the Long-term Memory. When information is organized by

context, you have to include the situation, location and your internal state or condition to recall it. This
is the most effective retrieval cue. We could easily retrieve an information that is similar to the context
in which we encoded it. For example, we could easily retrieve an emotional moment with our parents
when we were young, if we were back in the place where the incident occurred than if we were
somewhere else.

Another technique is to use a mnemonic device, a trick or combination that forces us to

remember. Examples are jingles in advertisement of products or slogans employed by political
candidates during election campaigns.

A helpful strategy in retrieving information, particularly for you students, is by making a

hierarchical organization. For instance, by making an outline of this chapter, noting its headings and
subheadings, you will help yourselves remember better what you have learned.

As we grow older, many things preoccupy us. Information, memories, and other materials that
we encounter in our everyday experiences interfere with each other in our mind. We don’t stop putting
in order and organizing these stimuli around us. We want to satisfy our needs and wants. And, as we
increase the power of our memory to recall things, it is inevitable that some factors may weaken.

For example, you are taking an exam. You target stimuli are the answers to the test. You cannot
recall easily most of the answers because a personal problem or preoccupation will tend to decrease
your retrieval ability.
Forgetting

When information stored in Long-term Memory cannot be retrieved, it is said to be forgotten.

Some theories indicate that out inability to remember involves (1) decay, (2) interference or (3)
repression.

Decay. Some inputs may fade away or decay over time. Information stored in memory-if they
are not used-will eventually die or fade away from memory. However, the ability of old people to recall
their childhood days shows that memories persist over a relatively long period of time.

Interference. This refers to a memory being blocked or erased by precious or subsequent

memories. The blocking of a memory by an experience that occurred after we learned the materials is
called retroactive inhibition. If the memory is blocked by an experience that occurred before we learned
the materials, the process is called proactive inhibition.

For example, if we were introduced to many people in a party, we ,ay forget the names of
people (retroactive inhibition) or we remember the names of those introduced earlier and forget the
name of those we meet later (proactive inhibition).

Repression. A person may intentionally block memories of an embarrassing or frightening

experience. The material is still in the person’s memory somewhere, but it has been unconsciously
made inaccessible because it is disturbing. This kind of forgetting is called repression.

Intelligence
What makes an individual capable of reasoning, judging and comprehending events in life?
Events and occurrences in our daily life demand from us a lot of mental activities. This is manifested in
our ability to comprehend, to judge, to reason, to evaluate, to choose and do many other things.

Mental activities take place in one of the main divisions of the human brain called cerebrum.
Behavior is influenced by these mental activities which are essentially the functions of intelligence.

The Nature of Intelligence

Intelligence is manifested in many ways within and across cultures. Different circumstances
demand different types of coping and resourcefulness. People can behave intelligently in so many
different situations. This diversity in intelligent behavior is even more complicated when we consider
what different societies value as intelligent. In the Philippines, we tend to judge a person who is fluent
in English as intelligent. Similarly, North Americans consider one who exhibits verbal fluency as
intelligent. In certain African countries, intelligence means expert hunting. It is clear that people value
different behaviors as intelligent.

Theories of Intelligence
The term “intelligence” was popularized I the late 1800s to 1900s by the following theorists:

1. Sir Francis Galton

He viewed intelligence as a single general factor that provides the basis for the more
specific abilities that each of us possesses. This ties up with the concept that if we are generally
intelligent, we will be more likely to develop strong mechanical, musical, artistic, and other kinds
of abilities.
2. Charles Spearman
He used the term g to refer to the general factors of intelligent or generally dull. He based
his opinion on complex mathematical analysis of intelligence scores.

An individual is classified as generally intelligent or generally dull. He described g as a

wellspring of mental energy that flows intro everything an individual does. However, there are
factors for certain functions. These specific factors are labeled the s factor. Performance on a
numerical test taps a specific s, while verbal fluency would be a separate s. thus, a person’s
intelligence reflects the g plus the s factors.

3. David Wechsler
He also held the concepts of a g factor of intelligence. He is the author of the most widely-
used intelligence tests for children and adults in the US.

4. Louis Thurstone
He viewed intelligence as a collection of many separate specific abilities. He develop the
Primary Mental Abilities which are as follows:

a. Verbal comprehension – the ability to understand and comprehend words

b. Word fluency – the ability to express oneself either orally or in writing as well as the
ability to think of the proper words fast.
c. Number – the ability to do arithmetic and other numerical tasks.
d. Memory – the ability to remember facts easily
e. Perceptual - the ability to group visual details and distinguish similarities and
differences between pictures.
f. Space – the ability to visualize figures and objects as well as see relationship of forms.
g. Reasoning – the ability to formulate a general rule based on presented data.

5. J. P Guilford
He proposed the 150 different abilities that make up intelligence.

He provided a three-dimensional structure of intelligence. The components are as follows:

a. Operation – what the individual does or the processes involved in knowing such as
cognition, memory and evaluation. This refers to the style or approach one uses.
b. Content – what the individual knows or the nature of the information.
c. Products – the end results or the processed information

The interaction of these components produces the 150 factors of intelligence.

Guilford’s structure of the intellect

 6. Robert Sternberg
He proposed a tentative theory which states that intelligence has cognitive components
which a person must use in reasoning and solving some kinds of problems. Sternberg’s triarchic
theory distinguishes three aspects of intelligence.

a. Knowledge-acquisition component – learning new information or creative intelligence

b. Performance- acquisition component – solving specific problems o analytical intelligence.
c. Motor component – solving problems in general or practical intelligence.

These three aspects of intelligence work together to produce an intelligent behavior.

7. Multiple Intelligence
Howard Gardner has identified seven kinds of intelligence (Musical, Bodily-kinesthetic,
logic-mathematical, linguistics, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal)

Intelligence Tests
Intelligence tests are tasks formulated to assess mental ability. It was considered impossible to
measure complex intellectual functions objectively until Alfred Binet developed the first valid intelligence
test. Intelligence tests are designed either for individuals or for groups. Commonly known as IQ
(Intelligence Quotient) test, these tests can measure your intelligence.

Individual Intelligence Tests

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon were able to devise a 50-item test that became the forerunner
of all modern tests of intelligence. The Binet-Simon test successfully distinguished mentally retarded
from normal children, thus confirming the idea of this famous psychologist indicators of intelligence than
perceptual and physical attributes developed by Galton.

After some test revisions, Binet and Simon eventually identified the average performance of
children of different ages, ranging from 3 to 13 years old. They are as follows:

Age Level Task Performed

3 repeat to digits
Point to nose, eyes and mouth
4 identify own sex
Repeat three digits
5 copy a square
Repeat a sentence with ten syllabus
6 copy a diamond
Count 13 pieces
7 show right hand and left ear
Name four colors
8 count backward from 20 to 0
Note omissions from pictures of familiar objects
9 recognize nine common coins
 Name the months of the year in order
10 arrange the books in order of weight
11 discover the meaning of a disarranged sentence
12 define three abstract words
13 name three rhymes for a given word in one minute
Interpret pictures

Intelligence Quotient

The following table presents a descriptive classification of intelligence Quotients.

IQ Description
180 – above Genius
140 – 179 Very Superior
120 – 139 Superior
110 – 119 High Average
90 – 109 Average or Normal
80 – 89 Low Average or Low Normal
70 – 79 Borderline
Below 70 Mentally Retarded
The classification is a rough measure of intelligence. However, an individual’s IQ tends to
remain approximately stable throughout his life.

Intelligence-Heredity and the Environment

One extreme view of intelligence is that it is hereditary, transmitted from parents to offspring
through the genes. Another extreme view is that intelligence is totally a function of the environment and
experience. However, it can be safely stated that intelligence is a product of both hereditary and the
environment. Most scientist conclude that IQ has a substantial heritability. One comparison made is
between similarities of IQ scores for pairs of identical twins and for pairs of fraternal twins. If IQ is
heritable then we would expect the IQs of identical twins to be more highly correlated than the IQs of
fraternal twins. A study by Arthur Jensen showed that identical twins manifested similar intelligence
than the fraternal twins. This result established the fact that hereditary plays a great role in the
determination of IQ.

On the other hand, another study conducted by H.M Skeels indicated the influence of
environment on the development of intelligence. Skeels was working at an orphanage where children
lived in cramped quarters. They ate, slept, and plays according to a rigid schedule. Skeels notice in
particular two baby girls who were underweight, sad, and inactive. Sometime later, he was surprised to
find the two girls active, smiling, and healthy. He learned that each of girls been “adopted” by an older
retired woman in the institution who devoted many hours each day caring for the children.

If the genes determine the raw material for intelligence, the environment provides the
opportunities to develop the raw material to the fullest.
 TOOL No. 2 Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

The social learning theory of Bandura emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling
the behaviors, attitudes and emotional reactions of others. Bandura (1977) states: “Learning would be
exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own
actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through
modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later
occasions this coded serves as a guide for action. Social learning theory explains human behavior in
terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, an environmental influences.
The competent process underlying observational learning are: (1) Attention; (2) Retention: (3) Motor
Reproduction; (4) Motivation.

The Bobo Doll Experiment

Figure 1. The actual footage of Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment

In 1950’s, Dr. Bandura has a study known as Bobo doll experiment. In

this experiment, the sample children were presented with new social models of
violent and nonviolent behavior toward an inflatable redounding bobo doll. The
result were: the group of children who saw the violent behavior model became
violent to the doll, while the control group who was presented with the nonviolent
behavior rarely violent to the doll. This experiment has proven right the
hypothesis that social modelling is a very effective way of learning. Dr. Bandura
introduced the social learning theory that focuses on what people learn from
observing and interacting with other people. Bandura’s social cognitive theory
states that people are active participants in their environment and are not simply
shaped by that environment.

Individuals that are observed are called models. In society children are surrounded by many
influential models, such as parents within the family, characters on children’s TV, friends within their
peer group and teachers at school. These models provide examples of masculine and feminine
behavior to observe and imitate. They pay attention to some of these people (models) and encode their
behavior. At a later time they may imitate (i.e. copy) the behavior they have observed. They may do
this regardless of whether the behavior is ‘gender appropriate’ or not but there are a number of
processes that make it more likely that a child will reproduce the behavior that its society deems
appropriate for its sex.

First, the child is more likely to attend to and imitate those people it perceives as similar to itself.
Consequently, it is more likely to imitate behavior modeled by people the same sex as it is.

Second, the people around the child will respond to the behavior it imitates with either
reinforcement or punishment. If a child imitates a model’s behavior and the consequences are
rewarding, the child is likely to continue performing the behavior. If parent sees a little girl consoling
her teddy bear and says “what a kind girl you are”, this is rewarding for the child and makes it more
likely that she will repeat the behavior. Her behavior has been reinforced (i.e. strengthened).

Reinforcement can be external or internal and can be positive or negative. If a child wants
approval from parents or peers, this approval is an external reinforcement, but feeling happy about
being approved of is an internal reinforcement. A child will behave in a way which it believes will earn
approval because it desires approval. Positive (or negative) reinforcement will have little impact if the
reinforcement offered externally does not match with an individual's needs. Reinforcement can be
positive or negative, but the important factor is that it will usually lead to a change in a person's behavior.

Third, the child will also take into account of what happens to other people when deciding
whether or not to copy someone’s actions. This is known as vicarious reinforcement. This relates to
attachment to specific models that possess qualities seen as rewarding. Children will have a number of
models with whom they identify. These may be people in their immediate world, such as parents or
elder siblings, or could be fantasy characters or people in the media. The motivation to identify with a
particular model is that they have a quality which the individual would like to possess.

Identification occurs with another person (the model) and involves taking on (or adopting)
observed behaviors, values, beliefs and attitudes of the person with whom you are identifying. The term
identification as used by Social Learning Theory is similar to the Freudian term related to the Oedipus
complex. For example, they both involve internalizing or adopting another person’s behavior. However,
during the Oedipus complex the child can only identify with the same sex parent, whereas with Social
Identity Theory the person (child or adult) can potentially identify with any other person. Identification is
different to imitation as it may involve a number of behaviors being adopted whereas imitation usually
involves copying a single behavior.

TOOL No. 3 Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence

In our day to day life, different people are likely to agree

fairly well on who the bright people in their class or work group
or social circle are. However, there are wide variations in lay
man’s definitions of the concept. We come across the concept
of ‘intelligence’ very often in our lives.

Every individual is unique with their own individual

differences. Our schools with the rigid curriculum and teaching
methods, are strictly standardized. It doesn’t fit into the myriad
intelligences of the students, instead the students have to
struggle to fit into the burden of the curriculum that is heavily
based on the verbal – linguistic and spatial intelligence.

Gardner’s gift to the classroom is in his

conceptualization of intelligence as multifaceted and
multidimensional (1983). He defines human potential in terms of the ability to solve problems in a
culturally valued setting. In light of this broad perspective, Gardner identified eight realms of intelligence:
verbal, logical, visual, musical, bodily, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. As seen in
countless classrooms, these multiple intelligences work in various combinations as students interact
and connect in the execution of complex tasks.

Multiple Intelligences Theory focuses human’s to real life circumstances, and emphasizes the
training of students to solve problems. This connects to the real world, rather than abstract class room
learning, places it close to the true reason humans learn, for this reason, it has caught wide spread
attention from various international circles.

TOOL BOX

“An intelligence is the ability to solve problems, or to create

products, that are valued within one or more cultural settings.” --
Howard Gardner

The Multiple Intelligences theory is a

Psychological and Educational theory which states that
“An array of different kinds of intelligences, are present
in Human beings”. He says that there are at least ‘8’
ways that people have of perceiving and understanding
the world. Gardner labels each of these ways as distinct
‘intelligence’. He has identified 8 core intelligences in the
book, “Frames of Mind”- The theory of Multiple
Intelligences and two more later, in the book,
“Intelligences Reframed” in 1999

They are, Verbal – Linguistic, Logical –

Mathematical, Visual – Spatial, Bodily – Kinesthetic,
Musical – Rhythmic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Naturalistic, Existential and Moral Intelligence.

1. Verbal-Linguistic
Intelligence (“word smart”
or “book smart”)
This intelligence involves the knowing
which comes through language; through
reading, writing, and speaking. It involves
understanding the order and meaning of words
in both speech and writing and how to properly
use the language. It involves understanding
the sociocultural nuances of a language,
including idioms, plays on words, and
linguistically-based humor.

If this is a strong intelligence for you, you have highly developed skills for reading, speaking,
and writing and you tend to think in words. You probably like various kinds of literature, playing word
games, making up poetry and stories, engaging in involved discussions with other people, debating,
formal speaking, creative writing, and telling jokes. You are likely precise in expressing yourself and
irritated when others are not! You love learning new words, you do well with written assignments, and
your comprehension of anything you read is high.

2. Mathematical-Logical Intelligence (“math smart” or “logic smart”)

This intelligence uses numbers, math, and
logic to find and understand the various patterns
that occur in our lives: thought patterns, number
patterns, visual patterns, color patterns, and so on.
It begins with concrete patterns in the real world but
gets increasingly abstract as we try to understand
relationships of the patterns we have seen.

If you happen to be a logical-

mathematically inclined person you tend to think
more conceptually and abstractly and are often able
to see patterns and relationships that others miss. You probably like to conduct experiments, to solve
puzzles and other problems, to ask cosmic questions, and analyze circumstances and people’s
behavior. You most likely enjoy working with numbers and mathematical formulas and operations, and
you love the challenge of a complex problem to solve. You are probably systematic and organized, and
you likely always have a logical rationale or argument for what you are doing or thinking at any given
time.

3. Visual-Spatial Intelligence (“art smart” or “picture smart”)

We often say “A picture is worth a thousand
words” or “Seeing is believing”. This intelligence
represents the knowing that occurs through the
shapes, images, patterns, designs, and textures we
see with our external eyes, but also includes all of the
images we are able to conjure inside our heads. If
you are strong in this intelligence you tend to think in
images and pictures. You are likely very aware of
object, shapes, colors, textures, and patterns in the
environment around you. You probably like to draw,
paint, and make interesting designs and patterns,
and work with clay, colored markers, construction paper, and fabric. Many who are strong in visual-
spatial intelligence love to work jigsaw puzzles, read maps and find their way around new places. You
probably have definite opinions about colors that go together well, textures that are appropriate and
pleasing, and how a room should be decorated. And, you are likely excellent at performing tasks that
require “seeing with the mind’s eyes,” such as visualizing, pretending, imagining, and forming mental
images.
 4. Intrapersonal Intelligence (“self-smart” or “introspection smart”)

At the heart of this intelligence are our

human self-reflective abilities by which
we can step outside of ourselves and
think about our own lives. This is the
introspective intelligence. It involves our
uniquely human propensity to want to
know the meaning, purpose, and
significance of things. It involves our
awareness of the inner world of the self,
emotions, values, beliefs, and our various
quests for genuine spirituality.

If this intelligence is one of your strong points you may like to work alone and sometimes you
may shy away from others. You are probably self-reflective and self-aware and thus you tend to be in
tune with your inner feelings, values, beliefs, and thinking processes. You are frequently bearers of
creative wisdom and insight, are highly intuitive, and you are inwardly motivated rather than needing
external rewards to keep you going. You are often strong willed, self-confident, and have definite, well-
thought out opinions on almost any issue. Other people will often come to you for advice and counsel.

5. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence ("body smart" or "movement smart")

We often talk about “learning by doing.” This

way of knowing happens through physical movement
and through the knowing of our physical body. The
body “knows” many things that are not necessarily
known by the conscious, logical mind, such as how to
ride a bike, how to parallel park a car, dance the waltz,
catch a thrown object, maintain balance while walking,
and where the keys are on a computer keyboard.

If you have strength in this intelligence area

you tend to have a keen sense of body awareness.
You like physical movement, dancing, making and
inventing things with your hands, and roleplaying. You
probably communicate well through body language
and other physical gestures. You can often perform a task much better after seeing someone else do it
first and then mimicking their actions. You probably like physical games of all kinds and you like to
demonstrate how to do something for someone else. You may find it difficult to sit still for long periods
of time and are easily bored or distracted if you are not actively involved in what is going on around you.
 6. Interpersonal (“people smart” or “group smart”)

This is the person-to-person way of

knowing. It is the knowing that happens when we
work with and relate to other people, often as part
of a team. This way of knowing also asks use to
develop a whole range of social skills that are
needed for effective person-to-person
communication and relating.

If this person-to-person way of knowing is

more developed in you, you learn through personal
interactions. You probably have lots of friends,
show a great deal of empathy for other people and
exhibit a deep understanding of other points of
view. You probably love team activities of all kinds
and are a good team member--you “pull your own
weight” and often much more! You are sensitive to
other people’s feelings and ideas, and are good at piggybacking your ideas on others’ thoughts. And
you are likely skilled at drawing others out in a discussion. You are also probably skilled in conflict
resolution, mediation, and finding compromise when people are in radical opposition to each other.

7. Naturalist Intelligence (“nature smart” or “environment smart”)

The naturalist intelligence involves the full

range of knowing that occurs in and through our
encounters with the natural world including our
recognition, appreciation, and understanding of the
natural environment. It involves such capacities as
species discernment, communion with the natural
world and its phenomena, and the ability to
recognize and classify various flora and fauna.

If the naturalist intelligence is one of your

strengths you have a profound love for the outdoors,
animals, plants, and almost any natural object. You
are probably fascinated by and noticeably affected
by such things as the weather, changing leaves in
the fall, the sound of the wind, the warm sun or lack thereof, or an insect in the room. At a young age
you were likely nature collectors, adding such things as bugs, rocks leaves, seashells, sticks, and so
on to your collections. You probably brought home all manner and kinds of stray animals and today you
may have several pets and want more. You tend to have an affinity with and respect for all living beings.
 8. Musical-Rhythmic Intelligence (“music smart” or “sound smart”)
This is the knowing that happens through sound
and vibration. In the original research on the theory of
multiple intelligences this intelligence was called
musical-rhythmic intelligence. However, it is not limited
to music and rhythm so I’m calling it auditory-vibrational,
for it deals with the whole realm of sound, tones, beats,
and vibrational patterns as well as music.

If you are strong in this intelligence area you

likely have a love of music and rhythmic patterns. You
are probably very sensitive to sounds in the
environment; the chirp of cricket, rain on the roof,
varying traffic patterns. You may study and work better
with music in the background. You can often reproduce a melody or rhythmic pattern after hearing it
only once. Various sounds, tones, and rhythms may have a visible effect on you, others can often see
a change in facial expressions, body movement, or emotional responses. You probably like to create
music and you enjoy listening to a wide variety of music. You may be skilled at mimicking sounds,
language accents, and others’ speech patterns, and you can probably readily recognize different
musical instruments in a composition.

SYNTHESIS:

Learning is a relatively permanent change in immediate or potential behavior that results from
experience. Learning implies memory and intelligence. We are able to reflect on what we have learned
from our experiences through a wide range of mental activities that occur in thinking.
Social learning theory posits that there are three regulatory systems that control behavior. First,
the antecedent inducements greatly influence the time and response of behavior. The stimulus that
occurs before the behavioral response must be appropriate in relationship to social context and
performers. Second, response feedback influences also serve an important function. Following a
response, the reinforcements, by experience or observation, will greatly impact the occurrence of the
behavior in the future. Third, the importance of the cognitive functions in social learning. For example,
for aggressive behavior to occur some people become easily angered by the sight or thought of
individuals with whom they have had hostile encounters, and this memory is acquired through the
learning process.

Intelligence is a mixture of several abilities (Gardner explains seven intelligences, and alludes
of other) that are all of great value in life. But nobody’s good at them all. In life we need people who
collectively are good at different things. A well-balanced world, and well-balanced organizations and
teams, are necessarily comprised of people who possess different mixtures of intelligences. This gives
the group a fuller collective capability than a group of identically able specialists.

Schools have often sought to help students develop a sense of accomplishment and self-
confidence. Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences provides a theoretical foundation for recognizing
the different abilities and talents of students. This theory acknowledges that while all students may not
be verbally or mathematically gifted, children may have an expertise in other areas, such as music,
spatial relations, or interpersonal knowledge. Approaching and assessing learning in this manner allows
a wider range of students to successfully participate in classroom learning.