eonuine| O€d Learning & Cognitive Psychology 1 €ducation Introduction to Human Learning and Cognition Introduction to Human Learning and Cognition This chapter provides an overview of what learning is and how it fits in cognitive psychology. Major figures in the development of this branch of psychology are introduced as well as their contributions. Objectives: 1. Define learning and describe five approaches to studying it. 2. Identify the main areas cognitive psychology deals with. 3. Understand the historical beginnings of learning and cognitive psychology. 4. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the cognitive approach in psychology. Defining Learning Course Module Learning is the means through which we acquire not only skills and knowledge but values, attitudes and emotional reactions as well. Learning - long term change in mental representations or associations as a result of experience Regardless of how we define learning, we know that it has occurred only when we actually see it reflected in a person’s behavior such as: Performing a completely new behavior Changing the frequency of an existing behavior Changing the speed of an existing behavior Changing the intensity of an existing behavior Changing the complexity of an existing behavior Psychologists understand the nature of learning by studying it objectively and systematically through research, Principles are consistent patterns of research findings have led psychologists to make generalizations. For example, a behavior that is followed by a satisfying state of affairs (a reward) is more likely to increase in frequency than a behavior not followed by such a reward. Basically, principles tell us what factors are important for learning, When a principle stands the test of time it is called a LAW.Theories tell us why these factors (principles) are important. It is what psychologists use to explain data. Ex, Behaviorism - focus on learning of tangible, observable behaviors Cognitivism - focus on thought processes involved in human learning Advantages of Theories = 1. They allow us to summarize the results of many research studies and integrate numerous principles of learning 2. They provide starting point for conducting new research; they suggest research questions worthy of study Theories help us make sense of and explain research findings 4. By giving us ideas about mechanisms that underlie human learning and performance, they can ultimately help us design learning environments and instructional strategies that facilitate human learning to the greatest possible degree What to remember? Disadvantages 1, No single theory explains everything that researchers have discovered about learning 2, Theories affect what new information is published. Thereby biasing the knowledge we have about learning Behavioral and Cognitive Approaches to Learning Here's another definition of learning, Learning is a relatively permanent influence on behavior, knowledge, and thinking skills, which comes about through experience ‘There are five Behavioral and Cognitive approaches to learning 1 Behavioral - the emphasis is on experiences, especially reinforcement and punishment, as determinants of learning and behavior. Behavioral approach focuses on the conditioning, specifically classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which an organism learns to connect or associate stimuli. BF Skinner coined the term Operant Conditioning (sometimes called Instrumental Conditioning) wherein the consequences that follow some behavior increase or decrease the likelihood of that behavior’s occurrence in the future. Social Cognitive - the emphasis is on the reciprocal determinism model wherein there is an interaction of behavior, environment, and person (cognitive) factors as determinants of learning. Albert Bandura is the main proponent of social cognitive theory. He also posited the observational learning that involves learning the skills, strategies, and beliefs by simply observing others.9 OnLine! Oe Leaning & Cognitive Psychology Introduction to Human Learning and Cognition €ducation 3, Information Processing - the emphasis is on how individuals process information through attention, memory, thinking, and other cognitive processes. It involves the three components of cognition, namely, input processing, storage, and output. 4. Cognitive Constructivist - the emphasis is on the individual's cognitive construction of knowledge and understanding Social Constructivist - the emphasis is on collaboration with others to produce knowledge and understanding Cognitive Psychology Cognitive psychology is the study of knowledge and how people use it. For this reason cognitive psychology is also called information processing psychology. Itis the part of psychology that concerns itself with the structure and functions of the mind. Cognitive psychology seeks to answer that broad question and is the study of how humans obtain information, store information in memory, recover information, and use information to reach one's goals. ‘The word cognitive comes from the Latin word cognoscere, meaning to know. It tries to explain how the human mind comes to know things about the world around it, people, and about itself, and how it uses this knowledge to perform an impressive range of tasks such as remembering, speaking, performing skilled actions, solving problems and reasoning, Cognitive psychologists adopt a scientific perspective toward the working of the mind. They also defined cognitive psychology as that branch of experimental psychology concerned with explaining mental processes. Historical perspective DP ro Fast Fact Course Module Below are some of the important contributors to the development of cognitive psychology. lato is an ancient Greek philosopher who likened memory to a wax tablet on which information can be written. Descartes argued that it was conscious mental activity that separated humans from animals and endowed people with the gift of voluntary action and thinking,What to member E Charles Darwii closely related. -Theory of Evolution implies that people and animals were Importance: 1, It demonstrated how quite complex physiological and biological systems could emerge through the interaction of a changing environment with small variations in an organism. 2. It dethroned people from the summit of the ladder of life, and placed them as one admittedly very clever species amongst all the others. In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt was the first psychologist who opened a psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, in Germany. In nineteenth century the dominant method used within psychology at the time is introspection that was proved unsuitable for exploring mental processes, Introspection is the process whereby one looks into one's own, mind and reports the contents. Psychologists tried hard to use introspection to study mental activity when the discipline first emerged. By carefully examining themselves carrying out a range of tasks, they hoped to build up a list of the major mental states, ideas or building blocks of mental life. Difficulty in using introspection: 1, Mental activity is private 2, When we introspect we may alter or perturb what we are introspecting, 3, It assumes all-important mental activities to be conscious, or open to introspection in the first place. .B. Watson insisted that psychology should examine only what was observable and external, such as behavior. 3 things were observable in principle 1, What had happened to a person in the past. 2, What the present environmental conditions were 3, How the person reacted as a result Behaviorism enabled psychologists to perform objective experiments which could be checked and, if necessary, repeated by other psychologists. After WWII, the behaviorist influence began to wane ‘Tolman and Hull began to refer increasingly to the role of internal factors in controlling behavior. The type of problems considered by psychologists began to change. From behavior to human perception and performance in more complex environments.OnLine! Oe Leaning & Cognitive Psychology €ducation Course Module Introduction to Human Learning and Cognition Chomsky is a linguist who pointed out how a purely behavioral account of language based on a simple application of reinforcement theory could not succeed, by pointing out that people are capable of understanding and producing novel, well-structured utterances for which they have never been rewarded in the past. Eventually the cognitive revolution emerged and cognitive psychologists assumes that all human cognition involves information processing approach. Information processing approach is a metaphor used for understanding mental activity and comparing it on computing. The digital computer came, which showed how a suitably programmed mechanical device could perform tasks that previously it was thought, could only be done by people. Gradually the suspicion emerged that this might be a good way of thinking about mind. If the brain was a little bit like a computer then the mind could be likened to its programs. Terms like mental operations (inner actions manipulating mental representations), working memory (short-term limited memory store for holding and manipulating information), and long-term memory (virtually unlimited store of information) were conceptualized. The cognitive psychologists claimed that it was possible to collect behavioral data from well-designed experiments in which people were presented with carefully controlled stimuli and their responses recorded. Specific theoretical issue can be addressed by running an experiment. Finally, artificial intelligence emerged as a branch cognitive science developed as it became more interested in developing computer programs or robots that behave intelligently, even if this entails mechanisms that are unlike those characterizing animal and human cognition. Activity No. 1: Essay Explain the main areas that cognitive psychology deals withGlossary References ‘* Learning long term change in mental representations or associations as a result of experience * mental operations - inner actions manipulating mental representations working memory - short-term limited memory store for holding and manipulating information long-term memory - virtually unlimited storage of information ‘* operant conditioning - Also called instrumental conditioning this is a form of learning in which the consequences of behavior produce changes in the probability that the behavior will occur. Reinforcement (reward) - A consequence that increases the probability that a behavior will occur. punishment - A consequence that decreases the probability that a behavior will occur. ‘positive reinforcement - Reinforcement based on the principle that the frequency of a response increases because it is followed by a rewarding stimulus. © negative reinforcement - Reinforcement based on the principle that the frequency of a response increases because an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus is removed Ormrod, J. (2012), Human Learning (6'* ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Gilhooly, K. Lyddy, F. (2009). Cognitive Psychology (1* ed.). McGraw Hill Higher Education.