Human Learning
McKenzie Shea
Conditioning, Social Learning Theory, and Information Processing Theory
Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
- Classical Conditioning is best explained as a human process in which one action responds to another causing a stimulus and response reaction. This then forces someone to remember that event once the stimulus is replayed over and over, associating the stimulus to whatever is to follow. This leads to human learning by understanding where our reactions (fear, sweating, salvation) come from when a certain event has triggered them. Humans can also be trained to associate a response to a stimulus that before did not effect them at all. This can be explained in the video below!
Operant Conditioning
Social Learning Theory
- He believes that humans can learn the behavior by observing those around them.
- He believes that humans are learning as they are "watching, focusing their attention, remembering and analyzing, and making a decision" (Woolfolk 279).
- Then from there, they apply it to their behaviors.
Ex: A teacher asks her students a question. A student in that classroom raises his/her hand to be called on by the teacher. The teacher tells that student they are correct and replies, "good job!". The students around observed this, and from now one will raise their hand to answer questions instead of just shout it out.
Information Processing Theory
The steps in the Information Process System are:
1) Once knowledge enters the brain it is stored in the sensory memory.
2) Attention decides what will be used and what will be held in short term memory.
3) The short term memory then takes the new knowledge and combines it with early information to be placed in the Long Term memory.
4) Once in the long term, it can be moved in and out of short term to be used when necessary.
Side Note: The Working Memory is also there to stand as storage for those short term memories that have not yet been combined with previous knowledge.
This best explains how human learning is developed and explains once something is process in the brain, where is goes next and where it is stored to be used later. With the working memory in constant flow, keeping information at the top of our brain when we need it, this helps humans come up with on the spot responses without having to search back into our long term memory.