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In psychology today learning is a very well-known subject. Almost every day people learn something new; whether by watching other people or through his or her own experiences. Most individuals "know" things and naturally perform many actions, meaning that he or she exhibits numerous behaviors. Learning is an essential part of every individual's lives and some are born with certain behaviors. For example, an individual may have been genetically predisposed at birth or conception and may have certain reflexes or some specific behaviors. Others, however, are gained only through learning. Over the years there have been many definitions of what learning is. Many of these definitions are disputed and replaced with newer up-to-date definitions. The definition that most psychologists like to use is Kimble's; "a relatively permanent change in behavioral potentiality that occurs as a result of reinforced practice" (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 1). A complete comprehension of learning and its relation to psychology is wholly dependent on the understanding of the roles behavior plays in learning, the two different types of learning, conditioning and instrumental, and last, the connection between cognition and learning. People learn by observing the behavior of others and also the outcomes of those behaviors (Ormrod, 1999).
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Date
Course
Instructor
In psychology today learning is a very well-known subject. Almost every day people learn something new; whether by watching other people or through his or her own experiences. Most individuals "know" things and naturally perform many actions, meaning that he or she exhibits numerous behaviors. Learning is an essential part of every individual's lives and some are born with certain behaviors. For example, an individual may have been genetically predisposed at birth or conception and may have certain reflexes or some specific behaviors. Others, however, are gained only through learning. Over the years there have been many definitions of what learning is. Many of these definitions are disputed and replaced with newer up-to-date definitions. The definition that most psychologists like to use is Kimble's; "a relatively permanent change in behavioral potentiality that occurs as a result of reinforced practice" (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 1). A complete comprehension of learning and its relation to psychology is wholly dependent on the understanding of the roles behavior plays in learning, the two different types of learning, conditioning and instrumental, and last, the connection between cognition and learning. People learn by observing the behavior of others and also the outcomes of those behaviors (Ormrod, 1999).