Psy 550 Week 1 Assignment

Learning concept examination
Cocou ATOHOUN
PSYCH/ 550
01/28/2013
JOHN BARKER

Learning concept examination
From the day an individual born until the day he/she dies, there are many things that we learn such as the languages we speak, the culture of the country where we born at, the way to act, think and behave as a member of the society. The knowledge we gain and the experiences we have are acquired through the process of learning. What is learning? How can the concept be described? What are the differences between learning and performance? And what are some conceptual approaches to the study of learning are questions that will be answered throughout this paper.
According to (Washburne, 1936) the learning concept can be described accurately
For Washburne, learning is a process through which individuals acquire the knowledge to solve problems they encounter in their everyday life. An example will be the one of a kid who is born in Africa. The kid will learn by observing older people that respect is very important and that in case of a problem with a person, his parents must be associated in order to avoid a bigger issue with the whole community. (Jeff Cobb, 2011) defines learning as “the lifelong process of transforming information and experience into knowledge, skill, behavior and attitude” (www.missiontolearn.com). Jeff Cobb explains that people do not need to take classes or courses, de not need degrees or certificate to learn but the learning process does requires practice, reflection, social interaction and interaction with the environment. To learn, one does not have to go to school but need to interact with people in order to learn from them and use the knowledge to solve problems. Learning does not happen consciously (pigmies in equatorial forest learn to hunt and fish without even knowing) but individuals who go to school put more effort at learning specific things. While learning is a process to
Terry, 2009 in his book explains that there are four different approaches to the study of learning such as the functional approach, the behavioral approach, the cognitive approach and the neuroscience. The functional approach is the one that evolve utilization of learning in memory for survival. In this case, an animal that is brought for example from a tropical temperature to a cold one will adapt to the new conditions in order to survive. Another example is the one of hogs. In the winter time, they form groups of five to ten hogs and sleep together in order to heat one another. The behavioral approach is also observable on animals. Dogs for example when they are been trained improve better when a reward is given to them. Every time they do what the trainer expect them to do, they get a treat. This approach focuses on the relationship between a behavior, a stimulus and the response to the stimulus. Another approach to the study of learning is the cognitive approach. This approach focuses on the process of learning. This approach is used by students to store and retrieve information. For example, to remember Integrated Chemistry Technology, students use (ICT). The last approach to leaning is the neuroscience one. This approach focuses on what happens in the mind during the learning process. The neuroscience is kind of the biological part of the process which explains how the mind deal with the information