Psychology- Learning

Academic success: is performing consistently well in an academic setting such as school and being able to perform your personal best. Personality means the characteristic ways of thinking, feeling and acting that make the person an individual. Eysenck came up with two main personality factors: extroversion-introversion and emotional stability-instability. They considered that by looking at how a person scored on these two factors, you could describe their personality. A person who was high on extroversion and stability would be carefree and show leadership whereas one who was high on extroversion but unstable would be likely to be restless and aggressive. An expanded set of factors is known as the Big Five- McCrae and Costa, these include, openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These personality traits are expressed in learning styles. Openness is a general appreciation for art, curiosity and imagination. This trait distinguishes people who are more imaginative to those who are down-to-earth. A child who has a more active imagination will be more likely to create stories, be better readers and develop better writing skills. Conscientiousness is a tendency to be organised, to show self-discipline and aim for achievement. In a learning environment conscientious individuals achieve high levels of success through purposeful planning and persistence. Extroverts tend to be enthusiastic, sociable and love excitement. Opposed to introverts who lack energy and tend to be quiet and reserved. Agreeableness is the tendency to be compassionate and cooperative with others. Cooperation is one of the most important things kids learn in early childhood, and so more agreeable children would make a better adjusted classroom.

Learning is usually defined as a relatively permanent change, often of behaviour, that occurs as a result of experience. Observational learning takes place when a new behaviour is learned or one modified as a