Week Two: Learning Theories Flashcards
What were the findings from Pavlov’s Dog?
That behavior can be learned through association, and how stimuli can trigger automatic responses based on previous experiences.
What were the findings from the Little Albert Experiment?
That emotions, such as fear, can be conditioned and generalised; contributing to the understanding of behaviourism
What is Associationism?
learning involves the formation of connections between stimuli and responses
What are the fundamentals of Operant Conditioning?
Responses that have positive outcomes are more likely to be repeated (and vice versa)
What is Thorndike’s law of Readiness?
Students learn best when they are physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to learn; they do not learn well if they see no reason to learn.
What is Thorndike’s law of Exercise?
Things most repeated are learned the best; you cannot learn a complex task in a single session!
What is Thorndike’s law of Effect?
Learning is best when accompanied by a pleasant feeling and vice versa. Efficient learning occurs when learning is pleasant, and the learner takes satisfaction out of learning.
What are the four key principles of Thorndike’s theory?
Practice and reward, stimulus and response, transfer of knowledge, association.
What is positive reinforcement?
Adding something positive
What is negative reinforcement?
Deleting something negative
What is punishment?
Weakening a behavior by linking it to an aversive consequence; can occur through the addition, or removal of stimuli
What is operant conditioning?
Consequences lead to a change in voluntary behavior
What is classical conditioning?
Association of a stimulus with an involuntary reaction
What is the food in Pavlov’s Dog experiment?
Unconditioned stimulus: no one teaches a dog to salivate to steak
What is the dog’s salivation to food in Pavlov’s Dog experiment?
Unconditioned response: no one teaches dogs to salivate over food
What is the neutral stimulus in Pavlov’s Dog experiment?
The sound of a bell before it has been associated with the presentation of food: it doesn’t mean anything to a dog unless conditioned to be
What is the conditioned stimulus in Pavlov’s Dog experiment?
The sound of a bell after it has been associated with the presentation of food: the dog learns the sound of the bell means food is coming!
What are Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor stage, Preoperational stage, Concrete operations stage, Formal operations stage
What occurs in the sensorimotor stage (Piaget)
physical interactions with the environment, cognition, and action; i.e. language, symbolic thought, memory
What occurs in the preoperational stage (Piaget)
Development of operations and mental actions that follow rules, development of egocentrism centration (Focus on a single thing alone).
What occurs in the concrete operations stage (Piaget)
Reversibility of operations, classification into hierarchies, logical and concrete thinking
What occurs in the formal operations stage (Piaget)
Abstract thinking, hypothetical thinking
What is constructivism
Learners construct their own knowledge when learning, through psychological constructivism and social constructivism
What is psychological constructivism
Existing knowledge of the learner activel interact with the environment
What is social constructivism
Social interaction and socio-cultural factors shape the learning process.
What is observational learning?
That learners can learn through the way people behave
What are the four aspects of Bondura’s social-cognitive learning theory?
Attention, memory, imitation, and motivation
What are Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? (Bottom to top of pyramid)
Physiological (air, water),
Safety,
Love/Belonging,
Esteem (respect, strength),
Self Actualisation (Desire to do the best/most)
What is the basic idea of the humanist learning theory?
Humans are good and want to
learn, but may be prevented from doing so if criteria is not met (Maslow’s hierarchy)
What four stages of contexts make up Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model (inner circle to outer circle)
The Child, The Microsystem, The Mesosystem, The Exosystem, The Macrosystem
What is ‘The Mesosystem’ section of Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model
Childs relationship between microsystems in one life; i.e. their home-school relationship, parent-peer relationship.
What is ‘The child’ in Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model
The individual themselves; i.e. their Age, Sex, Health
What is ‘The Exosystem’ section of Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model
Contexts that individual isn’t apart of, but can effect their life by effecting the micro/mesosystems; i.e. Extended family, Legal services, Media
What contexts are included in the ‘The Microsystem’ section of Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model
Immediate setting that individual interacts with, i.e. Family, peers, school, health services
What contexts are included in the ‘The Macrosystem’ section of Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model
The social and cultural norms of society, Attitudes and ideologies of culture, societal practices and expectations. i.e. national laws, expectation of a certain gender.
What is the zone of proximal development?
The space between what a learner can do without assistance and what they cannot do, even with help. It identifies the skills that are just beyond a learner’s current capabilities but can be mastered with guidance.
What is self-efficacy?
Self-efficacy is a concept developed by psychologist Albert Bandura that refers to an individual’s belief in their ability to successfully perform a specific task or achieve a particular goal. It plays a crucial role in motivation, learning, and personal development.
How do Piaget’s and Vgotsky’s theories of cognitive development/learning differ
Piaget focuses on stages of cognitive development, whereas Vygotsky proposes that cognitive development is a continuous process influenced by social interactions and the cultural context.
