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Learning and Cognition
By Melissa Ledom
Psychology 390
March 1, 2010
Introduction
Psychology presents with many opinions and theories on learning and cognition. In the theories they help explain how learning and cognition relate to each other. Scientist have tested his or her theories through excitements to study the learning process along with the role behavior may have in learning. This is the topic through this essay to define learning, examine the role behavior has on learning along with the two different types of learning. Coverage on the relationship between learning and cognition will be the last order of discussion.
Learning
Learning is the acquiring of knowledge or skill gained through education (Encarta, 2009). In the psychology aspect with learning it puts together the cognitive, emotional, environmental, personal experiences with the person's knowledge, skills, and values. The learning aspect brings several very important concepts like the nature versus nurture.
Nature verses nurture has been a topic argued by Psychologist, sociology, scientist and others over, which is more important and has more influence o n behavior. Nurture is the environment and nature is the heredity. Both are vitally important when one is learning for the behavior is controlled by the environment. Although each individual is unique and different the heredity plus environment is significant in the exploration to the studies and experiments that permits a deeper understanding.
Types of Learning
An experiment done by John B Watson was him taking an 11 month old baby with a rat to demonstrate learned behavior. A loud noise every time the child went to touch the rat, scaring the child to the point of crying anytime he was put in the room with the rat. The theory here suggested that classical conditioning could cause phobia in human.