Psychology of Learning Theories

The Psychology of Learning

• The psychology of learning refers to theories and research on how individuals learn.

Early Approaches

• Prior to the 1950s, psychological learning theory varied across countries, with Germany focusing on gestalt psychology, America on behaviorism, and Russia on the cultural-historical approach.
• Gestalt psychology viewed psychological concepts holistically, emphasizing understanding overarching phenomena and their connections.
• The cultural-historical approach described learning in the context of one's environment, viewing it as a phenomenon that can be directed and supported in institutions like schools.

Influential Theorists

• Jean Piaget's constructivism described how learners construct knowledge by expanding and changing their ideas based on the information they receive.
• Sigmund Freud's work on psychoanalysis and John Dewey's theories on schooling and learning were also major influences during this time.

1950s-1960s

• Behaviorism, led by B.F. Skinner, viewed human behavior as determined by an individual's interactions with their environment.
• Skinner argued that humans are controlled by external factors, and human learning is predicated on environmental information.
• Social learning, as described by Albert Bandura, and the learning theory of culmination, as described by Dane Thomas Nissen, emerged as complexities of behaviorism.

Humanistic View

• Carl Rogers introduced client-based therapy, the concept of the "student-centered teacher," and "significant learning" in 1951.
• Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs model influenced the psychology of learning, describing how people need to meet basic physical, social, and mental needs before addressing other needs.

1970s and Beyond

• The 1970s saw learning as an integral part of life and personal/social enrichment.
• Concepts such as lifelong learning and adult education emerged.
• The Russian cultural-historical approach was adopted, viewing learning as interacting with incentives in the environment.
• Ute Holzkamp-Osterkamp viewed motivation as interconnected with learning.
• Lev Vygotsky's zone of proximal development influenced educators to view learning activities in relation to students' comfort zones.
• Kenneth Gergen introduced social constructionism, which posits that individuals construct mental structures from their social connections and environment.