Learning is defined as the alteration of behavior resulting from individual experience. There are many types of learning, including discrimination learning, habituation, concept formation, problem solving, perceptual learning, and psychomotor learning. Historically, theorists attempted to develop a unified theory of learning modeled on physical sciences, but by the 1970s it was recognized that learning cannot be explained by a single theory. Current themes in learning theory include association, reinforcement, and debates around issues like the role of motivation, memory, and the physiological basis of learning in the brain.

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Learning
LEARNING, THEALTERATIONOF BEHAVIOURAS A RESULT OF INDIVIDUAL
EXPERIENCE. WHENAN ORGANISMCANPERCEIVEAND CHANGE ITS
BEHAVIOUR, ITIS SAID TO LEARN.
TYPES OF LEARNING
THE ARRAY OF LEARNED BEHAVIOUR INCLUDES DISCRIMINATION LEARNING
(WHERE A SUBJECT LEARNS TO RESPOND TO A LIMITED RANGEOF SENSORY
CHARACTERISTICS, SUCH AS A PARTICULARSHADEOF
COLORATION), HABITUATION (THECESSATIONOF RESPONSES TO REPEATED
STIMULATION), CONCEPTFORMATION (THEPROCESS OF SORTING
EXPERIENCES ACCORDING TO RELATED FEATURES), PROBLEM
SOLVING, PERCEPTUAL LEARNING (THEEFFECTS OF PASTEXPERIENCEON
SENSORYPERCEPTIONS), AND PSYCHOMOTORLEARNING (THEDEVELOPMENT
OF NEUROMUSCULARPATTERNS INRESPONSETO SENSORY
SIGNALS). ASSOCIATION, CONDITIONING, IMITATION,INSIGHT,
AND IMPRINTING REPRESENTOTHERTYPES OF LEARNING.
LEARNING THEORISTS FROMTHE17TH THROUGH THEMID-20TH CENTURY
ATTEMPTED TO DEVELOP A SCIENTIFIC PROOF OF CERTAINPRINCIPLES THAT
GOVERNED ALL PROCESSES OF LEARNING. RIGOROUS,
“OBJECTIVE” METHODOLOGYWAS ATTEMPTED SO THATTHE BEHAVIOUROF
ALL ORGANISMS COULD BECOMPREHENDED UNDERA UNIFIED SYSTEMOF
LAWS MODELED ONTHOSEPOSITED INTHEPHYSICAL SCIENCES. BYTHE
1970S, HOWEVER, FLAWSAND GAPS INTHESE COMPREHENSIVE THEORIES LED
MANY PSYCHOLOGISTS TO CONCLUDETHATLEARNING COULD NOTBE
REPRESENTED BY A SINGLEUNIVERSAL THEORY.
THE LAST ATTEMPTS TO INTEGRATEALL KNOWLEDGEOF PSYCHOLOGYINTO
ONE GRAND THEORY OCCURRED INTHE 1930S. THESEWERE REPRESENTED IN
THE WORKS OF EDWINR. GUTHRIE, CLARK L. HULL, AND EDWARD C. TOLMAN.
GUTHRIEREASONED THATRESPONSES (NOT PERCEPTIONS ORMENTAL
STATES) WERE THE CENTRAL BUILDING BLOCKS OF LEARNING. HULL ARGUED

2. THAT “HABITSTRENGTH,” A RESULT OF PRACTICED STIMULUS-RESPONSE(S-R)
ACTIVITIES PROMOTED BYREWARD, WAS THE ESSENTIAL ASPECTOF
LEARNING, WHICH HEVIEWED AS A GRADUAL PROCESS. TOLMANPORTRAYED
LEARNING AS A PROCESS THAT DERIVES FROMBEHAVIOUR. MANYOF THESE
THEMES REMAINVITAL TO CONTEMPORARYRESEARCH.
ASSOCIATION IS ONESUCH THEME. ITS ESSENCELIES INTHE OBSERVATION
THAT A SUBJECT PERCEIVES SOMETHING INTHE ENVIRONMENT (SENSATIONS)
AND THE RESULT IS ANAWARENESS OF WHAT IS OUTTHERE (IDEAS).
ASSOCIATIONS LEADING TO IDEASWERESAID TO INCLUDECLOSENESS OF
OBJECTS OR EVENTS INSPACEOR TIME, SIMILARITY, FREQUENCY, SALIENCE,
AND ATTRACTIVENESS. ASSOCIATIVELEARNING, THEABILITYOF ANANIMAL
TO CONNECT A PREVIOUSLYIRRELEVANT STIMULUS WITH A PARTICULAR
RESPONSE, OCCURS MAINLYTHROUGH THEPROCESS OF CONDITIONING, IN
WHICH REINFORCEMENT CRYSTALLIZES NEW BEHAVIOUR PATTERNS. THE
EARLIESTWELL-KNOWNCONDITIONING EXPERIMENTWAS PERFORMED BY
19TH-CENTURYRUSSIANPHYSIOLOGIST IVANPETROVICH PAVLOV,WHO
CONDITIONED DOGS TO SALIVATETO THESOUND OF BELLS.
S-R THEORIES FAILEDTO ACCOUNTFORMANY LEARNED PHENOMENA,
HOWEVER, AND SEEMED OVERLYREDUCTIVEBECAUSETHEY IGNORED A
SUBJECT’S INNER ACTIVITIES. TOLMANHEADED ANOTHER, LESS “OBJECTIVE”
CAMP THATHELD THAT ASSOCIATIONSINVOLVEDA STIMULUS AND A
SUBJECTIVESENSORYIMPRESSION(S-S).
ANOTHERCURRENT THEME IS THAT OF REINFORCEMENT, WHICH ACCOUNTS
FORTHE FINDING THAT A SUBJECT’S PERFORMANCEWILL IMPROVEWHENHIS
OR HER ACTIVITIESAREREWARDED. THE THEORETICAL MECHANISMSOF SUCH
REINFORCEMENTARE CONTROVERSIAL.
MANY PSYCHOLOGISTS DISCOUNTANYUNIVERSAL APPLICABILITYOF
ASSOCIATIONTHEORY, SAYING THATOTHERCONSIDERATIONS AREOF
GREATER IMPORTANCETO LEARNING. GESTALT PSYCHOLOGISTS, FOR
INSTANCE, BELIEVETHATTHE KEY LEARNING PROCESSES INVOLVEA
RESTRUCTURING OF RELATIONSHIPS INTHEENVIRONMENT, NOTSIMPLYAN
ASSOCIATIVEEXPERIENCEWITH THEM. PSYCHOLINGUISTS (THOSEWHO
STUDYTHE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF LANGUAGEABILITY) ARGUETHAT

3. LANGUAGELEARNING INVOLVES TOO MANYWORDS AND COMBINATIONSTO
BE SATISFACTORILYEXPLAINED BYASSOCIATIONTHEORY. INSTEAD, THEY
ARGUE THAT SOMEBASIC ORGANIZING STRUCTUREUNDERLIES LANGUAGE
LEARNING, PERHAPS ANINHERITED NATIVE“GRAMMAR.”
OTHER MAJORISSUES OF CONTEMPORARYTHEORIES OF LEARNING INCLUDE
THE ROLE OF MOTIVATIONINPERFORMANCE; THE TRANSFEROF
TRAINING BETWEENA TASK ALREADYLEARNED AND ONE YET TO BE LEARNED;
LEARNING STAGES; AND THE PROCESSES AND NATURE OF RECALL,
FORGETTING, AND INFORMATIONRETRIEVAL ORMEMORY. OTHERSCIENTISTS
ARE EXPLORING NONQUANTIFIABLECONCEPTS SUCH AS IMAGE, COGNITION,
AWARENESS, AND VOLITION.
PHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF LEARNING
THE MECHANISMS OF LEARNING AND REMEMBERING SEEM TO DEPEND ON
RELATIVELYENDURING CHANGES INTHE NERVOUS SYSTEM. APPARENTLYTHE
EFFECTS OF LEARNING ARE FIRSTRETAINED INTHE BRAINBY
SOMEREVERSIBLEPROCESS, AFTERWHICH A MORE PERMANENT NEURAL
CHANGE TAKES PLACE. TWO TYPES OF NEUROLOGICAL PROCESSES HAVE
THEREFORE BEEN SUGGESTED. THE SHORT-TERMFUNCTIONOF MEMORY,
TEMPORARY AND REVERSIBLE, MAY BE ACHIEVED THROUGH A
PHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISM(E.G., SYNAPTIC ELECTRICAL ORCHEMICAL
CHANGE) THAT KEEPS THE MEMORYTRACE ALIVEOVERA LIMITED PERIODOF
TIME. THE ENSUING, MOREPERMANENT (LONG-TERM) STORAGEMAY
DEPEND ON CHANGES INTHE PHYSICAL ORCHEMICAL STRUCTURE
OF NEURONS; SYNAPTIC CHANGES SEEMTO BE PARTICULARLYIMPORTANT.
NEW STUDIES USING POSITRONEMISSIONTOMOGRAPHY (PET)
AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI) SCANS MAY ILLUMINATETHE
PHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF LEARNING.