Cognitive views on learning Gestalt Psychology Edward Tolman’s Purposive Behaviourism Jean Piaget’s Developmental Theory Gagne’s hierarchy of learning

Cognitive theories In contrast to behaviourists, who emphasize the roles of environmental conditions and overt behaviours in learning, cognitive psychologists look more at how individuals process the stimuli they encounter- that is how individuals perceive, interpret, and mentally store the information they receive from the environment. The focus on information processing underlies much of cognitive theory.

General Assumptions of Cognitive Theories Some learning processes may be unique to human beings. Cognitive processes are the focus of study. Objective, systematic observations of people's behaviour should be the focus of scientific inquiry, however, inferences about unobservable mental processes can often be drawn from such behaviour. Individuals are actively involved in the learning process. Learning involves the formation of mental associations that are not necessarily reflected in overt behaviour changes. Knowledge is organized. Learning is a process of relating new information to previously learned information.

The Gestalt psychologists of Germany Marx Wertheimer Wolfgang Kohler Kurt Koffka Gestalt psychologists emphasized the importance of organizational processes in perception, learning, and problem solving and believed that individuals were predisposed to organize information in particular ways. There are several basic ideas of the Gestalt theory: Perception is often different from reality. The whole is more than the sum of its parts. The organism structures and organizes experience. The organism in predisposed to organize experience in particular ways. Learning follows the law of Pragnanz. Problem solving involves restructuring and insight

Edward Tolman prominent learning theorist during the heyday of behaviorism, yet his work had a distinctly cognitive flair. Tolman developed his mentalistic view of learning by using adaptive versions of behaviorist research. There are several central ideas of his theory: Behavior should be studied at a molar level. Learning can occur without reinforcement. Learning can occur without a change in behavior. Intervening variables must be considered. Behavior is purposive. Expectations affect behavior. Learning results in an organized body of information.

Jean Piaget Piaget focused on mental events - logical reasoning processes and the structure of knowledge. He incorporates such diverse topics as language, logical reasoning, moral judgements, and conceptions of time, space, and number. the major components of Piaget's research involve the following: People are active processors of information. Knowledge can be described in terms of structures that change with development. Cognitive development results from the interactions that children have with their physical and social environments. The process through which people interact with the environment remain constant. People are intrinsically motivated to try to make sense of the world around them. Cognitive development occurs in distinct stages, with thought processes at each stage being qualitatively different from those at other stages

Lev Vygotsky Vygotsky died at a young age, but had several influential ideas in the field of cognitivism, such as: Complex mental processes begin as social activities; as children develop, they gradually internalize these processes and can use them independently of those around them. Thought and language initially develop independently of each other; the two become independent when children are about two years old. Children can accomplish more difficult tasks when they have the assistance of people more advanced and competent than themselves. Tasks within the zone of proximal development promote maximum cognitive growth.

Gagne’s Hierachy of Learning 1. Signal learning Establishment of a simple connection, in which a stimulus takes on the properties of a signal.( Classical conditioning) 2. Stimulus-response (S-R) Learning Establishment of a connection between a stimulus and a response, where the response is a voluntary movement and the connection is instrumental in satisfying a need/motive (operant conditioning) Chaining The connection of a sequence of two/more previously learned S- R connections. 4. Verbal Association The learning of chains that are specifically verbal, important for the acquisition/use of language. Enables several learned connections involving words to be emitted in a single sentence. 5. Discrimination Making different responses to similar stimuli. Involves more than simply making isolated S-R connections because its necessary to deal with the problem of interference between similar items. 6. Concept Learning Learning to make a similar response to stimili that form a class/category but which differ in their physical charecteristics 7. Rule Learning A rule of a chain of two/more concepts (e.g. ‘f A then B’) 8. Problem Solving Involves recombining old rules into new ones, making it possible to answer questions and solve problems. Especially important for real-life human prob;lem solving situations.

References Gross, R (2005) Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour (fifth Edition) GreenGate Publishing Service, London Ormrod, J.E. (1999). Human Learning (3rd Edition). Upper Sadle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.