“ TEACHING - LEARNING PROCESS : CHARACTERISTIC AND

LIMITATION OF BEHAVIOURIST , COGNITIVIST AND

HUMANISTIC APPROACH TO LEARNING ”

TEACHING LEARNING PROCESS

Introduction

We are passing through a great transition. The old is becoming obsolete and new is still in the process
of emergence. The old ways of learning & teaching is found to be too rigid & too out-dated. A greater
opportunity of psychological principle is being truly demanded. It has been urged that the training of
the young requires on the part of teacher a deep psychological knowledge.
Teaching-learning process is the heart of education. On it depends the fulfillment of the aims &
objectives
of education. It is the most powerful instrument of education to bring about desired changes in the
students.
Teaching learning are related terms. In teaching - learning process, the teacher, the learner, the
curriculum
& other variables are organized in a systematic way to attain some pre-determined goal
Let us first understand in short about learning, teaching and then teaching-learning relation.
Learning can be defined as the relatively permanent change in an individual's behavior or behavior
potential (or capability) as a result of experience or practice (i.e., an internal change inferred from overt
behavior). This can be compared with the other primary process producing relatively permanent
change--
maturation--that results from biological growth and development. Therefore, when we see a relatively
permanent change in others, or ourselves we know that the primary cause was either maturation
(biology) or learning (experience). As educators, there is nothing we can do to alter an individual’s
biology; the only influence open to use is to provide an opportunity for students to engage in
experiences that will lead to relatively permanent change.
Teaching then, can be thought of as the purposeful direction and management of the learning process.
Note
that teaching is not giving knowledge or skills to students; teaching is the process of providing
opportunities for students to produce relatively permanent change through the engagement in
experiences provided by the teacher.
Definition of learning given by various psychologists:
•
Daniel Bell- Learning is modification due to energies of organism and environment impinging on
the organism itself.
•
Gates- Learning is modification of behaviour through experience.
•
Crow – Crow- Learning involves the acquisition of habits, knowledge and attitude.
•
Ruch- Learning is a process, which bring about changes in the individual way of responding as a
result of contact with aspects of environment.
•
Skinner – Learning as acquisition and retention.
•
Encyclopedia of Education Research- Learning refers to growth of interest, knowledge and skills
and to transfer these to new situation.

Definition of teaching given by various psychologists:

•
H.C. Morrison – Teaching is an intimate contact between a more mature personality ans a less
mature one which is designed to further the education of the latter.
•
J. Brubacher – Teaching is an arrangement and manipulation of a situation in which there are gaps
and obstructions, which an individual will seek to overcome and from in which he will learn in the
course of doing so.
•
B.O. Smith – Teaching is a system of actions involving an agent, an end in view, and a situation

including two sets of factors – those over which the agent has no control (class size, size of classroom,
physical characteristics of pupil etc.) and those that he can modify (way of asking questions or ideas
gleaned.)
•
Edmund Amidon – Teaching is defined as an interactive process, primarily involving classroom
talk, which takes place between teacher and pupil and occurs during certain definable activities.
•
T.F. Greens – Teaching is a task of a teacher, which is performed for the development of a child.
Essential aspects of the teaching-learning process
It is informative to examine the ideal teaching-learning process, as proposed by Diana Laurillard
(Laurillard,
1993; Laurillard, 1994). She argues that there are four aspects of the teaching-learning process:
(a) Discussion - between the teacher and learner.
(b) Interaction - between the learner and some aspect of the world defined by the teacher.
(c) Adaptation - of the world by the teacher and action by the learner.
(d) Reflection -
on the learner's performance by both teacher and learner.
She then considers how different educational media and styles can be described in these terms. For
example, a text book represents a one-way flow of knowledge from the teacher's conceptual knowledge
to the student's conceptual knowledge. A lecture or tutorial may be seen the same way, but there is a
possibility of meaningful discussion between teacher and learner.
Discussion
Reflection on
Adaptation of
Adaptation of
Reflection on
Student
World
Action
Interaction
Interaction
Figure : Essential aspects of the ideal teaching-learning process
TEACHING PROCESS
Approaches, Attitudes,
Behaviour, Materials, Modes of
Learning
Teacher’s Conceptual
Knowledge
Student’s Conceptual
Knowledge
Teacher’s Constructed
World
Student Experimental
Knowledge

Figure: Teaching - Learning Environment

According toBurton in the figure above

1) Teaching can become effective only by relating it to process of learning.

2) Teaching objective cannot be realized without being related to learning situation.
3) We may create and use teaching aids to create some appropriate learning situation.
4) The strategies and devices of teaching may be selected in such a manner that the optimal objectives
of learning are achieved
5) To understand principles, goals, objectives of education in right perspective.
6) Appropriate learning situation condition may be created for congenial and effective teaching.
Lets take a short glimpse of the Approaches to Learning Theories :
TEACHING LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT
LEARNING OUTCOMES
COURSE DESIGN
Content, Organization, Aims &
Expectation, Teaching and
Learning Methods
INPUT FACTORS
Student characteristics
Teacher characteristics
Institutional characteristics
And Culture
LEARNING CLIMATE
Psychosocial Environment
Physical Environment
STUDENT APPROACH TO
LEARNING
ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION
Aproaches, Practices, Purposes
And Foci

Aspect
Behaviourist
Cognitivist
Humanist
Learning theorists

Thorndike, Pavlov,
Watson, Guthrie, Hull,
Tolman, Skinner
Koffka, Kohler,Lewin, Piaget,
Ausubel,Bruner, Gagne
Maslow, Ro g er s
View of the learning
process
Change in behaviour
Internal mental process
(including insight, information
processing, memory, perception
A personal act to fulfil
potential.
Locus of learning
Stimuli in external
environment
Internal cognitive structuring
Affective and cognitive
needs
Purpose in educationProduce behavioural
change in desired
direction
Develop capacity and skills to
learn better
Become self-actualized,
autonomous
Educator's role
Arranges environment
to elicit desired
response
Structures content of learning
activity
Facilitates development
of the whole person
Manifestations in
adult learning
Behavioural objectives
Competency -based
education
Skill development and
training
Cognitive development
Intelligence, learning and
memory as function of age
Learning how to learn
Andragogy
Self-directed learning
SOURCE: http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-learn.htm
Behaviourist
Behaviourist learning as pioneered by Watson (1913) who developed the stimulus-response model. He
asserted that people learn from observing each other and as a result of this observation produces a
behavioural change. The change is driven by the external environment of the learner and requires
repetition

and reinforcement. Thorndike further asserted that learning was impacted by the learner recognizing
the positive consequences of the behavioural change and that learning would occur when the brain
could systematically link together behaviours into patterns (Saettler 1990).
The History of Behaviourism
•
Pavlov (1903) published the results of an experiment on conditioning after originally studying
digestion in dogs.
•
Watson (1913) launches the behavioural school of psychology (classical conditioning), publishing
an article, "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It".
•
Watson and Rayner (1920) conditioned an orphan called Albert B (aka Little Albert) to fear a
white rat.
•
Thorndike (1905) formalised the "Law of Effect".
•
Skinner (1936) wrote "The Behavior of Organisms" and introduced the concepts of operant
conditioning and shaping.
•
B.F. Skinner (1948) published Walden II in which he described a utopian society founded upon
behaviorist principles.
•
Bandura (1963) publishes a book called the "Social Leaning Theory" which combines both
cognitive and behavioral frameworks.
•
B.F. Skinner (1971) published his book Beyond Freedom and Dignity, where he argues that free
will is an illusion.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
*John Watson
Behaviourism as a movement in psychology appeared in 1913 when John Broadus Watson published
the
classic article 'Psychology as the behaviourist views it'.
Watson believed that all individual differences in behaviour were due to different experiences of
learning.
He famously said:
“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and
I'll
guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select -
doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents,
penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and the race of his ancestors”. (Watson, 1924, p. 104)
Watson proposed that the process of classical conditioning (based on Pavlov’s observations) was able
to
explain all aspects of human psychology. Everything from speech to emotional responses were simply
patterns of stimulus and response. Watson denied completely the existence of the mind or
consciousness.
* Pavlov and Classical Conditioning
Like many great scientific advances, classical conditioning was discovered accidentally.
The nineteenth-century Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov was looking at salivation in dogs in response
to

being fed, when he noticed that his dogs would begin to salivate whenever he entered the room, even
when
he
was
not
bringing
them
food.

However, when Pavlov discovered that any object or event which the dogs learnt toassociate with food
(such as the food bowl) would trigger the same response, he realised that he had made an important
scientific discovery, and he devoted the rest of his career to studying this type of learning.
Ivan Pavlov and his studies of "classical conditioning" have become famous since his early work
between
1890-1930. Classical conditioning is "classical" in that it is the first systematic study of basic laws of
learning / conditioning.
Classical conditioning involves learning to associate an
unconditioned stimulus that already brings about a
particular response (i.e. a reflex) with a new (conditioned) stimulus, so that the new stimulus brings
about the same response.
Pavlov developed some rather unfriendly technical terms to describe this process. The unconditioned
stimulus (or UCS) is the object or event that originally produces the reflexive / natural response.
The response to this is called the unconditioned response (or UCR). The neutral stimulus (NS) is a new
stimulus that does not produce a response.
Once the neutral stimulus has become associated with the unconditioned stimulus, it becomes a
conditioned stimulus (CS). The conditioned response (CR) is the response to the conditioned stimulus.
OPERANT CONDITIONING
* B.F. Skinner
Skinner is regarded as the father of Operant Conditioning, but his work was based on Thorndike’s law
of
effect. In the late nineteenth century, psychologist Edward Thorndike proposed the law of effect. The
law
of effect states that any behavior that has good consequences will tend to be repeated, and any behavior
that has bad consequences will tend to be avoided. In the 1930s, B. F. Skinner, extended this idea and
began to study operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which responses
come to be controlled by their consequences. Operant responses are often new responses.
Just as Pavlov’s fame stems from his experiments with salivating dogs, Skinner’s fame stems from his
experiments with animal boxes. Skinner used a device called the Skinner box to study operant
conditioning. A Skinner box is a cage set up so that an animal can automatically get a food reward if it
makes a particular kind of response. The box also contains an instrument that records the number of
responses an animal makes. Psychologists use several key terms to discuss operant conditioning
principles, including
reinforcementand punishment.
Reinforcement

Reinforcement is delivery of a consequence that increases the likelihood that a response will occur.
Positive reinforcement is the presentation of a stimulus after a response so that the response will occur

more often. Negative reinforcement is the removal of a stimulus after a response so that the response
will occur more often. In this terminology, positive and negative don’t mean good and bad.
Instead,positi ve means adding a stimulus, andnegative means removing a stimulus.
Punishment
Punishment is the delivery of a consequence that decreases the likelihood that a response will occur.
Positive and negative punishments are analogous to positive and negative reinforcement.Positiv e
punishment is the presentation of a stimulus after a response so that the response will occur less often.
Negative punishment is the removal of a stimulus after a response so that the response will occur less
often.
Reinforcement helps to increase a behavior, while punishment helps to decrease a behavior.
Looking atSkinner 's classic studies on pigeons’ behaviour we can identify some of the major
assumptions
of behaviourists approach.
• Psychology should be seen as ascienc e, to be studied in a scientific manner. Skinner's study
of behaviour in rats was conducted under carefully controlled laboratory conditions.
• Behaviourism is primarily concerned with observable behaviour, as opposed to internal events like
thinking and emotion. Note that Skinner did not say that the rats learnt to press a lever because they
wanted food. He instead concentrated on describing the easily observed behaviour that the rats
acquired.
• The major influence on human behaviour is learning from our environment. In the Skinner study,
because food followed a particular behaviour the rats learned to repeat that behaviour, e.g. classical and
operant conditioning.
• There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that in
other animals. Therefore research (e.g. classical conditioning) can be carried out on animals
(Pavlov’s dogs) as well as on humans (Little Albert). Skinner proposed that the way humans
learn behaviour is much the same as the way the rats learned to press a lever.
Here's a comparison of classical and operant conditioning:
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
OPERANT CONDITIONING
(A)
Thorndike / Skinner

Pavlov / Rescorla
classical conditioning (Hilgard and Marquis,
1940)
also called respondent conditioning (Skinner,
1938)
operant conditioning (Skinner, 1938)
also called instrumental conditioning (Hilgard and
Marquis, 1940)
(B) What kind of regularities are learned?
those that the animal can't control
relations between stimuli out in the world
those that the animal can control
relations between animal's behavior and its
consequences
(C) What are the relevant events and in what sequence must they occur?
CS - US/REINFORCEMENT - UR/CR
S - REINF – R
(discriminative) stimulus - response
- REINFORCEMENT
S - R - REINF
(D) Does reinforcement depend on the animal's behavior / response?
No - presented independent of behavior
Yes - contingent on behavior according to reinforcement
schedule
(E) Is the response elicited or emitted?
Elicited - US causes UR; animal is forced to
respond
Emitted - reinforcement doesn't cause response; animal
responds at will
(F) What is the nature of the response to be made?
reflex or other visceral response (i.e., in
tissues and organs)
usually involuntary
action or skeletal response (e.g., movement of
limbs)
usually voluntary
(G) What does the animal "learn"?
Learns a signal, i.e., that US is coming (CS->US)Learns a behavior, i.e., one that brings about a
reinforcement
(H) What is the principle or mechanism governing the conditioning process?
Rescorla (and us): contingency / dependency
of US on CS
(Pavlov: contiguity / frequency of CS-US
pairing)
law of effect: utility or consequences of response
(contiguity's role: delay of reinforcement weakens
response)
Behaviourism Psychology Summary

Key Features
Methodology
•
Stimulus - Response
•
Classical Conditioning & Operant Conditioning
•
Reinforcement & Punishment (Skinner)
•
Objective Measurement
•
Social Learning Theory (Bandura)
•
Nomothetic
•
Reductionism
•
Lab Experiments
•
Edward Thorndike (the cat in a puzzle box)
•
Skinner box (rats & pigeons)
•
Pavlov’s Dogs
•
Bandura Bobo Doll Experiment
•
Ethical Considerations
Basic Assumptions
Areas of Application
•

Psychology should be seen as a science, to be studied in a scientific manner (usually in a laboratory)

•
Behaviourism is primarily concerned with observable behaviour, as opposed to internal events like
thinking and emotion
•
Behaviour is the result of stimulus – response (i.e. all behaviour, no matter how complex, can be
reduced to a simple stimulus – response association)
•
Behaviour is determined by the environment
(e.g. conditioning)
•
Gender Role Development
•
Behaviour Therapies (e.g. Flooding)
•
Phobias
•
Addictions (Aversion Therapy)
•
Scientific Methods
•
Relationships
•
Language
•
Moral Development
Strengths
Weaknesses
•
Scientific
•
Highly applicable (e.g. therapy)
•
Emphasizes objective measurement
•
Many experiments to support theories
•
Identified
comparisons
between
animals (Pavlov) and humans (Watson & Rayner Little Albert)
•
Ignores mediational processes
•
Ignores biology (e.g. testosterone)
•
Too deterministic (little free-will)
•
Experiments – low ecological validity
•
Humanism – can’t compare animals to
humans
•
Humanism - rejects scientific method (low
ecological validity)
•
Reductionist
Cognitivist
Cognitivist learning is concerned with the internalisation of mental processes. The ability to review a
situation and act knowingly. Cognitivists accept some of the concepts developed in the behaviourist
model of learning but believe that the learning actually occurs through the human brain processing and
reorganising the data it receives. Cognitive approach highly influential in all areas of psychology (e.g.
biological, social, behaviourism, development etc).

The History of Cognitive Psychology

* Norbert Wiener (1948) published Cybernetics: or Control and Communication in the Animal and the
Machine, introducing terms such as input and output.
*Tolma n (1948) work on cognitive maps – training rats in mazes, showed that animals had internal
representation of behaviour.
* Newell and Simon’s development of the General Problem Solver.
* In 1960,Miller founded the Center for Cognitive Studies at Harvard with famous cognitivist
developmentalist, Jerome Bruner.
* Ulric Neisser (1967) publishes "Cognitive Psychology", which marks the officical begining of the
cognitive approach.

Cognition literally means, “knowing”. In other words, psychologists from this approach study
cognition which is ‘the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired.’ They focus on the way
humans process information, looking at how we treat information that comes in to the person (what
behaviourists would call stimuli) and how this treatment leads to responses. In other words, they are
interested in the variables thatm ediate between stimulus/input and response/output. The main areas of
study in cognitive psychology are: perception, attention, memory and language.
* Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget (1896—1980) was a Swiss scholar who began to study children’s intellectual development
at the beginning of the twentieth century. Early in his career Piaget worked for Albert Binet who was
involved in the development of early IQ tests. Piaget’s job was to give children questions and to score
their answers as correct or not. What intrigued Piaget was not so much whether the children could
answer the questions correctly but the fact that children of similar ages were making similar mistakes
and that children’s thinking was qualitatively different from adult thinking. In other words, the way a
child made sense of and interpreted the world was very different from that of an adult. This will come
as no surprise to anyone who has spent any time with an inquisitive 4-year-old. From this insight Piaget
went on to develop a comprehensive theory of intellectual development.
Piaget’s theory is a stage theory. The stages of cognitive development according to Piaget are:
• Sensori-motor stage (birth to age 2)
• Pre-operational stage (ages 2—7)
• Concrete operational stage (ages 7—11)
• Formal operational stage (ages 11—12+)
Sensori-motor stage (0-2)
This stage sees the emergence of schemas, the development of object permanence and general symbolic
function.
Object permanence is the ability to realise that objects/people exist in space and time even if we cannot
see
them.
General symbolic function includes the beginning of language, make-believe play and deferred
imitation.
Deferred imitation is the ability to imitate in the absence of the object or event.

Pre-operational stage (2—7)

One of the key achievements of the sensori-motor stage was the emergence of general symbolic
function, and it is this ability to use language, to imitate and to engage in pretend play that really takes
off and expands during the pre-operational years. However, for all the accomplishments of children
within these years, Piaget noted limitations in regard to logical thinking.
Limitations include the inability to decentre and conserve and faulty views in regard to egocentrism.
Piaget defined this not as being selfish but as being unable to take another’s point of view or simply
believing that everyone sees the world as you do. When a child can see the world from another person’s
point of view, the child is said to have the ability to decentre. To decentre involves the cognitive ability
to hold and understand two apparently opposing views.
Conservation involves the realisation that an object remains the same even though its appearance
changes. Conservation can apply to concepts such as substance, length, number, liquid and area.
However, in support of Piaget’s views, older children do solve these conservation problems with
greater ease, reflecting a qualitative change in thinking.
Concrete operational stage (7—11) and formal operational stage (11+)
Piaget stated that for every weakness in the pre-operational stage there is strength in the concrete
operational stage. Children have acquired mental operations. They have acquired logical rules
regarding addition, subtraction and reversibility. Children will pass the tests of conservation.
Conservation of substance, length, number and liquid is achieved for most children by 6 or 7, with
conservation of area not being achieved until age 9 or 10. However, Piaget felt that there was still more
to acquire in that operations could only be carried out if the objects were actually present or
imaginable, hence the stage of concrete operations. Children at this stage would not be able to think in
terms of abstractions; this ability, the culmination of the development of logic, would be achieved
during the formal operational stage.
LIMITATIONS
1. Poor environmental stimulus
2. Poor hereditary environment
3. Lack of proper attention, assimilation etc. on the part of the learners.
4. Defective teaching –learning materials
5. Low level of learner’s intelligence
Cognitive Psychology Summary
Key Concepts
Methodology
•
Mediational
Processes
(process
between
stimulus and response)
•
Information Processing Approach
•
Lab Experiments
•
Introspection (Wundt
)
•
Memory (Jacobs Digit Span)

•
Computer Analogy
•
Introspection (Wundt)
•
Nomothetic (studies the group)
•
Schema
•
Machine Reductionism
•
Interviews (Kohlberg, Piaget)
•
Case Studies (KF, HM )
•
Observations (Piaget)
•
Computer Modelling
Basic Assumptions
Areas of Application
•
Cognitive psychology is a pure science, based
mainly on laboratory experiments.
•

Behaviour can be largely explained in terms of how the mind operates, i.e. the information processing
approach.
•
The mind works in a way similar to a computer:
inputting, storing and retrieving data.
•
Mediational processes occur between stimulus
and response.
•
Gender Role Development
•
Eyewitness
Testimony
/
Cognitive
Interview
•
Memory, Attention, Perceptionetc.
•
Child Development (Piaget)
•
Cognitive Behavioual Therapy
•
Problem Solving (Artificial Intelligence)
•
Moral Development (Piaget)
Strengths
Weaknesses
•
Scientific
•
Highly applicable (e.g. therapy, EWT)
•
Combines easily with approaches: Behaviourism + Cog = Social Learning Biology + Cog =
Evolutionary Psy
•
Many empirical studies to support theories
•
Ignores biology (e.g. testosterone)
•
Experiments - low ecological validity
•
Humanism - rejects scientific method
•
Behaviourism - can’t objectively study
unobservable behaviour
•
Introspection is subjective
•
Machine reductionism
Humanistic
Thehuma nistic model asserts the basic concern for human growth is learning (Smith 1999). The best-
known pioneer of the humanist phenomenon is Maslow, can, thus, be seen as a form of self-
actualization, it contributes to psychological health (Sahakian 1984 in Merriam and Caffarella 1991:
133). This learning model links most clearly into the concept of self directed learning. That we are
motivated, responsible for and directed to learn by our own motivations.
The History of Humanistic Psychology
*Maslow (1943) developed a hierarchical theory of human motivation.
*Rogers (1946) publishes Significant aspects of client-centered therapy (also called person centred
therapy).

* In 1957 and 1958, at the invitation of Abraham Maslow and Clark Moustakas, two meetings were
held in Detroit among psychologists who were interested in founding a professional association
dedicated to a more meaningful, more humanistic vision.
* In 1961, with the sponsorship of Brandeis University, this movement was formally launched as the
American Association for Humanistic Psychology.
* The first issue of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology appeared in the Spring of 1961.
Humanism generally is associated with beliefs about freedom and autonomy and notions that "human
beings are capable of making significant personal choices within the constraints imposed by heredity,
personal history, and environment" (Elias & Merriam, 1980, p. 118). Humanist principles stress the
importance of the individual and specific human needs. Among the major assumptions underlying
humanism are the following:
(a) Human nature is inherently good;
(b) Individuals are free and autonomous, thus they are capable of making major personal choices;
(c) Human potential for growth and development is virtually unlimited;
(d) Self-concept plays an important role in growth and development;
(e) Individuals have an urge toward self-actualization;
(f) Reality is defined by each person; and
(g) Individuals have responsibility to both themselves and to others (Elias & Merriam, 1980).
There are several shared elements between the humanist orientation and the behaviorist paradigm:
1. Learning should focus on practical problem solving.
2. Learners enter a teaching-learning setting with a wide range of skills, abilities, and attitudes, and
these needs to be considered in the instructional planning process.
3. The learning environment should allow each learner to proceed at a pace best suited to the
individual.
4. It is important to help learners continuously assess their progress and make feedback a part of the
learning process.
5. The learner's previous experience is an invaluable resource for future learning and thus enhancing
the value of advanced organizers or making clear the role for mastery of necessary prerequisites
Both Rogers and Maslow regarded personal growth and fulfillments in life as a basic human motive.
This means that each person, in different ways, seeks to grow psychologically and continuously
enhance himself or herself. This has been captured by the termself-actualisation, which is about
psychological growth, fulfillments and satisfaction in life. However, Rogers and Maslow both describe
different ways of how self- actualization can be achieved
As described by Gage and Berliner (1991) there are five basic objectives of the humanistic view of
education:
1. Promote positive self-direction and independence (development of the regulatory system);
2. Develop the ability to take responsibility for what is learned (regulatory and affective systems);
3. Develop creativity (divergent thinking aspect of cognition);
4. Curiosity (exploratory behavior, a function of imbalance or dissonance in any of the systems); and
5. An interest in the arts (primarily to develop the affective/emotional system).

According to Gage and Berliner (1991) some basic principles of the humanistic approach that were
used to
develop the objectives are:

1. Students will learn best what they want and need to know . That is, when they have developed the
skills of analyzing what is important to them and why as well as the skills of directing their behavior
towards those wants and needs, they will learn more easily and quickly. Most educators and learning
theorists would agree with this statement, although they might disagree on exactly what contributes to
student motivation.
2. Knowing how to learn is more important than acquiring a lot of knowledge . In our present society
where knowledge is changing rapidly, this view is shared by many educators, especially those from a
cognitive perspective.
3. Self-evaluation is the only meaningful evaluation of a student's work . The emphasis here is on
internal development and self-regulation. While most educators would likely agree that this is
important, they would also advocate a need to develop a student's ability to meet external expectations.
This meeting of external expectations runs counter to most humanistic theories.
4. Feelings are as important as facts . Much work from the humanistic view seems to validate this point
and is one area where humanistically-oriented educators are making significant contributions to our
knowledge base.
5. Students learn best in a non-threatening environment . This is one area where humanistic educators
have had an impact on current educational practice. The orientation espoused today is that the
environment should by psychologically and emotionally, as well as physically, non-threatening.
However, there is some research that suggests that a neutral or even slightly cool environment is best
for older, highly motivated students.
Humanistic Psychology Summary
Key Concepts
Methodology
•
Qualitative Research
•
Idiographic Approach
•
Congruence
•
The Self (e.g. self-worth, self-image, self
actualisation)
•
Holism (e.g. study to whole person)
•
Qualitative Methods
•
Case Studies
•
Informal Interviews
•
Q-Sort Method (Stephenson, 1953)
•
Problems with Qualitative Data
•
Open-ended Questionnaires
•
Hierarchy of needsMaslow
•
Free Will
•
Inter-rater/coder reliability
Basic Assumptions
Areas of Application
•
Humans have free will; not all behaviour is
determined.
•
All individuals are unique and have an innate (inborn) drive to achieve their maximum potential
•
A proper understanding of human behaviour can only be achieved by studying humans - not animals.
•
Psychology should study the individual case
(idiographic)
rather
than
the
average
performance of groups (nomothetic).
•
Client Centred Therapy
•
Qualitative Methods
•
Abnormal Behaviour (incongruent, low
self-worth)
•
Education
•
Gender Role Development
Strengths
Weaknesses
•
Shifted the focus of behaviour to the individual / whole person rather than the unconscious mind,
genes, observable behaviour etc.
•
Humanistic psychology satisfies most people's idea of what being human means because it values
personal ideals and self-fulfilment.
•
Qualitative data gives genuine insight )and more
holistic information) into behaviour.
•
Highlights the value of more individualistic and
idiographic methods of study
•
Unscientific – subjective concepts
•
E.g. cannot objectively measure self-
actualisation
•
Humanism ignores the unconscious mind
•
Behaviourism – human and animal
behaviour can be compared
•
Qualitative data is difficult to compare
•
Ethnocentric (biased towards Western
culture)
•
Their belief in free will is in opposition to
the deterministic laws of science.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Teaching-Learning Process
1. Bruner, J. (1960, 1977) The Process of Education, Cambridge Ma.: Harvard University Press. 97 +
xxvi
pages
2. Dewey, J. (1933) How We Think 2e, New York: D. C. Heath.
3. Gagné, R. M. (1985) The Conditions of Learning 4e, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 308 +
viii
pages.
4. Maslow, A. (1968) Towards a Psychology of Being 2e, New York:
5. Skinner, B. F. (1973) Beyond Freedom and Dignity, London: Penguin.
6. Krashen, S. D. (1982) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, Oxford: Pergamon.
Behaviorist
1. Hartley, J. (1998) Learning and Studying. A research perspective, London: Routledge.

2. Hergenhahn, B. R. and Olson, M. H. (1997) An Introduction to Theories of Learning 5e, Upper

Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
3. Merriam, S. and Caffarella (1991, 1998) Learning in Adulthood. A comprehensive guide, San
Francisco:

Jossey-Bass.
4. Skinner, B. F. (1973) Beyond Freedom and Dignity, London: Penguin.
5. Tennant, M. (1988, 1997) Psychology and Adult Learning, London: Routledge.
6. Watson, J. B. (1913) 'Psychology as the behavourist views it', Psychological review 20: 158.
Cognitivist
1. Bruner, J. (1960, 1977) The Process of Education, Cambridge Ma.: Harvard University Press. 2.
Gagné, R. M. (1985) The Conditions of Learning 4e, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 3.
Hartley, J. (1998) Learning and Studying. A research perspective, London: Routledge.
4. Merriam, S. and Caffarella (1991, 1998) Learning in Adulthood. A comprehensive guide, San
Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
5. Piaget, J. (1926) The Child's Conception of the World, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. It is
difficult
to know which of Piaget's 50 or more books to choose here - but this and The Origin of Intelligence in
Children are classic starting points. H. E. Gruber and J. J. Voneche (1977) The Essential Piaget: an
interpretative reference and guide, London is good collection. See, also, M. A. Boden's (1979) Piaget,
London: Fontana for a succinct introduction.
Humanistic
1. Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential Learning, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice Hall.
2. Maslow, A. (1968) Towards a Psychology of Being 2e, New York: Van Nostrand. See, also, Maslow
(1970) Motivation and Personality 2e, New York: Harper and Row.
3. Merriam, S. and Caffarella (1991, 1998) Learning in Adulthood. A comprehensive guide, San
Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
4. Rogers, C. and Freiberg, H. J. (1993) Freedom to Learn (3rd edn.), New York: Merrill
5. Kirschenbaum and V. L. Henderson (eds.) (1990) The Carl Rogers Reader, London: Constable.
6. Tennant, M. (1988, 1997) Psychology and Adult Learning, London: Routledge.