THEORIES OF LEARNING

Theories Example

Classical conditioning A familiar example is conditioned nausea, in

which the sight or smell of a particular food
causes nausea because it caused stomach
upset in the past.
Operant conditioning A student will continue to do his/her
homework because he/she knows that
he/she will be rewarded with a candy
(action) or is praised (behavior) by his/her
parents or teachers if he/she completes it.
Social learning theory For example, a teenager might learn slang by
observing peers.
Cognitive development theory Another example of cognitive development is
the neurological development which occurs
in the brain.
Constructivism Furthermore, in the constructivist classroom,
students work primarily in groups and
learning and knowledge are interactive and
dynamic.
Sociocultural theory Similarly, people also develop their own
cognition by reading, interacting, using
various tools, etc. So, a person's cognitive
level and another person's can be different.
One child can be curious, exploring, eager to
learn and hardworking, while another child
might not be.
Schema theory Examples of schemata include academic
rubrics, social schemas, stereotypes, social
roles, scripts, worldviews, and archetypes.
Attribution theory Maria's car breaks down on the freeway. If
she believes the breakdown happened
because of her ignorance about cars, she is
making an internal attribution.
Moral development theory A child may think, 'I don't want to be spanked
so I'm not going to hit my brother!' Stage 2 is
about self-reward.