Masteringthe Psychologyof Teachingand Learning

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Mastering the Psychology of Teaching and Learning
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Mastering the
Psychology of Teaching
and Learning
Mastering the
Psychology of Teaching
and Learning
by
Ecloss Munsaka
© Ecloss Munsaka 2011
Published by the University of Zambia Press

P.O. Box 32379
Lusaka 10101
Zambia
ISBN: 978-982-03-060-1
Table of Contents
Preface.............................................................................................. ix
Chapter 1: An Introduction........................................................... 1
A Broad View of Learning............................................................... 1
What is Learning?............................................................................ 1
References......................................................................................... 2
Chapter 2: Behavioural Learning Theories................................. 3
Introduction....................................................................................... 3
Ivan Pavlov’s View of Learning...................................................... 3
Generalisation................................................................................... 5
Discrimination.................................................................................. 5
Extinction.......................................................................................... 5
John watson’s View of Learning....................................................... 5
Application of the Principles of Classical Conditioning to the
Teaching-Learning Situation........................................................ 7
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning....................................................... 8
How Consequences Affect Behaviour.............................................. 8
Reinforcement................................................................................... 9
Types of Reinforcement.................................................................... 9
Positive Reinforcement..................................................................... 10
Negative Reinforcement................................................................... 10
Schedules of Reinforcement............................................................ 11
Continuous Reinforcement Schedule............................................... 11
Intermittent Reinforcement............................................................... 11
Ratio Schedules................................................................................. 12
Interval Schedules............................................................................. 12
Punishment........................................................................................ 13
Application of Operant Conditioning to Teaching and Learning..... 15
Positive Reinforcement..................................................................... 15
Negative Reinforcement................................................................... 16
Punishment........................................................................................ 17
Positive Punishment......................................................................... 17
Negative Punishment........................................................................ 18
Summary........................................................................................... 19
Review Activities.............................................................................. 19
Key Terms used in the Chapter......................................................... 20
References......................................................................................... 20
v
Chapter 3: Social Cognitive Learning Theory........................... 23
Introduction.................................................................................... 23
Bandura’s ‘Bobo Doll’ Experiment................................................ 23
Vicarious Learning......................................................................... 24
The Nature of Observational Learning........................................... 24
The Four Phases of Observational Learning.................................. 25
Attention Phase............................................................................. 25
Retention Phase.............................................................................. 25
Reproduction Phase....................................................................... 26
Motivation Phase............................................................................ 26
Reinforcement in Observational Learning..................................... 26
Application of the Social Cognitive Learning Theory to
Teaching and Learning............................................................... 27
Summary......................................................................................... 28
Review Activities............................................................................ 29
Key Terms used in the Chapter....................................................... 29
References...................................................................................... 30
Chapter 4: Cognitive Learning Theories................................... 31
Introduction.................................................................................... 31
The Cognitive-developmental Model............................................. 31
The Information-processing Model................................................ 32
How Memory Works...................................................................... 32
Sensory Register............................................................................. 33
Implication of the Sensory Register for Teaching.......................... 34
Short-term Memory........................................................................ 36
Storage in the Short-term Memory................................................. 37
Forgetting in the Short-term Memory............................................. 38
Implications of the Short-term memory for Teaching.................... 39
Long-term Memory........................................................................ 40
Storage in the Long-term Memory................................................. 40
Elaboration..................................................................................... 40
Organisation................................................................................... 41
Contextualisation............................................................................ 41
Types of Long-term Memory......................................................... 42
How Information is Retrieved from the Long-term Memory......... 44
Forgetting in the Long-term Memory............................................. 46
Implications of Long-term Memory for Teaching.......................... 46
Summary......................................................................................... 48
Review Activities............................................................................ 49
Key Terms used in the Chapter....................................................... 49
References....................................................................................... 50
vi
Chapter 5: Humanistic Theory.................................................. 53
Introduction................................................................................... 53
The Main Principles of Humanistic Psychology.......................... 53
How Humanistic Psychology has Influenced Education.............. 54
How to Attain Meaningful Learning............................................. 56
Summary....................................................................................... 59
Review Activities.......................................................................... 59
Key Terms used in the Chapter..................................................... 60
References..................................................................................... 60
Chapter 6: Motivation, Teaching and Learning...................... 63

Introduction................................................................................... 63
What is Motivation?..................................................................... 63
Intrinsic Motivation...................................................................... 64
Extrinsic Motivation..................................................................... 64
Behavioural Approach to Motivation........................................... 65
Cognitive Approaches to Motivation............................................ 65
Social Cognitive Approach to Motivation.................................... 66
Humanistic Approaches to Motivation......................................... 67
Summary....................................................................................... 68
Review Activities.......................................................................... 69
Key Terms used in the Chapter..................................................... 69
References..................................................................................... 69
Index............................................................................................. 71
Name Index................................................................................... 71
Subject Index................................................................................ 72
vii
To all teachers and parents, who are committed to making this a
better world for everyone, through laying nuggets of wisdom in
the lives of others.
viii
Preface
A number of books have been written on theories of learning. Most of
these books have presented learning theories alongside topics that deal
with developmental aspects of learners such as cognitive development,
social development, personality development, and physical development.
Some books have even incorporated issues pertaining to special education.
This approach of covering the theories of learning has been helpful in that
it has enabled teachers, at various levels, to have a more comprehensive
understanding of their learners. Nevertheless, though, this holistic coverage
may have made it difficult for some educators to appreciate the depths of
each learning theory. Thus, this book has been written in order to give
the four main theories of learning, namely; behavioural theories, social
cognitive theories, cognitive theories, and the humanistic theories, a more
specialised focus.
To make educators have a better understanding of these learning
theories, examples depicting real classroom situations have been used
throughout the book. These examples have been further brought to life
through linking them to motivational techniques that are used in different
learning theories. I hope that educators, at various levels, and parents,
find the material contained in this book, a useful instructional tool both in
formal and informal teaching-learning situations.
ix
Chapter 1
An Introduction
A Broad View of Learning

In order for us to have a better appreciation of the broad subject of learning,
we need to first define learning. Often, when we hear of the term learning,
we think of formal situations involving interactions between teachers
and students. We think of what goes on, for instance, when students are
receiving instructions in mathematics, art, history and so on. We thus
tend to limit the meaning of learning to such formal situations, which are
deliberately planned. In its broadest sense, however, learning means much
more than that. Learning sometimes happens unintentionally, for instance,
when ladies learn to comb their hair in a particular style, that is in fashion.
Nobody really spends time teaching ladies how or when to respond to the
new fashion trends. They just somehow learn the new trends. Another
example might be how people learn to fear public speaking. Nobody
teaches them to get anxious and nervous when they are asked to make a
public speech, they just somehow pick it. Examples of situations where
learning just happens unintentionally are many and they all seem to
confirm the broadness and vastness of the subject. Having looked at this
background of learning, let us now get into defining learning.
What is Learning?
Learning has been defined as a relatively permanent change that happens
to behaviour and/or knowledge due to experience. This includes changes
that happen intentionally, and those that happen unintentionally. The
bottom line, therefore, is that, in order for learning to be said to have taken
place, there should have been some interaction of some kind between
a learner and his/her environment. This definition of learning thus,
excludes changes that happen due to natural processes such as growing
older, growing taller, growing fatter. It also excludes temporary changes
that happen due to illness, financial deprivation e.t.c (Woolfolk, 1995;
Hergenhahn & Olson, 2005).
From the definition of learning given above, we can see that learning can
be viewed from the perspective of the changes that take place in behaviour
and/or the changes that take place in knowledge. In other words, as Woolfolk
(2004) argues, the behaviour aspect of learning focuses on changes that
1
An Introduction
are observable and probably measurable, while the knowledge aspect of

learning, focuses on unobservable, internal processes. In this respect,
different learning theorists have taken different views of the subject of
learning. Behavioural learning theorists have explained learning from the
point of view of observable behaviour. Cognitive learning theorists on the
other hand, have explained learning from the perspective of internal mental
processes that take place as learners try to make sense of the information
that they are being taught. Let us begin by looking at the behavioural view
of learning.
References
Hergenhahn, B.R. & Olson, M.H. (2005). An introduction to theories of
learning (7th ed.). Eaglewood Cliffs: Prentice- Hall.
Woolfolk, A. (1995). Educational psychology (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn &
Bacon.
Woolfolk, A. (2004). Educational psychology (9th ed.). New Delhi: Pearson
Education.
2
Chapter 2
Behavioural Learning Theories
Introduction
As we have already indicated, this group of theorists explain learning
from the perspective of observable behaviour. These theorists believe
that learning can be explained on the basis of the stimulation from the
environment and the consequences thereof. If the consequences are
pleasant or satisfying, an organism would likely learn the behaviour that
led to those consequences. On the other hand, if the consequences were
unpleasant or punishing, the organism would very likely not repeat the
behaviour that led to those negative consequences. Most notable among
the many behaviourists are the following; Ivan Pavlov, John Watson,
and B.F. Skinner. Pavlov and Watson are renowned for their behavioural
theory called classical conditioning. Skinner, on the other hand, developed
another brand of behaviourism called operant conditioning. We begin by
discussing Pavlov’s work on classical conditioning.
Ivan Pavlov’s View of Learning

Pavlov, a Russian behaviourist is considered one of the founders of
behaviourism. He founded classical conditioning while working as a
Physiologist in Russia, about the 1920s. The major principle governing
classical conditioning is the principle of contiguity. Under the contiguity
principle, learning is explained by association; when two events repeatedly
occur together, they tend to become associated (Woolfolk, 2010; Rachlin,
1991).
Pavlov used the contiguity principle to explain how an organism could
learn how to give involuntary or physiological responses. Involuntary
responses refer to those responses that an organism has a genetic ability
to do; they are not learned. Among these responses are responses such as
fear, increased muscle tension, sweating, salivation e.t.c. No organism has
to be taught how to express fear, how to experience tensed up muscles,
how to salivate, or how to sweat. These responses are genetically pre-
programmed in all living organisms. When the right stimulations are there,
an organism will just give the responses. It is for this reason that such
automatic responses are referred to as involuntary responses.
3
In one of his most widely known experiments, Pavlov set out to teach a dog
how to salivate to a neutral stimulus. By neutral stimulus, Pavlov meant a
stimulus which did not have the biological/genetic ability to cause a dog to
salivate. For the experiment to be successful, Pavlov contiguously paired
a stimulus that naturally triggered salivation (an unconditioned stimulus)
with a neutral stimulus. Meat powder was used as the unconditioned
stimulus, while the sound of a bell was used as the neutral stimulus to be
conditioned.
Pavlov began the contiguous pairing of the bell with the meat powder.
He would sound the bell and within a few seconds, present the dog with
some meat powder. This procedure was repeated a number of times, until
the dog was able to make an association between the sound of the bell
and the meat powder. Following the pairings, the bell that started as a
neutral stimulus, which possessed no power to cause a dog to salivate,
eventually acquired the ability to trigger salivation in the dog. Thus, the
sound of the bell became a conditioned stimulus because it only acquired
the power to trigger salivation through contiguous pairing. The salivation
that came as a result of the presentation of the bell alone became known
as conditioned response, as opposed to the unconditioned response, which
was triggered by the meat powder. Here is a representation to summarise
the three phrases in Pavlov’s experiment:
The Three Phases in Classical Conditioning
Phase 1: Pre-conditioning Phase

Neutral stimulus leads to - no response
(sound of bell)
Unconditioned stimulus leads to - Unconditioned response
(Meat powder)
Phase 2: Conditioning Phase
Neutral stimulus
(Sound of Bell)
+
Unconditioned stimulus leads to - Salivation
(meat powder) (after several pairings)
Phase 3: Post-conditioning Phase
Conditioned stimulus triggers (salivation)
(sound of bell) (conditioned response)
Adopted from Borich & Tombari, 1995, p. 147.
4
From the experiments, Pavlov observed three major processes namely,
generalisation, discrimination, extinction and spontaneous recovery.
Generalisation
During the experiment, Pavlov noticed that the dog did not just learn to
salivate to the exact sound of the bell that it had been conditioned to. The
dog also salivated at the presentation of a range of similar sounds. Pavlov
called this stimulus generalisation. However, the more the stimulus
deviated from the original stimulus, the less the dog salivated.
Discrimination
Pavlov was also able to teach his dogs to respond only to one particular
sound of the bell. He did this by presenting the dog with meat powder only
when that desired sound was given. Pavlov called this procedure stimulus
discrimination because the dog was able to determine the particular
stimulus which yielded reinforcement.
Extinction
As Pavlov repeatedly presented the conditioned stimulus (sound of
bell) alone without the accompaniment of the meat powder, he noticed
that the dog eventually stopped salivating altogether. This meant that
the behaviour of salivation had gone into extinction. Even though the
response of salivation had gone into extinction, Pavlov noticed that when
he gave the dog a break from the experiment and brought it back into the
laboratory after a few days of rest, the dog was able to resume salivating
to the conditioned stimulus. Pavlov called the resumption of salivation
spontaneous recovery.
John Watson’s View of Learning

John Watson’s work as Borich and Tombari (1995) have pointed out
has had a tremendous impact on the development of psychology in
the United States of America. About the same time, Pavlov was doing
his experiments with dogs in Russia, Watson was also carrying out his
experiments using human subjects. Watson’s major argument was that
people learn what they learn as a result of the stimuli that they are exposed
to in the environment.
Like Pavlov, Watson worked with involuntary responses and neutral
stimuli. Through repeated contiguous pairing of neutral stimuli (stimuli
5
that do not naturally lead to any response) with unconditioned stimuli

(Stimuli that naturally caused a response), formerly neutral stimuli
acquired the ability to trigger a conditioned response.
In one most cited experiment, Watson along with his students, sought
to condition a child to fear neutral stimuli through contiguous pairing. A
child who came to be known as ‘Little Albert’, was used in the experiment.
Little Albert was found suitable for the experiment because he was not
afraid of rabbits, rats, or woolen things. The only thing that seemed to
trigger fear in little Albert were loud banging noises. So, Watson started
the contiguous pairing of the rabbit, a neutral stimulus, with the banging
of a hammer on a steal bar. Each time Watson presented the rabbit before
little Albert, he would strike a hammer on a metal bar. This led to little
Albert exhibiting fear through screaming. After a number of trials, the
presentation of the rabbit alone was able to trigger a conditioned response
of fear. Thus, the rabbit changed from being a neutral stimulus, to being
a conditioned stimulus. See below for an illustration of the pairings that
Watson did in his experiment:
The Three Phases in Watson’s Experiment
Phase 1: Pre-conditioning Phase

Neutral stimulus leads to - no response
(Rabbit)
Unconditioned stimulus leads to - Unconditioned response (fear)
(loud noise)
Phase 2: Conditioning Phase
Neutral stimulus
(Rabbit)
+
Unconditioned stimulus leads to - Fear
(loud noise) (after several pairings)
Phase 3: Post-conditioning Phase
Conditioned stimulus elicits conditioned response (fear) (Rabbit)
Adopted from Borich & Tombari, 1995, p. 147.
Using the same contiguous pairing procedures, Watson and his students
managed to reverse little Albert’s fear of Rabbits, so that he no longer
feared rabbits. In other words, the rabbit which had become a conditioned
stimulus of fear went to the original state of being a neutral stimulus.
In his further experiments, Watson discovered that the conditioning
of fear did not only happen when direct pairings of a neutral stimulus
6
with an unconditioned stimulus were done. It also happened even when

conditioning was done through stories. For instance, someone would be
conditioned to fear to go to study at university through constantly hearing
stories about people who fail to complete their programmes. Another
example might be someone who develops a fear for swimming through
hearing stories of people who have drowned. Watson called this indirect
conditioning vicarious conditioning.
Having explained what classical conditioning involves, let us now
proceed and demonstrate how the principles of classical conditioning can
be applied to teaching-learning situations.
Application of the Principles of Classical Conditioning to the

Teaching-Learning Situation
Classical conditioning can be applied in a classroom environment to
address a number of issues. Firstly, classical conditioning can be used to
help students begin to like certain aspects of school which they may have
disliked. For example, let us say a four year old boy finds it difficult to cope
with the school environment during his first few days of attending nursery
school. You might remove this boy’s dislike of the school environment
through making sure that each time he comes to school, he is allowed to
play with his favourite toys. As long as the pairing of school with favourite
toys is done consistently and repeatedly, the boy will eventually grow to
love the school environment. It may be a particular aspect of school, for
instance, speaking in front of the class which a child may not like. This
negative view of speaking before the class can be removed in a similar
fashion by associating the activity with pleasant things. What is important
about students developing a positive attachment to one area of school is
that it often gets generalised to the rest of the school environment.
Secondly, a teacher can use classical conditioning principles to
extinguish unwanted behaviour in students. For instance, if a student is
in the habit of interrupting lessons through disruptive behaviour, a teacher
can eliminate the disruptive behaviour through rewarding the desirable
behaviour. By so doing, the concerned students will be able to make some
discrimination between what attracts reinforcement and what does not.
Thirdly, in line with the principle of spontaneous recovery, a teacher has
to bear in mind that while undesirable behaviour can be extinguished, with
some passage of time, it can re-surface. In this respect, a teacher need
not be taken by surprise. She/he should be ready to handle the situation
7
appropriately.
Throughout this section, we have been discussing conditioning
involving involuntary responses or respondents. However, as has been
observed by a number of scholars (e.g. Woolfolk, 2004, Bergh & Theron,
2006), involuntary responses only account for a little fraction of human
behaviour. A lot of human behaviour is not merely elicited (drawn out),
but most behaviour is emitted or enacted voluntarily by an individual.
In other words, people do not passively respond to stimuli from the
environment, but they actively operate on the environment in order to
yield certain desirable consequences (Skinner, 1953). These inadequacies
that were found in classical conditioning, led to the founding of operant
conditioning by one of the most prominent behaviourists by the name of
B.F. Skinner.
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning

Skinner’s theory made an invaluable addition to classical conditioning,
an earlier behavioural theory developed by Ivan Pavlov and John Watson.
Skinner wanted to understand why some behaviour, after being enacted,
persisted and developed into more complex patterns, while others did not
persist. In order to ascertain the effects of consequences on behaviour,
Skinner designed an apparatus which came to be known as the ‘Skinner
Box’. The Skinner box was a cage like apparatus with a lever, which
subjects, rats and pigeons in this case, could press or ignore. The lever
in the Skinner box was connected to a container which had some food
pallets. If the subject stepped (in the case of rats) or pecked (for pigeons)
on the lever, food pellets would drop into the box (Skinner, 1953).
In one popular experiment, Skinner placed a rat in the Skinner box. At
first, the rat wandered about in the box until it accidentally stumbled upon
the lever, an action which gave the rat access to food pellets. The hungry
rat ate the food pellets and soon made a connection between the pressing
of the lever and gaining access to the food pellets. For this reason, the rat
increased the frequency of pressing the lever. This led Skinner to study
the effects of consequences on preceding behaviour (Woolfolk, 2004).
How Consequences Affect Behaviour

In accordance with the principles of operant conditioning, consequences
determine whether a behaviour enacted by an individual will be repeated
in future. If the consequences are satisfying, there is a high likelihood
8
that the preceding behaviour will be repeated in future, whereas, if the

consequences are negative or punishing, chances are that the individual
will not repeat that behaviour. Thus, consequences can either strengthen
or weaken behaviour. The consequences which increase the likelihood of
behaviour occurring in future are called reinforcers. On the other hand,
those consequences which decrease the likelihood of behaviour occurring
in future are referred to as punishers (Bergh & Theron, 2006). Before we
venture into discussing the effects of punishment on behaviour, we shall
first discuss how reinforcement influences behaviour.
Reinforcement
In common everyday use, the term reinforcement means the same thing as
reward. In psychology, however, the term refers to any consequence the
application or removal of which increases the likelihood of the behaviour
preceding it reoccurring in future (Woolfolk, 2004). Below is a diagram
showing the effects of a reinforcer on behaviour.
Consequence Effects
Behaviour - Reinforcer - behaviour strengthened
(Behaviour likely to be repeated)
Adopted from Woolfolk, 1995, p.204.
Thus, whenever an individual does something and the behaviour is followed

by a consequence that causes that behaviour to increase, that consequence
then becomes a reinforcer. It has to be mentioned, as indicated earlier,
that a reinforcer is determined not by its nature, but rather by the effect
it has of increasing the likelihood of behaviour reoccurring in future.
This said, it is possible for something which seems undesirable to cause
behaviour to increase. For example, the expected thing to happen when
you scream at your child for not tidying his/her room, is for him/her to
stop this undesirable behaviour. However, it can happen that the intended
behaviour can proliferate. In that case, your screaming is a reinforcer. Let
us now look at the types of reinforcement.
Types of Reinforcement
Broadly speaking, there are two types of reinforcement namely, positive
reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Both these types of
reinforcement increase the likelihood of the preceding behaviour
9
reoccurring, however, they differ slightly (Hill, 2002; Skinner, 1953).
Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement occurs when the consequences are presented
following some desirable behaviour. The term positive has nothing to do
with the description of consequences (good or bad). It merely designates
the fact that the consequences are presented rather than them removed. For
example, in the above explained experiment where Skinner placed a rat in
the Skinner box, the rat received some positive reinforcement through the
food pellets that fell in the box when it pressed the lever. An example
from a real life situation might be that of a young lady who wears a new
dress and everyone at her place of work compliments her for it. Following
these compliments, the young lady starts wearing the dress on a regular
basis and buys a couple of a similar kind. An example from a classroom
situation might be that of a student who receives praises from his teacher
for being punctual for class and continues being punctual.
However, I want to repeat what I said earlier namely; a reinforcer
cannot be determined from its kind, a reinforcer is determined by, and
only by the effect it has on the targeted behaviour. This is why some
punishers intended to reduce undesirable behaviour, end up having the
opposite effect of reinforcing the behaviour. Thus, a teacher needs to
remain alert so that he/she only gets the desired effect from the presented
consequences.
Negative Reinforcement
Unlike positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement occurs when the
consequences are removed following behaviour. The consequences that
are removed here are punishers. For example, your fifth grade class may
start sweeping their classroom on time in order to avoid your irritating
comments. In this case, the behaviour of your students sweeping their
classroom on time will increase because it makes them avoid something
negative. Again, the reinforcer is called negative because it involves the
removal of the consequences. Another example might be that of a student
who pretends to be sick in order to avoid doing homework. In this example,
the behaviour of sickness will increase because it leads to the avoidance of
something negative, homework in this case.
As Skinner carried out his experiments, he discovered that the subjects
10
that he used in his experiments made a relationship between the operant

that was enacted and the probability of an operant being rewarded. Thus,
Skinner came up with different ways of presenting reinforcements. These
different ways of presenting rewards are referred to as schedules of
reinforcement.
Schedules of Reinforcement
Bergh and Theron (2006, p. 102) define schedules of reinforcement as
‘the accepted rules that are used to present (or to remove) reinforcers
(or punishers) following a stipulated operant behaviour’. Depending on
the type of reinforcement schedule used, different effects on the enacted
behaviour will be yielded. There are two broad categories of reinforcement
schedules namely; continuous reinforcement schedule and intermittent
reinforcement schedule (Borich & Tombari, 1995).
Continuous Reinforcement Schedule

Continuous reinforcement schedule involves the presentation of a
reinforcer after every desired behaviour. This type of reinforcement is
effective when teaching something that still requires mastering. Once
the behaviour has been learned, intermittent reinforcement schedule
can be used. In reference to Skinner’s experiment, Skinner applied the
continuous reinforcement schedule by rewarding the rat every time it
pressed the lever in the Skinner box. In the classroom situation, a teacher
can, for instance, use continuous reinforcement to teach noisy students to
keep quiet by reinforcing them every time they are quiet. As they desire
the reinforcement, students will eventually learn to stay quiet for longer
periods of time.
Intermittent Reinforcement
Some scholars (e.g. Walker, 1995) refer to intermittent reinforcement as
partial reinforcement. It involves the selective presentation of reinforcers.
In other words, not every response is reinforced, only few selected
ones. Walker indicates, as have several other scholars, that behaviour
reinforced using the intermittent reinforcement schedule tends to lead
to more desirable responses being given and is resistant to extinction.
There are two types of intermittent reinforcement schedules namely; ratio
schedule, based on the number of responses a learner gives before they
11
can be rewarded, and interval schedule, which is based on the amount
of time that passes between reinforcers. Interval and ratio schedule can
be fixed or variable. So, under the ratio schedule, there are two types of
reinforcement schedules; fixed ratio schedule, and variable ratio schedule.
Similarly, the interval schedule comprises a fixed interval schedule and a
variable interval schedule (Woolfolk, 1995; Bergh & Theron, 2006).
Ratio Schedules
Under the fixed ratio schedule, the reinforcement is presented after a fixed
number of desired responses. For instance, under this schedule, Skinner
may have reinforced the rat after it had pressed the lever in the Skinner
box four times. That means that the rat would have had a predictable
anticipation of the reinforcer after the fourth time of pressing the lever. In
terms of the classroom situation, a teacher can, for instance, tell students
that they will get a reward after they do two pieces of work. Thus, the
students can predict and anticipate the reinforcer. The variable ratio
schedule on the other hand, involves the presentation of reinforcers after
varying numbers of behaviour. For instance, the rat in the Skinner box
could have been rewarded after pressing the lever twice, later on, it could
have been reinforced after five responses, and so on. The point is, under the
variable ratio schedule of reinforcement, the presentation of reinforcement
cannot be predicted, it varies. Due to its unpredictable nature, the variable
ratio schedule has been found to lead to consistent responses which are
also resistant to extinction (Bergh & Theron, 2006; Borich & Tombari,
1995).
Interval Schedules
There are also two types of interval schedules namely; fixed and variable
interval schedules. Firstly, the fixed interval reinforcement schedule
involves the presentation of a reinforcer after a fixed amount of time has
elapsed. A teacher can, for instance, provide a reinforcer every after four
minutes. Thus, students will be able to predict and anticipate when the
reinforcer will be provided. This type of reinforcement tends to encourage
inconsistencies in the way students work. They will tend to relax soon after
getting the reward and pick up towards the time that they are supposed to
receive the next reinforcer (Bergh & Theron, 2006). Thus, in terms of
effect, this reinforcement schedule is similar to the fixed ratio schedule.
The variable interval schedule as the name suggests, involves the
12
presentation of reinforcers after varying periods of time. A teacher can,

for instance, reward students after five minutes in one schedule and after
three minutes in another. This makes students work consistently as they
cannot predict when the next reinforcer will be presented.
As can be seen from the varying effects of different schedules of
reinforcement, it is important that a teacher, or indeed anybody, applies a
mixture of these different types of reinforcement schedules. A combination
of continuous reinforcement schedule with intermittent schedules usually
yields the best results. Having discussed how reinforcers can be used to
modify behaviour, let us now look at how punishment, another behaviour
modification technique can be applied.
Punishment
What is punishment? Bergh and Theron define punishment as ‘a stimulus
which diminishes the probability or strength of a response preceding
it’ (2006, p. 103). There are two types of punishment namely, positive
punishment and negative punishment. Positive punishment involves
administering an unpleasant stimulus in order to diminish or eliminate
altogether, the preceding behaviour. An example of positive punishment
would be a teacher reprimanding a student for not coming to school on time.
The presentation of a reprimand acts as a punisher which will diminish,
maybe even eliminate, the student’s undesirable behaviour of coming to
school late. The term positive refers to the fact that the consequence is
applied. It has nothing to do with the nature of punishment. The process
involving administering positive punishment can be represented as
follows:

Consequence Effects
Behaviour - Punisher - Behaviour weakened
Adopted from Woolfolk, 1995, p. 205.
Negative punishment on the other hand, involves the removal

of consequences in order to diminish or eliminate altogether, the
behaviour preceding it. Often, negative punishment is confused with
negative reinforcement. The confusion arises from the fact that both
13
negative punishment and negative reinforcement involve the removal of
consequences. However, there are some distinguishing differences between
the two. Firstly, as in all types of punishment, negative punishment aims
at diminishing or eliminating behaviour. Negative reinforcement on the
other hand, focuses on increasing the preceding behaviour. Secondly,
negative punishment involves the removal of a reinforcer (something
desirable) in order to reduce undesirable behaviour. In the case of negative
reinforcement, the consequence which is removed is a punisher (something
undesirable). While negative punishment may seem similar to negative
reinforcement, the two are different in kind and in terms of goals. The
effects of negative punishment are represented in the following diagram:

Consequences Effects
Behaviour - Punishment - Behaviour weakened/eliminated
(Removal of reinforcer)
An example of negative punishment can be that of a teacher who tells his

students that because they have not done their class exercise, they will not
have the thirty minute midmorning break which everybody enjoys in the
school. The idea is that the removal of something that the students desire,
namely the thirty minutes of recess, will cause the students to desist from
not doing their class exercise.
A word of caution on the use of punishment; Punishment is only
punishment if it leads to a reduction or elimination of behaviour. If for
example, a teacher makes a student who is fond of disturbing lessons,
stand in front of the class each time he makes noise, but the student does
not stop making noise, the applied punishment is not punishment at all for
that student, it is a reinforcer. Thus, punishment like reinforcement, is not
determined by kind, but rather by the effect it has on behaviour. Further,
what may be effective as punishment on one person may not necessarily
be effective on another person (Bergh & Theron, 2006; Dembo, 1994).
Generally speaking, punishment has been found to be less effective
than reinforcement because it focuses on undesirable behaviour. Thus,
some scholars (e.g. Bergh & Theron, 2006; Swanepoel, Eramus, Van Wyk
& Schenk, 2003) have argued that reinforcement, rather than punishment,
14
is a more effective technique of behaviour modification. The reason for

that is reinforcement will clearly indicate the behaviour that should be
encouraged, whereas often punishment only discourages behaviour without
giving an alternative. Thus, punishment tends to leave learners confused.
It, therefore, seems appropriate to suggest that teachers, and anybody else
for that matter, should use punishment very sparingly. That said; let us
see how teachers can apply the principles of operant conditioning to the
teaching-learning situation.
Application of Operant Conditioning to Teaching

and Learning
Principles of operant conditioning present valuable lessons for the
classroom situation. We shall now look at each one of these principles
and see how they can be applied to the teaching-learning environment.
Positive Reinforcement
A teacher can use positive reinforcement in a number of ways. Firstly, a
teacher should ensure that when he/she is teaching something new, which
probably students find challenging to grasp, he/she should reinforce
continuously. This is to help entrench the new concept. Once students have
grasped the new concept, a teacher can resort to unpredictable forms of
reinforcement to build a sense of constant anticipation in the students. For
complex forms of behaviour which involve a number of steps, teachers can
apply ‘shaping’ procedures, whereby they reward every single behaviour
approximating the desired complex one. Such an approach will reduce
anxiety in the students in that at each stage, they will experience a sense
of accomplishment.
Thirdly, as a teacher, you need to ensure that each and every student
(bright ones and the not so bright ones) has a chance to receive a reward.
This means that as a teacher, you need to vary the level of difficulty in the
material you give. The material should allow the weak students a chance
to succeed, yet again, it should be challenging enough not to bore the
strong students. In order to do this, well, Woolfolk (1995) admonishes
that a teacher should know the strengths and weaknesses of each and
every student in his/her class. Where classes are too large to allow for this
individualised attention to take place, a teacher could, from time to time,
divide his class into small groups where he/she can take time to have more
close interaction.
15
We have established in our discussion above that when it comes to
reinforcers, the view that ‘one size fits all’ does not apply. Each student
will have his/her own unique preferences of reinforcers. Thus, as a teacher,
you need to know what works for each student. For some students,
being praised in front of the whole class is embarrassing. Such students
would thus benefit from other forms of reinforcers. On the other hand,
some students find it exciting to be praised in front of the other students.
Therefore, a teacher needs to remain alert in order to capture students’
reactions to different reinforcers. Where a teacher is not so sure on what
works as a meaningful reinforcer for a particular student, it may help to
ask other teachers who may know the concerned student better. It may
even help to consult the student’s parents regarding the kind of reinforcers
the student prefers.
When it comes to the presentation of reinforcements to learners,
however, a teacher needs to ensure that he/she applies them in a way
that they are not so predictable. This is to ensure sustained or consistent
diligence on the part of the students. Thus, as a teacher, you need to apply
different intermittent schedules of reinforcement. For instance, you can
apply a variable ratio schedule where you reward learners after varying
numbers of desirable activities. You can also reinforce students using the
variable interval schedule, for instance, you can reinforce students after
they have exhibited desirable behavioural patterns for ten minutes and
then after seven minutes, and so on and so forth. As we indicated earlier,
these variable reinforcement schedules are to ensure that students maintain
their momentum of working hard.
The above examples of how positive reinforcement can be applied to
the teaching-learning environment are far from being exhaustive; there are
several other ways in which teachers can apply the principles. Teachers,
therefore, need to use their creativity and ingenuity to come up with ways
and means of using positive reinforcement to ensure that every learner
finds all learning experiences meaningfully rewarding. Let us now see
how negative reinforcement can be applied.
Negative Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement as we saw, involves the removal or postponement
of something unpleasant with a view to increasing desirable behaviour. A
teacher can, for instance, tell his/her students, ‘the moment you complete
your class exercise, you can have your thirty minutes recess time.’ This
16
may sound as if it is punishment, but actually it is not. Punishment aims to

reduce a behaviour, but here the focus is on encouraging the good behaviour;
completing the class exercise, through the removal of a punisher, missing
the thirty minutes of recess time. Another example might be that of a
teacher telling his/her class, ‘If you do not clean your classroom, you will
have to sweep the school yard for thirty-five minutes when everybody else
gets off school. Here again, the idea is that the students will be forced to
do the correct thing namely, sweeping their classroom, in order to avoid
the unpleasant consequences of staying behind for 35 minutes after school.
Let us now see how punishment can be applied to the teaching-learning
environment.
Punishment
All punishment involves the application or removal of consequences in
order to reduce or eliminate some behaviour. We will begin with the
application of positive punishment.
Positive Punishment
Here as a teacher, you apply some undesirable consequences in order to
diminish the preceding behaviour. A teacher needs to ensure that it is
clear to a student which behaviour he/she is being punished for and that
the punishment is administered immediately. It, for instance, would not
help at all if a student does something wrong today and you only come to
inadvertently administer some punishment two days later. What is even
worse is that for some teachers, when a student does something wrong, he/
she will continue to receive punishment in future even when they have not
done anything wrong. Teachers need to avoid generalising punishment to
other unaffected areas. This also means teachers should use punishment
as a corrective measure and not as a means of venting out pent up anger.
In other words, punishment should be used caringly.
If for instance, a student engages in some disruptive behaviour, a
teacher should reprimand the student specifically for that behaviour. A
word of caution, however, on the use of reprimands; research has shown
that public reprimands often attract nasty verbal exchanges between a
student and a teacher. Thus, as far as possible, a teacher should reprimand
students privately (Woolfolk, 1995). The application of restraint on the
part of a teacher is most critical here – a teacher should not reprimand a
student when he/she is angry.
17
Administering positive punishment does not have to involve very drastic
measures such as serious reprimands or spanking (God forbid). Punishment
can sometimes constitute something as simple as giving a student a glance
of disapproval. This may seem as if it is ineffective, but it can go a long
way in diminishing unwanted behaviour. It should also be pointed out that
not every little offence should be followed by punishment, sometimes a
teacher should ignore minor offences and they will become extinguished
with time.
As the case is with reinforcement, a teacher needs to constantly observe
and analyse the effects of punishment on the targeted behaviour. If,
for instance, instead of reducing, punished behaviour increases, it may
well be that the punishment is not intense enough or that it is not being
administered appropriately. It is also possible that the punishment may
actually be a reinforcer. A teacher needs to be on the look-out and make
changes as required.
Negative Punishment
Negative punishment can also be an effective technique in diminishing
unwanted behaviour. To effectively apply negative punishment, a teacher
needs to identify reinforcers most valued by the concerned student. These
then can be withdrawn in order to discourage the student from engaging
in unwanted behaviour. For example, if a student is caught cheating in an
examination, a teacher can punish the behaviour of cheating by deducting
some marks from the student. Since marks are something valuable to the
student, he/she will be forced to stop cheating in order not to lose marks
in future. Another example might be taking away the thirty minute recess
time from a student who makes noise during lessons. This student is not
likely to make noise in future because of the fear of losing more recess
time.
Scholars (e.g. Bergh & Theron, 2006), have cautioned that punishment
is not an effective way of encouraging positive behaviour, unless it is
paired with reinforcement. Thus, diminishing unwanted behaviour
through punishment should only be the first step which should quickly be
followed by reinforcement of positive behaviour. In fact, it is possible for
a teacher to effectively run a class by simply appropriately using positive
and negative reinforcement. What this simply means is that punishment
should not be overly used as a behaviour modification technique. This
brings us to the end of our discussion of the behavioural theory of learning.
18
Before we leave this segment, though, let us make a summary of the key
areas that we have looked at in this chapter.
Summary
In this chapter, we have looked at three behavioural theorists namely,
Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner. These theorists view learning by relating it
to observable behavioural changes that take place as a result of external
stimulation from the environment.
Pavlov and Watson used involuntary responses whereby subjects
were taught to respond to neutral stimuli the same way they would to
unconditioned stimuli. This was done through contiguous pairing of
the neutral stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus. Through this
contiguous pairing, what was a neutral stimulus became a conditioned
stimulus, capable of giving rise to a conditioned response. Upon further
observations in the experiments, Pavlov and Watson realised that subjects
did not just learn to respond to the exact stimuli that they were conditioned
with, but they also responded to a range of other stimuli that were similar
to the original one that the subjects had been conditioned with. This was
called stimulus generalisation. However, as the stimuli became more and
more different from the original one, the level of response by the subject
diminished, until it finally vanished or became extinct. Watson extended
the power of conditioning to include those situations where a subject was
not conditioned directly; he called this type of conditioning, vicarious
conditioning.
Skinner’s operant conditioning sought to explain how organisms’
operants or behaviours, got to be strengthened or weakened, depending on
the consequences that followed. There are two types of incentives, namely
reinforcement and punishment that Skinner identified as modifiers of the
preceding behaviour. Reinforcement, positive or negative, strengthened
the preceding behaviour. Positive or negative punishment, on the other
hand, served to weaken the preceding behaviour.
Here are some items below to help you consolidate your understanding
of the behavioural learning theory.
Review Activities
1. Explain the different principles of classical conditioning. How can
these principles be applied to the classroom situation?
2. What are some of the strengths and limitations of the classical
conditioning theory of learning?
19
3. How does operant conditioning differ from classical conditioning?
4. Describe how you can apply the operant conditioning techniques
in consolidating and modifying students’ behaviour.
5. Explain how positive punishment differs from negative
punishment.
6. How can the principles of classical conditioning be combined
with the principles of operant conditioning in modifying students’
behaviour?
Key Terms used in the Chapter

Behavioural learning theories Intermittent reinforcement schedule
Classical conditioning Negative punishment
Continuous reinforcement Schedule Negative reinforcement
Discrimination Operant conditioning
Extinction Positive punishment
Fixed interval schedule Positive reinforcement
Fixed ratio schedule Variable interval schedule
Generalisation Variable ratio schedule

In the next session, we turn to another learning theory, the social cognitive
learning theory. This theory embraces a good portion of the behavioural
learning theory. In addition, however, the theory recognises the important
role played by an individual’s mental processes in the learning process.
References
Bergh, Z., & Theron, A. (2006). Psychology in the work context (3rd ed.).
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Borich, G.D., & Tombari, M.L. (1995). Educational psychology:
A contemporary approach. New York: Harper Collins College
Publishers.
Dembo, M.H. (1994). Applying educational psychology. New York:
Longman Publishing.
Hill, W.F. (2002). Learning: A survey of psychological interpretations (7th
ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Skinner, B.F. (1953). Science and human behaviour. New York:
Macmillan.
Swanepoel, B.J., Erasmus, B.J., Van Wyk, M.W., & Schenk, H. (2003).
South African human resources management (3rd ed.). Pretoria: Juta.
20
Walker, J.T. (1995). Psychology of learning. New York: Prentice-Hall.

Bacon.
Education.
21
Chapter 3
Social Cognitive Learning Theory
Introduction
As time went on, psychologists discovered that behavioural learning
theories could not account for the entirety of learning; only a small portion
of learning could be explained by the behavioural theories. One such person
who discovered some inadequacies in the behavioural theories was Albert
Bandura, a Canadian psychologist. Bandura (1965) argued that in order for
behavioural theories to explain learning more comprehensively, they need
to take into account the important role played by the social environment
on learning. Bandura argued that through day-today interactions in life,
people (children and adults alike), observed and modelled behavioural
patterns enacted by people who they regarded as significant others. In
order to explain the power of modelling as a means of learning, Bandura
(1965) conducted an experiment which to-date still serves as the basis for
explaining the social influences on learning.
Bandura’s ‘Bobo Doll’ Experiment

In the experiment, pre-school children watched a movie of a model kicking
and punching an inflated ‘bobo doll’. One group of children watched
a model being rewarded for exhibiting aggressive behaviour toward the
bobo doll. Another group of children watched the model being punished
for exhibiting aggressive behaviour toward the doll. Yet another group
of children watched the movie, however, for this group of children, the
model was neither reinforced nor punished.
Following the movie, the three categories of children were moved to
one room where there was a bobo doll similar to the one they had watched
in the movie. The findings of the study were interesting. The children
who had watched the model being rewarded in the movie for aggressive
behaviour toward the doll, tended to be the most aggressive when playing
with the doll. Those children who had watched the model being punished
for aggressive behaviour in the movie, exhibited the least aggression
toward the doll. The results of this experiment showed that incentives can
influences performance.
As time went on, though, Bandura began to see some gaps in his social
learning theory. He realised that his emphasis on the role played by social
23
influences on learning tended to repeat, in some way, the inadequacies
of the earlier behaviourism. Bandura, therefore, decided to integrate into
his social learning theory the cognitive elements. Thus, Bandura’s theory
changed from the earlier social learning theory to become the Social
cognitive learning theory (Bandura, 1986). In the social cognitive learning
theory, both social factors and individual internal cognitive processes were
viewed as critical to bring about meaningful learning. Bandura called the
interaction between environmental factors and personal factors, reciprocal
determinism (Hill, 2002; Woolfolk, 2004).
The mode of learning in the social cognitive learning theory is through
observation and modelling the observed behaviour. This kind of learning
which involves observation has also been termed vicarious learning.
Vicarious Learning
Vicarious or observational learning involves learning by observing and
evaluating the consequences that accrue to the models as they go about life.
As the people we observe get reinforced or punished for their behaviour,
we also make adjustments to our behaviour based on those consequences
(Woolfolk, 1995). Here is an example of how vicarious learning works:
Suppose you are an admirer of a particular person’s characteristic of
kindness, you can learn the kindness from him/her by seeing how he/
she gets rewarded for exhibiting kindness. Again, unlike the case is in
behaviourism, modelling does not involve some mechanistic mimicry
based on stimulus-response principles; it involves a deliberate evaluation
of the consequences and the benefits thereof. Rather than passively
responding to the rewards and/or punishments experienced by the person
being modelled, the person modelling, actively evaluates everything in
his/her mind. In other words, the person modelling integrates the learned
behaviour and/or attitudes into his/her set of schemas or cognitive
structures.
The Nature of Observational Learning

As can be deduced from the explanations we have given thus far about the
social cognitive learning theory, observational learning plays a critical role.
Bandura (1986) identifies four phases that are involved in observational
learning.
24
The Four Phases of Observational Learning

Attention Phase
This is rightly the first phase in observational learning because learners
cannot learn from a model that they have not paid attention to. The
information-processing model, for instance, which is at the centre of the
cognitive theory of learning, indicates that no information can be stored
in memory unless it has been given adequate attention (See Woolfolk,
2004). As far as observational learning is concerned, learners are more
likely to pay attention to models who are significant in their lives. For
example, learners are likely to model people who are attractive, popular
and competent (Sulzer-Azaroff & Mayer, 1986). These significant figures
can come from the ranks of families, teachers and peers. They can also
come from movie and TV personalities.
A teacher can use this principle in a classroom situation. Firstly, a teacher
can draw the attention of the students to a wide range of models who he/
she considers worthy of modelling by students. In encouraging female
students, for instance, a teacher can cite names of key women figures who
have managed to excel in life. This is important because some students
may not be aware of any models who they can draw their attention to.
Secondly, when demonstrating a practical aspect of a lesson, a teacher
should ensure that he/she fully captures the attention of the students so that
they can observe and learn the critical aspects of the demonstration.
Retention Phase
This phase entails storing the modelled behaviour so that it can be used
in future. Again here, the information-processing model comes into play.
The learners encode the observed behaviour of the model into storable,
easy to remember packages. Once a learner has successfully encoded the
targeted behaviour, he/she can then begin rehearsing it in the mind through
visualising and imagining him/her performing what has been observed
(Bergh & Thereon, 2006). Through rehearsal, the observed behaviour will
be retained for a much longer period of time.
A teacher can facilitate students’ retention of observed behaviour
through highlighting, repeating and emphasising the critical aspects
of lessons. By so doing, the teacher will make it easier for students to
rehearse and, therefore, remember information.
25
Reproduction Phase
Here, having paid attention and encoded the targeted behaviour, the
learner makes an attempt to re-enact the learned behaviour. Usually, the
initial attempt to reproduce the modelled behaviour will have a number of
flaws which the learner can remedy through further rehearsal and practice.
Thus, the reproduction phase may involve a constant adjustment and re-
adjustment on the part of the learner, until the targeted behaviour has been
accurately learned. A teacher can play a vital role in providing feedback
for learners to make the required adjustments as they model.
Motivation Phase
In this final phase of observational learning, learners decide whether to
perform or not to perform what they have modelled. The decision to
perform or not to perform the modelled behaviour is determined by the
consequences that the learner experiences for re-enacting the model’s
behaviour. If the consequences are positive, the learner is likely to continue
using the modelled behaviour. On the other hand, if the consequences are
punishing, the desire to re-enact the modelled behaviour will be diminished.
Let us then look at the types of reinforcement in observational learning.
Reinforcement in Observational Learning

There are three types of reinforcement which a learner can receive following
his/her application of modelled behaviour. Firstly, a learner can experience
direct reinforcement. This happens when, for instance, a learner re-enacts
the modelled behaviour and receives compliments for it. Because of the
compliments, the behaviour is likely to re-appear in future. The second
type of reinforcement happens vicariously, whereby a learner learns to
re-enact a modelled behaviour through observing the reinforcement that
others receive for engaging in the same behaviour. Finally, behaviour can
be entrenched through self-reinforcement. Self-reinforcement involves a
learner controlling his/her own internal reinforcers-the learner does not
wait for external reinforcers to confirm the validity of the behaviour, but
is informed by inner satisfaction. Self-reinforcement is a critical form of
reinforcement in that a learner is in control of both the modelled behaviour
and the consequences thereof. Further, self-reinforcement brings about
meaningful learning which is resistant to extinction (Woolfolk, 1995). In
order for self-reinforcement to work, learners should be encouraged to set
26
their own goals. This means that they should have a clear vision of what
they would like to achieve within a specified period of time. When they
have achieved their goals, they will experience some inner satisfaction,
whether or not they receive an external reward.
As can be seen, influences of social learning do occur in both formal
and informal situations. For example, cultural traditions and beliefs in
different tribal groupings are passed on from generation to generation
through observational learning (Guy, 2002). The impact of observational
learning can be quite great in that it influences people’s perceptions of
themselves and the world around them. For instance, in a study conducted
among the Tonga speaking people of Southern Zambia to ascertain factors
that influence adolescent boys and girls to drop out of school, Munsaka
(2009) indicates that cultural and community factors do influence young
people to drop out of school. In this study, Munsaka found out that a
number of younger people regarded formal schooling as a waste of time
because it had no positive impact on the lives of the older people who had
gone through the education system in the communities where they lived.
Owing to this study, Munsaka proposes that in order for measures to fight
school dropout to be effective, they need to take into account factors
emanating from the broader social milieu.
Application of the Social Cognitive Learning Theory to Teaching

and Learning
There are a number of valuable lessons that teachers can draw from the
social cognitive learning theory. Firstly, a teacher ought to realise that he/
she falls in the category of people who are referred to as significant others
in the lives of the students. For this reason, students will invariably desire
to model most of what a teacher does. In order to provide a good basis for
modelling, a teacher should as much as possible, strive to be exemplary
in his/her conduct. If a teacher exhibits bad behaviour, students will
model the bad behaviour. Similarly, if a teacher exhibits good behaviour,
students will model that good behaviour. As a teacher, you would, for
instance, have trouble getting your students to come to class early if you,
yourself have never got to any of your classes on time. When it comes to
observational learning, students ‘do as you do, not as you say.’
Secondly, a teacher can from time to time, invite respectable people
to his/her class as a way of inspiring his/her students. For example, to
encourage female students at secondary school to pursue mathematics
27
and science subjects, which are often regarded as boys domains, a teacher
can invite to his/her class some successful female engineers, doctors,
mechanics, pilots, computer programmers etc. Being of the same gender
as the school girls, such prosperous women are likely to become effective
models for the female students. Apart from that, the young female students
are likely to be vicariously reinforced when they see the high quality of
life enjoyed by these successful women scientists.
In helping students to make informed decisions about which careers to
take up, a teacher can expose his/her students to various real job situations.
For instance, students who may have a passion for television broadcasting
can be exposed to a real television studio set up. The same can be done
for those students who might want to be nurses, doctors, priests, dentists,
accountants, and so on and so forth. Such exposure would provide students
with the ‘hands-on’ experience of the career that they want to pursue.
Capturing students’ attention is critical in observational learning. Thus,
when teaching, a teacher needs to draw students’ attention to those areas
of lessons which are pertinent. Capturing student’s attention can be
done through emphasising key points, repeating key areas, making clear
presentations, highlighting and summarising main points.
Dangers of students getting influenced by bad models are always there.
Thus, a teacher needs to remain alert so as to provide guidance to those
students who might be tempted to model inappropriate models. It is
important that a teacher gives appropriate feedback to students as soon as
he/she notices negative behavioural tendencies emerging.
A teacher needs to be consistent when applying reinforcement or
punishment. If for instance, a student does something wrong and he/she
is allowed to get away with it, there is a possibility that that could have a
ripple effect, meaning that, several other students may decide to engage in
the same misbehaviour and expect to go scot-free (Kounin, 1970). Thus,
regardless of who does something wrong (favourite or non-favourite
student), a teacher has to follow through with appropriate punishment.
Similarly, good behaviour, if well rewarded, can have a positive ripple
effect. Here is a summary of the major aspects that we have looked at in
this chapter.
Summary
In this chapter, we have discussed the social cognitive learning theory
which was developed by Albert Bandura. Bandura argued that learning
28
takes place as a result of the social environment that one is exposed
to. In this regard, observation or modelling, plays an important role in
day-to-day situations. Observational learning is different from stimulus-
response learning sequences that are espoused by behavioural theorists.
Observational learning also takes into account the cognitive processes that
go on in the minds of learners as they model particular aspects. In other
words, observational learning recognises the role played by reinforcers
and punishments in entrenching and diminishing behaviour, respectively,
but, it is also cognisant of the ability of learners to make choices as regards
what they are going to model. Three types of reinforcement have been
identified in observational learning: Direct reinforcement; vicarious
reinforcement; and self reinforcement.
There are three phases that are involved in observational learning namely;
attention phase, retention phase, reproduction phase, and motivation
phase. These phases all demonstrate the active role that a learner plays
in the process of observational learning. Here are some tasks to help you
consolidate your understanding of the social cognitive learning theory.
Review Activities
1. Explain the factors that influence observational learning.
2. How can a teacher use modelling principles to enhance students’
learning?
3. With the help of real classroom examples, explain the four phases
of observational learning.
4. According to the social cognitive learning theory, learning can
happen vicariously. Explain how a teacher can make use of this
principle.

Attention phase Reproduction phase
Modelling Retention phase
Motivation phase Social cognitive learning theory
Observational learning Vicarious learning
While the social cognitive theory does include the cognitive element,
it does not fully recognise the active role played by learners’ mental
processes to plan, set goals, generate ideas, from the stimuli coming from
the environment (Wittrock, 1982). The cognitive learning theory, which
29
we move to in the next chapter, therefore, focuses on explaining the active
role played by learners as they try to make sense of their environment.
References
Bandura, A. (1965). ‘Influence of models’ reinforcement contingencies
on the acquisition of imitative responses’. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 1, 589-595.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Eaglewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bergh, Z., & Theron, A. (2006). Psychology in the work context (3rd ed.).
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Guy, T.C. (2002). Culture as a context for adult education: The need
for culturally relevant adult education. New Directions for Adult and
Continuing Education, 82, 5-18.
Hill, W.F. (2002). Learning: A survey of psychological interpretations (7th
ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Munsaka, E. (2009). The influence of family and community on school
dropouts among rural adolescents in Zambia. New Voices in Psychology,
5 (2), 64-77.
Rachlin, H. (1991). Introduction to modern behaviourism (3rd ed.). New
York: W.H. Freeman.
Sulzer-Azaroff, B., & Mayer, G.R. (1986). Achieving educational
excellence using behavioural strategies. New York: Holt, Rinehart &
Winston.
Wittrock, M.C. (1982, March). Educational implications of recent research
on learning and memory. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the
American Educational Research Association, New York.
Bacon.
Education.
30
Chapter 4
Cognitive Learning Theories
Introduction
While it is difficult to say with absolute certainty what the cognitive
theory of learning is, it seems clear that principles of all cognitive learning
theories originate from the work of Jean Piaget, one of the pioneers of the
theory of cognitive development. Piaget views cognitive development
as occurring in distinct stages of thinking that determine how the child
deals with the environment (see Santrock, 2008). Behaviourism, which
also constitutes a huge part of the social cognitive theory, does not fully
account for the active role that is played by the learner during the process
of learning. The cognitive theories of learning, on the other hand, focus on
explaining the mental processes that lead to a particular outcome, either
in terms of behaviour and/or attitude change, which a learner experiences.
There are two main approaches used in cognitive theories of learning
namely: cognitive-developmental learning model and the information-
processing model.
The Cognitive-developmental Model

As Sigelman and Rider (2006) indicate, the cognitive-developmental
model is directly influenced by the work of Jean Piaget. Piaget viewed
children as active explorers and thinkers who are constantly trying to find
ways and means of adapting to the environment. At infancy, before they
develop adequate mental tools to enable them to effectively deal with the
environment, children depend on the use of their senses (i.e. senses of sight,
hearing, touch, smell and taste). Thus, adaptive activities of children at
this stage depend on their sensory experiences. As children develop, they
shift their dependency from sense organs. They begin to deal with their
environment by making linkages between their actions and consequences
thereof. Later, at about the onset of adolescence, children begin to deal
with their environment through the use of their cognition (internal mental
processes). Each time adolescents are confronted by a situation that they
do not understand, they, like adults, tap into their cognition and draw out
some knowledge to help them understand the unfamiliar phenomena that
they are confronted with (Sigelman & Rider, 2006).
31
The Information-processing Model
The analogy of the operations of a computer has been adopted to ease
the explanation of how the mind processes information (see Woolfolk,
1995). Like a computer, the human mind processes information in three
stages: Encoding (paying attention and perceiving); storage (organising
information); and retrieval (gaining access to stored information).
According to the information-processing model, information is best
remembered when it is stored in such a manner that it is linked to what
is already known. As can be seen, memory plays a critical role in the
information-processing model. Let us, therefore, discuss in detail how
memory works and the critical role it plays in information processing.
How Memory Works

Here is a diagram to demonstrate how memory works:
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As shown in the diagram above, memory is divided in three parts: Sensory
register or sensory memory; short-term memory, also known as working
memory; and long-term memory. Let us discuss these three parts of
memory one at a time.
Sensory Register
The sensory register can be likened to a receptionist’s desk in a company.
Before anybody can have access to people working in a particular company,
they have to pass through the receptionist’s desk so that they can get
registered and then be directed to the person who they would like to see
in the company. As human beings, our sensory receptors are constantly
being bombarded with several stimuli from the environment (see diagram
above). These stimuli can be in the form of sights, sounds, smells, tastes,
textures, or a combination of all these sense modalities. In other words, all
the human senses play a role in perceiving stimuli from the environment.
These stimuli will be recorded according to their form. For instance, visual
sensations will be coded as visual images, while auditory sensations will
have sound pattern codes (Woolfolk, 1995).
While the capacity of the sensory register is very large, almost limitless,
the information cannot be kept for a long period of time, it is very fragile.
Woolfolk (1995) indicates that information in the sensory register can
last for no more than three seconds. Thus, in order not to lose the vital
information, one needs to apply selective attention. Selective attention
is vital because it helps an individual sift through the diverse forms of
sensations from the environment and come up with what is vital and
critical for further processing.
Once the information has been given selective attention, it can then be
given meaningful interpretation through perception. Perception provides
meaning to the raw information that is received from the environment
through the senses (Smith, 1975). Smith further argues that generating
meaning from what is perceived is done on the basis of objective reality
and existing knowledge in the cognition. For example, in line with Smith’s
argument, if a person who does not have any knowledge about numbers
was confronted by the number 11, represented by two vertical lines, it is
highly unlikely that that person would interpret the two vertical lines as
‘number eleven’. Such a person would probably interpret the two vertical
lines to mean ‘two sticks’ put next to each other. The reason for such an
interpretation is that this person is using his existing knowledge, based on
what he has been exposed to or what he is familiar with.
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On the other hand, if confronted by the same perceptual field of the
two vertical lines ‘11’, a person who has some existing knowledge of
numbers is likely to see the number eleven in the two vertical lines. Both
interpretations of the meaning of the vertical lines are correct in that each
one of them is interpreted on the basis of existing knowledge.
As we have indicated already, in order for information in the sensory
register to be further processed, it needs to receive selective attention. Out
of the various sensory sensations that are received, a person has to decide
what is important and worthy of receiving attention. There are a number
of lessons which a teacher can draw from the operation of the sensory
register.
Implication of the Sensory Register for Teaching

There are a number of lessons which a teacher can draw from the operations
of the sensory register. Students cannot learn anything unless they give it
attention. Thus, attention is the first pre-requisite for a successful teaching-
learning venture (Lachter, Forster and Ruthruff, 2004). This means that
every teacher should work hard to capture the attention of students.
Capturing the attention of students may seem an easy matter, but it is
actually not. At any given moment during lessons, students are exposed to
various other stimuli which are bombarding their sensory receptors. For
example, there is the usual danger of students daydreaming. Students can
also be distracted by other destructors such as noisy classmates, hunger
pangs, emotional problems, e.t.c. A teacher has to ensure that he/she gains
the victory of attention over these and other destructors.
Scholars (e.g. Woolfolk, 2010; Miller, 2005; Santrock, 2008) have
suggested a number of ways through which a teacher can capture students’
attention. Let us explore some of these suggestions:
1. A teacher should not begin any lesson without a clear indication
that he/she is about to start teaching. This can be done by, for
instance, telling students, ‘Okay, everyone, I want you all to pay
close attention as we are now about to begin our lesson.’ Such a
statement will make students draw their attention from whatever it
is that had distracted them and get ready for the lesson.
2. Research has shown that a bigger part of communication comes
from the voice and body language, and not from the words being
used. Therefore, a teacher needs to effectively use his/her voice
and body language to capture students’ attention. This can be
34
done through varying the tone, pitch, and rhythm of voice. The
worst thing that a teacher can do is to speak in a monotone, sing-
song fashion. Such a tone will at best send the students to sleep.
Further, a teacher needs to move about so that students do not get
bored seeing him in one position.
3. If there is something that is difficult to pay attention to, it is something
boring. Listening in itself is a difficult activity to accomplish even
when what is being presented is interesting. Therefore, a teacher
needs to remove all possibilities of presenting a boring lesson. A
teacher can become interesting, for instance, through the use of
humour. Jokes, if properly used, can arouse a lot of interest to
learn in students. A word of caution here though; do not over use
jokes as they can easily become distractions themselves. Students’
interests can also be aroused by linking lessons to the practicalities
of day-to-day occurrences. When students realise that the lesson
you are presenting has practical relevance to life, they are highly
likely to pay attention.
4. Students’ attention can also be captured through keeping students
at the centre of the lesson. A teacher should not fall in the trap of
making himself/herself as the focus of a lesson. The effectiveness
of a teacher is determined not by how well he/she has presented the
lesson, but by how well the students have understood the lesson.
To keep students at the centre of the lesson, a teacher can use the
technique of asking students questions over which students can
reflect and provide answers. Further, a teacher can assign students
some roles to do outside class. This method is particularly useful
for practical oriented lessons.
5. The nature of the 21st century modern world is that people
(especially students) have too much information bombarding them
every day. Therefore, a teacher should avoid overloading students
with information. Usually, it is helpful when a teacher makes a
summary of the key, pertinent areas of the lesson that he/she would
like students to focus on.
6. It is also easier for students to maintain their attention if what
the teacher teaches in subsequent lessons is relevantly linked to
preceding lessons.
7. A teacher should, as much as possible, strive to know the names
of his/her students. Mentioning a student’s name in the course
35
of a lesson presentation will ensure that that student remains alert
throughout the lesson. Thus, a teacher should deliberately mention
students’ names during lessons in order to stay engaged with them.
This technique can particularly be a very useful tool to ‘bring
back’ those students who easily get lost in their own world during
lessons.
8. No one can drink from a vessel that he/she does not like. Similarly,
a teacher needs to ensure that he/she builds some rapport with the
students. This sets the platform for students to listen to a teacher. If
there is some enmity or animosity between a teacher and students,
it is difficult for students to pay attention to that teacher.
A teacher, however, has to bear in mind that students exhibit varying
attention traits, depending on what stage of development they are at. In one
study, for instance, Mezzacappa (2004) indicates that children’s attention
spans improve as they grow older. Seven year old children, for instance,
are less likely to be distracted than three year olds. Similarly, Davidson
(1996) points out that attention to vital aspects of information improves
steadily through elementary, primary and secondary school years. Thus,
a teacher should view occasional distraction by younger children as part
of the normal course of development. Indeed, a teacher insisting on total
rapt attention in a pre-school class would easily become a destructor him/
herself.
When information in the sensory register has been given adequate
attention, it then moves to the short-tem memory. Let us now explore
what happens in the short-term memory.
Short-term Memory
The short-term memory, also known as the working memory, plays the
role of a mediator between the sensory register and the long-term memory.
The working memory contains what a person is thinking about at a given
moment (Woolfolk, 2010). As Baddeley (2001) suggests, the working
memory is comparable to a work bench where new information coming
from the sensory register is linked with already stored information from
the long-term memory. Baddeley suggests that there are three components
that make up the short-term memory. These are the central executive the
phonological loop, and the visuospatial working memory.
The role of the central executive as Baddeley (2001) indicates, is to
plan and organise the storage of information. The central executive
36
decides which information from the sensory register should receive further
attention and which should be ignored. Further, this part of working
memory selects strategies that are best suitable for processing information
and solving problems. To effectively carry out these important functions,
the central executive is constantly moving between the sensory register
and the long-term memory.
The phonological loop has the specific role of attending to and rehearsing
words and sounds. Like the rest of the short-term memory, information
here is fragile. It lasts no more than a couple of seconds. To avoid the
problem of losing the information, the word sounds must be rehearsed.
Finally, the visuospatial working memory is specialised in storing visual
and spatial information. This is the kind of working memory that you apply,
for instance, when solving problems involving geometrical figures.
Storage in the Short-term Memory

Unlike the sensory register and the long-term memory, the capacity of
the short term memory is very limited. In one of the most widely cited
studies, Miller (1956) argues that the limited capacity of the short- term
memory can only allow a person to store seven plus or minus two items.
In other words, at a given time, an individual can manipulate between
five and nine items, no more. However, as human beings, we are able to
remember a lot more than nine items at a given time. The reason we are
able to do this is that we use the technique of chunking (see Santrock,
2008). Chunking constitutes storing information not as individual items,
but in groups or packages. For example, if you are asked to remember the
following new phone number: 0988124576, it is highly unlikely that you
will store the digits in this phone number as individual units. The more
likely thing to happen is for you to break the number into three chunks
as follows: 0988/124/576. Through the technique of chunking, the ten
digit phone number has been reduced to a mere three items. The technique
of chunking thus enables people to store huge amounts of information
without overwhelming the mind.
In addition to the limited capacity, information in the short-term
memory can only be stored for a very brief period of time. Scholars (e.g.
Woolfolk, 2010; Santrock, 2008), suggest that information in the short-
term memory can only last a maximum of twenty to thirty seconds. Thus,
in order not to forget, one should rehearse the information. Craik and
Lockhart (1972) have identified two forms of rehearsal which can be used
37
to store information in the short-term memory. These are maintenance
and elaborative rehearsal. Maintenance rehearsal involves repeatedly
going over information until it gets entrenched in the mind. This kind of
rehearsal is popular with people who want to remember information for
a specific purpose after which the information becomes useless. One can,
for instance, use maintenance rehearsal when storing a phone number
which they want to use at a particular time. One can also store directions
to an unfamiliar destination using the same technique (Woolfolk, 2010).
Unfortunately, some students, even at tertiary level, use maintenance
rehearsal as their most dependable method of studying. Such students
may pass with good grades. However, they only end up getting a good
certificate, but without a meaningful education.
The second type of rehearsal, elaborative rehearsal, involves linking the
new information that one is trying to remember to something one already
knows (Woolfolk, 2010). By linking new information to already stored
information in the long-term memory, meaningful learning would have
taken place and this ensures that information also moves into the long-
term memory where it can be permanently stored.
While there are all these techniques that are used to enhance the storage
of information in the short-term memory, sometimes information is
forgotten, let us, therefore, look at forgetting in the short-term memory.
Forgetting in the Short-term Memory

There are two ways through which information can be lost from the
short-term memory. Firstly, information can be lost through decay. Decay
happens when one does not continue to pay attention to stored information
so as to keep it active all the time. As a result of disuse, the once active
information will start fading away, until it finally gets lost completely. A
common example of this is when you are introduced to someone for the
first time and do not rehearse their name or you do not store it meaningfully,
you are likely to completely forget the name of that person.
Another way in which information can be lost from the short-term
memory is through interference. Interference happens when there is a
clash between newly learnt information and old information. There are
two kinds of interference. Firstly, there is proactive inhibition. Proactive
inhibition happens when the old information prevents the new information
from being stored in the memory. The second type of interference is called
retroactive inhibition. In the case of retroactive inhibition, the newly learnt
information prevents old information from being remembered (Woolfolk,
1995, 2010).
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There is a third type of forgetting known as repression. Freud (cited in

Fontana, 1995) indicates that repression occurs when someone deliberately
pushes out of memory the information which brings anxiety and discomfort
to him/her. For example, if someone went through an embarrassing moment,
they can actively push that experience out of their memory. Thus, as can
be seen from the above example, forgetting is sometimes useful. Another
way in which forgetting is useful is in creating space in memory storage to
avoid overloading the memory system (Woolfolk, 2010).
Let us now go a step further and see how the operations of the short-
term memory can be applied to the teaching-learning process.
Implications of the Short-term Memory for Teaching

Teachers can draw a number of valuable lessons from the operations of
the short-term memory. First of all, the short-term memory has a limited
storage capacity, therefore, a teacher has to, as much as possible, give his/
her students only that information which will add value to their lives. In
this respect, teachers should avoid diverting too much from the core content
of lessons. Secondly, teachers need to be systematic and methodical
in the presentation of information. For example, it becomes easier for
students to retain subsequent lessons if they are seamlessly linked to what
students already know. It, for instance, is easier for students to remember
a lesson on multiplication, if they are already familiar with the concept of
addition.
Thirdly, teachers need to allocate time for revising key components of
lessons. This will provide students with an opportunity to rehearse and,
therefore, retain information. In addition, to help students retain what
they learn, a teacher needs to encourage students to apply what they learn.
‘Practice makes perfect’, goes the old saying.
It is also important that a teacher learns to package information properly.
Related topics must be presented together. This helps students develop
patterns which make it easier to store information. Further, to avoid
the occurrence of interference between pieces of information, a teacher
should give students periods of break between lessons. This will enable
students have enough time to rehearse and, therefore, master a piece of
lesson before they can move to another lesson.
Much could still be said about the usefulness of the short-term memory
to teaching-learning situations, but for the moment, let us leave it there
and move to the final part of memory, the long-term memory.
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Long-term Memory
The long-term memory has an unlimited storage capacity. Further,
information in the long term memory, if well stored, can stay permanently
(see Woolfolk, 2010; Santrock, 2008). Let us now look at how information
is stored in the long-term memory.
Storage in the Long-term Memory

While information can permanently stay in the long-term memory, this
is not a guarantee. The ability of information being permanently stored
in the long-term memory depends on how it is stored. If information is
haphazardly stored, it becomes difficult to retrieve that information when
it is required. Let us now discuss the ways in which storage of information
in the long- term memory can be enhanced. There are three ways through
which information can be meaningfully stored in the long-term memory.
These are through: Elaboration; organisation; and contextualisation
(Woolfolk, 1995, 2010; Santrock, 2008).
Elaboration
This technique involves giving meaning to newly learnt, novel information
by linking it to well known, already existing knowledge. Usually, the
process of elaboration happens automatically as people try to make sense of
the world around them (Woolfolk, 2010). For example, if you are teaching
first grade children about characteristics of a fox, a wild dog-like animal,
it might be helpful to draw children’s attention to the characteristics of a
dog. By using their knowledge of a dog, something they are very familiar
with, children will easily learn the attributes of a fox. Another example
might be in the area of cookery. Let us take baking for instance, bakers use
various recipes to bake different cakes. Different cakes require different
ingredients, however, most recipes will usually have certain fundamental
similarities which connect them all so that when one is familiar with one
particular recipe, one can easily extrapolate and learn other new recipes
with ease.
Linking novel information with what is already known is also helpful
when it comes to retrieving information for use. Since new information is
stored by being related to what is familiar, one can use aspects of what is
familiar as cues to lead to what one is seeking to remember. In this case,
the more familiar things a new piece of information is linked to, the easier
40
it will be for it to be remembered (Schunk, 2004). Teachers can use their
techniques by making progressive links between pieces of information in
various lessons. Such an approach can make students’ recall a whole lot
easier.
Organisation
Scholars (e.g. Santrock, 2008) have argued and rightly so, that well
organised information is easier to remember than information which is
stored in fragmented bits and pieces. Let us use an example of something
very familiar and basic, the English alphabet. The English alphabet
comprises twenty-six letters. Now, these twenty-six letters may look easy
to remember to adults. However, for young children who are learning the
alphabet for the first time, this can be a daunting task. Trying to remember
the twenty-six letters of the alphabet as individual items would be too
difficult a task for young children. To overcome this difficulty, the letters
have been organised into one beautiful song, ‘ABCDE…’ The individual
letters of the alphabet may be difficult to remember, however, because
they are organised into one coherent whole, a song, they become easier to
remember.
The principle of organisation is the underlying principle in the gestalt
theory (see Driscoll, 2005), which posits that the whole is greater than
the combination of the individual items. This explains the reason why
analogies, diagrams and other teaching-learning aids make information
easier to remember. It is little wonder then that there is the saying, ‘a
picture is worth a thousand words.’ A picture is an organised pattern which
represents reality as a whole. Words on the other hand, are bits and pieces
which often tend to fragment reality.
Contextualisation
Context plays a critical role in ensuring that information is stored in the
long-term memory. The context being referred to here, includes physical
aspects such as rooms, places and emotional aspects such as mood,
companionship (Woolfolk, 2010). One study, which was conducted by
Smith, Glenberg and Bjork (1978), provided evidence for the important
role played by context in remembering information. In this study, Smith,
et. al. (1978), report that students who wrote their tests in rooms where
the context was similar to the one that obtained in the rooms where they
learnt from, performed better than their counterparts who wrote tests in
41
contexts that were different from the ones that they were taught in. Thus,
it goes without saying that in order for information to be effectively stored
in the long-term memory, the context has to be conducive.
Before we discuss how information is retrieved from the long-term
memory, let us first briefly look at the types of long-term memory.
Types of Long-term Memory

Gray (2002) has identified two broad categories of long-term memory
namely, explicit memory and implicit memory. Each of these categories
contains individual constituent parts which set it apart from the other.
Explicit memory comprises two types of memory: Episodic memory
and semantic memory. Episodic memory stores information that is related
to a particular place and time. This kind of memory will store not just
the physical place where something happened, but the emotional context
such as ambience and companionship as well (Gray, 2002). Scholars
(e.g. Myers, 2005) have observed that dramatic episodes have a higher
chance of remaining vividly stored in the episodic memory. For example,
in Zambia, we experienced an amazing event on 21 June 2001, the total
eclipse of the sun. It has been nearly ten years since this memorable event
took place, and yet, I as well as others, still remember almost every detail
of things that took place on that day. How have we managed to remember
all those details about 21 June 2001? Simple: the event was dramatic
and as such, it got indelibly imprinted on our minds. Episodic memory
content, however, does not always have to come from such dramatic events
of global renown. Sometimes it can come from personal dramatic events.
For instance, each one of us may still remember clearly all the events that
took place on our first day at school or on the day we made a marriage
proposal to our spouse.
Semantic memory, as the name suggests, is concerned with meaning
of words, concepts, theories, and other information of a factual nature
(Anderson, 2005; Schraw, 2006). For instance, when we talk about the
concept, house, while there may be some variations with regard to specific
details, the general defining attributes of the concept are pretty clear and
universal. The defining attributes of the concept, house, might include
the following: Has walls; has a roof; is a place where people live; has
windows; has a floor. Thus, based on these defining attributes, when the
concept house is mentioned, the image comprising these attributes will be
conjured up in our mind.
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Implicit memory comprises memories of activities that we do without
consciously thinking about them. Gray (2002) has identified three kinds
of implicit memory or what can be called unconscious memory. These are:
classical conditioning, procedural memory and priming effects.
When we discussed classical conditioning under the behavioural
learning theories, we indicated that learning takes place by contiguous
pairing or by association (see Rachlin, 1991). By merely appearing
together a number of times, two things can end up getting associated with
each other. For example, if each time you go to your mathematics class,
your teacher shouts at you, you may begin to associate the negativity with
the mathematics subject. Thus, with time, even if the teacher does not
shout at you anymore, or maybe you get a new teacher, who is probably
more friendly, you many continue experiencing some negativity towards
mathematics. Sometimes, classical conditioning happens unconsciously,
as what happens when you see dentists carrying a tool used to pull-out
teeth. This may happen because of the earlier experiences you may have
had with tooth extraction (Woolfolk, 2010).
Another type of unconscious or implicit memory is procedural memory.
This is where procedures involving a mastery of processes are stored.
Learning these skills can sometimes take long before one can begin to
perform them without any conscious awareness. However, once the skills
have been stored, they are almost impossible to forget. Most of us have
probably forgotten how we struggled to master the art of driving a car.
Now we perform the activity without even thinking about what we are
doing. Yet, it took many days of consistent practice before we could get to
the current level of mastery. Another example; think of how you thought
you would never learn how to ride that ‘two-wheeled iron horse,’ the
bicycle. It looked such an impossible task to do, but look how good you
have become at it; you do it without even giving a thought of what you are
doing, and yet you are perfect. The same explanations can be given for
activities such as swimming, playing the piano, e.t.c. How do we get to
this level of high proficiency? We do it through forming scripts. Scripts
are sequences of actions that we string together to accomplish a given task.
Through practice, each activity script becomes entrenched on our mind
and eventually the script and our performance become identical. In fact,
we can say, the script becomes the performance itself (Schraw, 2006).
Finally, implicit memory happens through priming. According to
Ashcraft (2006), priming happens when information in the long-term
43
memory is activated through some unconscious processes. You may, for
instance, have encountered the phrase ‘vegetable soup’, a number of times
in the literature you have been reading in the recent past. As a result of
this, if you were asked to pair the word vegetable to provide a phrase,
you would very likely pair the word ‘vegetable’ with the word ‘Soup’.
There are several other words (e.g. garden, pie, area) which you could
have perfectly used along with the word vegetable, but due to the priming
from your previous experience, you are unlikely to think of them, except
the word ‘soup’.
Obviously, storage of information in the long-term memory is not an end
in itself. The reason we store information in the long-term memory is in
order that we can have access to it when we need it. So, all the techniques
that are used to facilitate the movement of information from the working
memory to the long-term memory are used in order to maximise the
chances of successful retrieval. Thus, let us now go another step forward
and look at how information is retrieved from the long-term memory.
How Information is Retrieved from the Long-term Memory

Retrieval of information from the long-term memory can happen
unconsciously or automatically, however, most of the time, the process
requires much effort (Santrock, 2008). When for instance, you get in
your car to drive to some place, you do not require conscious effort to
remember how to turn on the ignition key, how to engage the gears, how
to release the clutch pedal, and how to accelerate, you do not need to apply
any effort at all to remember all this. All this information has become part
of your implicit memory and as such you can perform it unconsciously
(see Gray, 2002). On the other hand, if you need to retrieve something
from the explicit memory, you need to be consciously alert and search for
the information you want. For example, you may be asked to remember
the name of the man who was guest of honour at your secondary school
graduation ceremony. It is highly unlikely that the name will just pop up
in your mind. You will need to spend some time searching for the name.
There are two main ways that are used to retrieve information from
the long-term memory. These are through spreading activation and
through reconstruction. Before we discuss each of these in detail, it has
to be mentioned that information cannot be retrieved directly from the
long-term memory. It has to first be activated in the short-term memory
or the working memory, except for the information stored in the implicit
44
memory, which does not require any conscious effort to remember (Gray,
2002; Santrock, 2008). Once in the working memory, information can
easily be accessed (Silverman, 2008). First, let us look at how spreading
activation works.
In order to better understand how spreading activation works, we
will first remind ourselves of how information is meaningfully stored
in the long-term memory. We indicated that there are three ways
namely elaboration, organisation and contextualisation that are used to
meaningfully store information in the long-term memory. Elaboration
involves storing information by relating it to already existing knowledge
in the schemas. Organisation entails storing information in packages
of relatedness, information that is alike is stored together. Finally,
contextualisation involves storing information not as individual items,
but as one whole context, taking into account the physical and emotional
aspects (see Santrock, 2008; Schunk, 2004; Smith, et. al., 1978).
The process of spreading activation during retrieval is thus made
easier when information is stored using the above discussed storage
processes. The way the process of spreading activation works is that,
when one piece of information is pulled from memory, all the other
related pieces of that piece of information are pulled along and brought to
active remembrance (Anderson, 2005). Take for instance, items that are
stored through elaborative rehearsal, once you pull out some old, familiar
piece of information that is related to what you are looking for, all the
information you are looking for will easily come to remembrance because
it is inextricably connected to the old information. Retrieval of information
that is organised into packages can be explained in pretty much the same
way as elaborated information.
In the case of information that is stored contextually, spreading activation
helps because instead of you struggling to remember an individual item,
all you need to do is re-create the whole context that obtained when you
stored the information you are looking for. Once you have re-created
the context, you will be amazed at how effortless remembering individual
details will become. It is no wonder that Smith, et. al. (1978), argue that
students who write tests in contexts similar to the ones they were taught in,
tend to remember more than those who write tests in different contexts.
Spreading activation is the best and easiest way of remembering
information, however, sometimes it does happen that spreading activation
just does not give access to the desired information. When this happens,
45
one can then resort to reconstruction. As Koriat, Goldsmith and Pansky
(2000) point out, reconstruction occurs when one applies logic and other
cues to try and make sense of an unclear situation. So, reconstruction as a
method of retrieving information requires more effort and can sometimes
lead to application of trial and error in solving problems. In relation to
this, let us discuss something that we all do not like so much, but which
nevertheless, is a reality and affects all of us, this is forgetting.
Forgetting in the Long-term Memory

No matter how one elaborates, organises or contextualises, some pieces
of information just cannot be remembered. There are four scenarios that
can lead to forgetting. These are: loss of cues, decay, repression, and
interference (Santrock, 2008).
Loss of cues occurs when information is stored in the long-term
memory, quite alright, but the cues to provide access to that information
are unavailable or inadequate. For example, we have all been in a situation
where we felt certain that we knew something, however, for one reason
or another, we just could not find the right cues to gain access to that
information.
Decay can occur in the long-term memory as it does in the short-term
memory. When information has been dormant in the memory for a long
time, it gets fuzzy until it finally disappears. The reason for this is that
using information is one way of rehearsing it and keeping it active.
Repression is associated with the work of Sigmund Freud. Freud
(cited in Fontana, 1995), argues that when people go through experiences
which they are not comfortable with, they tend to repress or push those
experiences into the background where they become part of unconscious
material which cannot be accessed consciously. Thus, in a way, repression
can be referred to as motivated forgetting because it is deliberately done.
Interference occurs when there is a clash between old and new information.
Two types of interference are common namely; proactive inhibition and
retroactive inhibition. In proactive inhibition, old information makes
it impossible to remember new information. In the case of retroactive
inhibition, newly learned information pushes out old information from the
memory (Woolfolk, 1995; Santrock, 2008).
Implications of the Long-term Memory for Teaching

Long-term memory, the final part of the information processing model,
has a lot to teach teachers as far as delivering lessons is concerned. Firstly,
46
in line with the principle of elaboration, teachers learn the importance of
making linkages between new information and what students already
know. This will help teachers deliver meaningful lessons which will make
students avoid meaningless rote learning. Once a lesson has been well
linked with already established information, the application of spreading
activation during retrieval becomes easier (see Silverman, 2008).
Secondly, teachers need to be organised and orderly in their presentation
of information. In the technical field of computers, there is a famous saying
‘garbage in, garbage out’. This saying applies even in the world of teaching.
You as a teacher cannot expect students to be organised in the way they
store information, if you yourself are not organised in your presentation
of that information. So, orderliness must begin with the teacher as he/she
delivers lessons. Again, application of spreading activation at retrieval
stage is easier when information is well organised.
Context plays a major role in ensuring that information is stored in the
long-term memory. Therefore, it is the important duty of every teacher to
ensure that he/she creates an atmosphere in the classroom which supports
teaching and learning. A teacher can create this atmosphere by being
supportive and friendly to every student in his/her class. With such a
positive regard towards students, students’ understanding and recall of
lessons will greatly be enhanced.
In order to help students remember information in a connected, holistic
manner, a teacher should, where possible, use teaching aids such as pictures,
diagrams, metaphors, and so on, to explain some aspects in his/her lesson.
A lesson that is explained using a diagram, picture or metaphor, does not
require much effort to recall. In fact, if well used, these teaching aids can
become the very context that triggers remembrance.
‘Practice makes perfect’. As a teacher, you need to create opportunities
for students to practice what you teach them. You can do this by giving
students as much practice exercises as possible. Homework, monthly
projects, for instance, provide good opportunities for students to practice.
As students practice, they invariably move new, unfamiliar skills into the
implicit memory where they do not require much effort to remember.
Memorisation or rote learning is often the enemy of meaningful learning.
Therefore, a teacher needs to encourage students to paraphrase what they
are taught into words which they (students) can easily remember (see
Woolfolk, 2010). When students paraphrase the material that you teach
them, it becomes their own and as such recalling that material becomes
effortless. This also applies to situations where students are reading
47
materials from various sources of literature. They should paraphrase
that material into language which they can easily understand and retain
meaningfully.
In order to enhance students, encourage students to cooperate as opposed
to competing. Competition brings about tension, which invariably
disturbs the mood for learning. To avoid creating a tense atmosphere in
the classroom, a teacher should, from time to time, give students group
work so that they begin to view their differences in ability areas and levels
as normal and as a necessity. In this respect, study groups can also help
students enhance their abilities to retain information in that what they may
not have understood as individuals can be explained to them.
A teacher should make a comprehensive summary of the main points
of each lesson given. These main points should be made known to the
students and should be repeated as much as possible. This strategy
removes the danger of students being overwhelmed by parts of lessons
which are not essential (See Woolfolk, 1995, 2010).
Let us consolidate the material that we have covered in this chapter by
making a summary of the key areas that we have covered.
Summary
Cognitive learning theories have their origin in the work of Jean Piaget,
who was one of the earliest scholars to recognise the active role played by
learners during the learning process. The information-processing model
represents this active role played by the learner. All sensations (visual,
audio, audio-visual or whatever form) are first received in the sensory
register part of memory. From the sensory register, information then
moves to the short-term memory through the application of selective
attention. In the short-term memory/working memory, information is
subjected to maintenance rehearsal so that it can stay active and ready to
be used. However, in order for the information to move to the long-term
memory, it is subjected to more meaningful processes of rehearsal namely;
elaboration, organisation, and contextualisation. Through this meaningful
storage of information, it then becomes easier to apply spreading activation
as a means of retrieval.
If not well stored, information in the long-term memory can be lost
through: Decay; loss of cues; repression; proactive inhibition; and
retroactive inhibition. However, at the long-term memory stage, unlike
the case is at the short-term memory stage, lost information can still be
recovered, as long as the right cues can be used.
48
Review Activities
1. Explain Piaget’s cognitive-developmental model.
2. The information-processing model is key to the understanding of
the cognitive theories of learning. Explain how this model works.
3. What are the implications of the information-processing model to
the teaching-learning process?
4. How can a teacher help students to enhance their storage of
information in the long-term memory?
5. Forgetting is one of the impediments to learning. Describe the
types of forgetting and how a teacher can minimise their effects on
students’ learning.
6. With the help of examples, explain the differences between explicit
memory and implicit memory.
7. Retrieval of information from the long-term memory is closely
linked to the storage process. Explain how the two processes are
connected.

Cognitive-developmental model Priming
Cognitive learning theories Proactive inhibition
Contextualisation Procedural memory
Elaborative rehearsal Repression
Episodic memory Retroactive inhibition
Implicit memory Selective attention
Explicit memory Semantic memory
Information-processing model Sensory register
Maintenance rehearsal Short-term memory
Organisation
Thus far we have discussed three learning theories namely; behaviourist
theories, social cognitive theories and cognitive theories. These three
theories have something in common in that they all do not take a holistic
view of learners. They each focus on different aspects of learners.
Behavioural theories focus on behavioural aspects of learners. Social
cognitive theories combine behavioural and cognitive aspects. Cognitive
theories are centred on the mental processes taking place in learners. In
the next chapter, therefore, we discuss another learning theory; one that
combines all facets (cognitive aspects, behavioural aspect, social aspects
and emotional aspects) of learners, and this is the humanistic learning
theory.
49
References
Anderson, J.R. (2005). Cognitive psychology and its implications (6th ed.).
New York: Worth.
Ashcraft, M.H. (2006). Cognition (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Baddeley, A. (2001). Is working memory still working? Paper presented
at the meeting of the American Psychological Association. San
Francisco.
Craik, F.I.M., & Lockhart, S.S. (1972). ‘Levels of processing: A framework
for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour,
11, 671-684.
Davidson, D. (1996). The effects of decision characteristics on children’s
selective search of predecisional information. Acta Psychologia, 92,
263-281.
Driscoll, M.P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.).
Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Fontana, D. (1995). Psychology for teachers (3rd ed.). London: Macmillan
Press Limited.
Gray, P. (2002). Psychology (4th ed.). New York: Worth.
Koriat, A., Goldsmith, M., & Pansky, A. (2000). Toward a psychology
of memory accuracy. In S. Fiske (Ed.), Annual Review of Psychology
(pp. 481-537). Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.
Kounin, J.S. (1970). Discipline and group management in classrooms.
New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Lachter, J., Forster, K.I., & Ruthruff, K.I. (2004). Forty-five years after
broadbent (1958): still no identification without attention. Psychological
Review, 111, 880-913.
Mezzacappa, E. (2004). Alerting, orienting and executive attention:
Developmental properties and socio-economic correlates in an
epidemiological sample of young, urban children. Child Development,
75, 1373-1386.
Miller, G.A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two:
Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological
Review, 63, 81-97.
Miller, S.A. (2005). Tips for getting children’s attention. Early Childhood
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Myers, D.G. (2005). exploring psychology (6th ed. In modules). New
York: Worth.
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Santrock, J.W. (2008). Educational psychology (3rd ed.). Boston: McGraw

Hill.
Schraw, G. (2006). Knowledge structures and processes. In P.A. Alexander
& P.H. Winne (eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (2nd ed.).
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Schunk, D.H. (2004). Learning theories: An educational perspective (4th
ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice-Hall.
Sigelman, C.K. & Rider, E. A. (2006). Life-span human development (5th
ed.). Toronto: Thomson Wadsworth.
Silverman, S.K. (2008, April). Personal communication. Columbus,
Ohio.
Smith, F. (1975). Comprehension and learning: A conceptual framework
for teachers. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Smith, S.M., Glenberg, A. & Bjork, R.A. (1978). Environmental context
and human memory. Memory and Cognition, 6, 342-353.
Bacon.
Woolfolk, A. (2010). Educational psychology (11th ed.). London: Pearson
Education International.
51
Chapter 5
Humanistic Theory
Introduction
Humanistic psychology is also referred to as the ‘third force psychology’.
The reason for this is that humanistic psychology was preceded by two major
fields of psychology namely; behaviourism and psychoanalysis (O’Connor
& Lages, 2007). Behaviourism sought to understand human beings by
looking at changes in outward observable behaviour. Psychoanalysis,
founded by Sigmund Freud, focused on understanding human beings by
analysing the deep unobservable unconscious processes. As can be seen,
both these earlier approaches did not take human beings as active actors
on the environment. Thus, psychologists in the 1950s, started seeking
another type of psychology, one that would take into account the active
role played by human beings as they interact with their environment. This
brought into being the humanistic branch of psychology.
Among others, Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow are considered the
founders of humanistic psychology. Humanistic psychology was not
designed as a theory of learning perse; it was designed as a general theory
to explain how the full human potential can be tapped from all human
beings, regardless of who or what they are. In other words, humanistic
psychology is a theory that explains how each person can become self-
actualised. There are a number of key principles that set humanistic
psychology apart from the other brands of psychology.
The Main Principles of Humanistic Psychology

Firstly, humanistic psychology takes a positive or optimistic view of all
people. It assumes that each and every human being possesses some inner
propensity to grow and develop. In other words, to use Abraham Maslow’s
term, human beings have the ability to move toward self-actualisation (See
Maslow, 1971; Santrock, 2008). Because of this, humanistic psychology
places lots of emphasis on having an unconditional positive regard toward
all people.
Secondly, humanistic psychology views each human being as a unique
whole. While human beings are made up of three components namely;
body, mind, and emotions, in practice, these three parts are inseparable.
53
For instance, one cannot talk about the bodily aspects without touching
on issues of the mind and emotions. The opposite is also true; touching
on issues of emotions will necessarily bring in aspects of the body and the
mind. Thus, humanistic psychologists believe in a holistic perspective of
people (O’Connor & Lages, 2007).
Thirdly, humanistic psychologists believe each person’s perspective or
point of view should be respected. Part of the uniqueness of individual
people lies in the different ways in which they view and interpret reality.
For this reason, humanistic psychologists respect an individual’s point of
view.
Finally, humanistic psychologists respect choices that are made by
each individual person. Since people possess the inner drive to become
whatever it is they desire to become (to be self-actualised), the choices that
they make as they move towards that self fulfilment must be respected.
Thus, humanists view each person as an expert in choosing what he/she
desires to do (O’Connor & Lages, 2007).
How Humanistic Psychology has Influenced Education

Influences of humanistic psychology have permeated a number of fields
outside psychology. For example, in the corporate area of business,
principles of humanistic psychology are being applied to enhance
workers’ performance (Bergh & Thereon, 2006). The fields of coaching
and counselling have also drawn heavily on humanistic psychology (see
O’Connor & Lages, 2007; Egan, 2002; Burke, 1989). Similarly, the field
of education, especially in the recent past (Woolfolk, 2010; Santrock,
2008), has been dominated by humanistic principles.
As we have already indicated, the humanistic theory was designed as a
general theory to explain how human being’s full potential can be tapped
into. Thus, in the field of education, humanistic psychology has been used
to create school and classroom atmospheres in which learners can freely
pursue their goals and tap into their full potential.
Before we go into a detailed discussion of how the humanistic
principles can be applied to the field of education, let us take a look at
some key comments which Carl Rogers, one of the founders of humanistic
psychology, made about education and teaching in his book ‘Freedom
to Learn’. In this book, which was published at the end of the 1960s,
Rogers among other things, identifies a number of crises which hinder the
attainment of an education that is meaningfully responsive to the needs
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Humanistic Theory
of learners and society as a whole. In order to capture the crises facing a
number of educational systems the world over, Rogers asks a number of
questions, the answering of which, he believes, would make education
more meaningful. The following are the questions:
1. Can education free itself from the past and past goals and prepare
individuals and groups to live in a world of accelerating change, if
it is possible for human beings to do so?
2. Can education deal effectively with increasing racial tensions and
prevent civil war among the world’s races?
3. Can education prepare us to deal responsibly and communicatively
with increasing irrational nationalism and international tension,
and help us prevent nuclear destructions?
4. Can educators and educational institutions satisfy the revolt
and objectives of youth against the imposed curriculums and
impersonality of secondary and higher education, or will learning
move out of our institutions of learning, leaving them to indoctrinate
conformity?
5. Can the conservative, traditional, bureaucratic, rigid educational
system break out of the shackles of pressures for social conformity
and deal with the real problems of modern life?
6. Will education be taken over by business with more innovation and
responsiveness, but with the motive of profit-making and emphasis
upon producing profitable hardware (Rogers, 1969, p.20).
According to Rogers (1969) the above listed questions bring out poignant
issues, which if addressed, would ensure that educational institutions
around the world depart from exclusively focusing on passing on
information and knowledge to learners, and begin to address the real
personal and interpersonal needs which learners experience. In other
words, as Rogers further observes, the goal of education should be to
equip learners with skills that will enable them to meaningfully change
and adapt to their environment. To this effect, Rogers writes, ‘The only
man who is educated is the man who has learned how to learn; the man
who has learned how to adapt and change; the man who has realised that
no knowledge is secure, that only the process of seeking knowledge gives
a basis for security’ (1969, 104).
The goal of humanistic education, therefore, is to go beyond dealing
with learners at cognitive or intellectual level, and deal with the whole
person (Rogers, 1970). This means that humanistic education also deals
55
with the emotional and social needs of learners. Through involving all
the aspects of learners (a holistic approach), Rogers (1969) argues that
meaningful learning can be achieved. Rogers (1970) also points out that
learning which engages learners merely at the cognitive level, often results
into meaningless learning; learning which is divorced from the real personal
and social needs of learners. Often, this kind of learning is characterised
by memorisation of fragmented facts which sooner rather than later slip
out of students’ minds (Patterson, 1970). In order to avoid the detrimental
effects of meaningless learning, humanistic educationists advocate a move
towards the provision of a more meaningful education.
How to Attain Meaningful Learning

To be able to achieve meaningful learning, there are a number of principles
which a humanistic teacher needs to apply. Rogers (1969) and other
Scholars (e.g. Patterson, 1970; O’Connor & Lages, 2007), have identified
a number of humanistic attributes which teachers can apply.
Firstly, in order to achieve meaningful learning, a humanistic educator
needs to have unconditional positive regard towards learners. A humanistic
teacher needs to operate on the premise that all learners, regardless of their
background, have the natural propensity for acquiring knowledge. This
means that a teacher has to set aside any prejudices or preconceptions that
he/she might have about the learners. In other words, a teacher must view
every learner as having an equal chance to succeed.
Secondly, a humanistic educator needs to be empathic. He/she needs
to be able to put himself/herself in the position of learners. What this
means is that a humanistic educator should have a listening ear toward the
concerns and challenges faced by learners. At no point should a teacher
trivialise the concerns faced by students. For example, if a teenage student
approaches a teacher for some help on a relationship with a boyfriend or
girlfriend, the teacher should not take the matter lightly and say, ‘come
on, that is no problem at all. Just get over it; you are still too young to
worry about that!’ Such a response clearly does not take into account
the seriousness of the student’s problem. In other words, the teacher has
failed to put himself/herself in the shoes of the student, as it were. Such
a detached approach by a teacher towards students’ concerns could have
devastating consequences in the lives of students.
Thirdly, in order to attain meaningful learning, a humanistic educator
needs to treat learners as whole persons. Thus, learners’ social, physical
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Humanistic Theory
and emotional needs must all be attended to by the teacher. The easiest
temptation here is for a teacher to exclusively focus on the cognitive needs
of the learners. Any learning that takes place in such an exclusionistic
manner is not likely to mean much to the lives of learners. In underscoring
the importance of addressing the emotional needs of learners, Reston
(1970) observes that knowledge that is transmitted outside the realm of
feelings cannot be regarded as knowledge which will have long lasting
effects on learners.
The fourth principle which a humanistic educator has to observe is
that of being a facilitator. In all learning situations, educators need to
ensure that students remain at the centre of the teaching-learning process.
Learners should not be viewed as passive receivers of information, but
rather as active participants in the process of generating knowledge.
The foremost job of an educator is to ensure that he/she makes of the
classroom an environment where learners can freely actively participate
in all lessons. Only such interactive learning will result into meaningful
learning. In supporting the importance of putting learners at the centre of
all teaching-learning processes, Rogers makes a poignant observation:
Out of such a context arise true students, real
learners, creative scientists and scholars and
practitioners, the kind of individuals who can live
in a delicate, but ever changing balance between
what is presently known and the flowing, moving
altering problems and facts of the future (1969,
p. 105).
The above observation made by Rogers seems to capture the real essence
of teaching namely, to create, out of learners, confident individuals who
can independently pursue knowledge by constantly pushing and extending
the boundaries of knowledge.
In line with creating a classroom environment where students can
actively participate in the pursuit of knowledge, a humanistic educator
needs to ensure that he/she creates a classroom atmosphere which is not
threatening to learners. To achieve this, a teacher needs to build rapport
with his/her learners. Learners need to experience a warm connection with
their teacher. This will enable them to trust and, therefore, open up to their
teacher’s instruction and guidance. A teacher thus needs to be real and
genuine in his/her dealings with the learners. Creating a non-threatening
environment also means that a teacher should give learners permission
57
to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. Often times, learners
feel threatened because their teacher will not allow them to venture into
projects where there are possibilities of failure. Such an attitude by a
teacher would not only make learners loathe learning, but would also
destroy the much needed spirit of inquiry and exploration in them.
Another principle that is critical in humanistic education is enabling
learners to have practical experiential involvement with the material they
are learning. Learning becomes much more meaningful if learners actively
participate in the learning process. In order to attain the active involvement
of learners, a teacher should use discovery methods of teaching which
allow students to explore and generate knowledge on their own. Such
self-directed learning has long lasting effects on the learners.
In addition to empowering learners to direct their own learning, a
humanistic teacher should encourage learners to set their own goals and
objectives and ensure that they follow through with action until those
goals are attained. Having set their own goals, learners will then be able
to evaluate their performance against those goals and objectives. Such
self-evaluation will put the responsibility of learning right where it should
be, namely, in the hands of the students. Therefore, external stimulation
in that case will occupy secondary importance, what will be of primary
importance is the learners’ own internal drive.
Humanistic educators also need to appreciate variations in learners’
subject preferences. Each and every learner should be allowed to choose
subjects of specialisation in line with the career that he/she has chosen. It
is quite natural that students will have diversity in subject preferences due
to differences in career choices. Therefore, the job of a teacher is to ensure
that each student is encouraged and guided along the career path of his/her
choice. In other words, no teacher should impose a career on a student.
Yes, sometimes learners make career choices that may not be in line with
their capabilities, even in those cases, alternative career paths must be
decided upon in collaboration with the learners. Allowing learners to
choose their career path is important because it ensures that they give full
commitment to their chosen career. With such high commitment, success
is almost a certainty.
Finally, a humanistic teacher needs to be an authentic role model to
learners. A teacher should strive to become a good example which can
be the basis upon which learners can model their own behaviour (Huitt,
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Humanistic Theory
2001).
As can be seen, the humanistic theory of learning is an empowering
theory in that it recognises the great potential that learners have inside
of them to move towards self actualisation. Thus, the role of teachers
and educational institutions is, or should be, to ensure that each learner
is given an opportunity to become the best that he/she can be. In other
words, as Roger (1969) indicates, educators and educational institutions
should be agents of meaningful learning, which alone can bring about long
lasting change in the lives of learners and the rest of society. In order
to consolidate what we have covered in this chapter, let us make a brief
summary.
Summary
Humanistic psychology, which is the main driving force behind the
humanistic theory of learning, came into being as a result of the inadequacies
that were noticed in the earlier types of psychology namely; psychoanalysis
and behaviourism. For this reason, humanistic psychology became known
as the third force psychology. Humanistic theory was created to explain
the inert abilities that human beings have to move toward their own self
fulfilment or self actualisation. In this respect, the humanistic theory of
learning views learners as possessing the ability to plan, control and direct
their own learning. This being the case, humanistic teachers tend to observe
the following fundamental principles: Applying an unconditional positive
regard toward learners; being facilitators of learning as opposed to being
directors of learning; dealing with learners holistically; allowing students
to set their own goals; being authentic; and being genuine in dealing with
students. The emphasis in the humanistic theory of learning is to teach
students how to make their education meaningfully applicable to their life.
In short, the goal of humanistic education, as Rogers (1969) indicates, is
to teach students how to learn to meaningfully adapt to the novelties that
they encounter in life.
Here are some review items to enhance your understanding of the
humanistic theory of learning.
Review Activities
1. Why is humanistic psychology also referred to as the ‘third force’
psychology?
2. What are the traits which set humanistic psychology apart from the
59
other types of psychology?
3. Carl Rogers identified a number of crises which need to be
addressed if education is to yield meaningful results. Explain how
the humanistic theory can be used to address these crises.
4. The humanistic theory emphasises meaningful learning. How can
teachers achieve meaningful learning?
5. In his book ‘Freedom to Learn’, Carl Rogers (1969, p. 104) makes
the ever so important observation, ‘The only man who is educated
is the man who has learned how to learn; the man who has learned
how to adapt and change…’ Discuss the relevance of this statement
in relation to the principles of the humanistic theory of learning.

Discovery learning Self-actualisation
Empathic teacher Self-directed learning
Humanistic theory Unconditional positive regard
Meaningful learning Whole person
The learning theories which we have been discussing thus far are an
important vehicle for delivering content during teaching-learning processes.
However, just as a vehicle cannot move if it does not have any fuel in it,
so it is with these learning theories. They need fuel to energise them. In
the next chapter, which is the final chapter of this book, we discuss this
energising factor and this is motivation.
References
Burke, J.F. (1989). Contemporary approaches to psychotherapy and
counselling: The self-regulation and maturity model. California:
Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
Egan, G. (2002). The skilled helper: A problem-management and
opportunity-development approach to helping (7th ed.). California:
Brooks/Cole.
Huitt, W. (2001). Humanism and open education. Retrieved March 10,
2011, from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/affsys/humed.html
Maslow, A.H. (1971). The farther reaches of human nature. New York:
Viking Press.
O’Connor, J. and Lages, A. (2007). How coaching works: The essential
guide to the history and practice of effective coaching. London: A & C
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Humanistic Theory
Black publishers Ltd.

Reston, J. (1970). The forgotten factor. In D.A. Read, & S.B. Simon (eds),
Humanistic education sourcebook. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-
Hall.
Rogers, C. (1969). Freedom to learn. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill.
Rogers, C. (1970). Carl Rogers on encounter groups. New York: Harper
& Row.
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Chapter 6
Motivation, Teaching and Learning
Introduction
In the preceding four chapters, we have been discussing different learning
theories and how each one of them explains learning. We have looked
at the behavioural learning theories, which view learning as involving
changes in outward, observable behaviours of learners. Secondly, we have
explained learning from the perspective of the internal cognitive processes
that take place inside of learners. We have also explained learning from
the social-cognitive perspective, whereby we looked at how cognitive and
social processes can combine to ensure the transmission of information
to learners. Finally, we discussed the humanistic theories which take a
holistic view of learners.
Learning theories in themselves are not enough to ensure a successful
occurrence of the teaching-learning process. There is one more ingredient
which is required to ensure that learning can successfully take place. This
missing ingredient is motivation. The relationship that exists between
learning theories and motivation is comparable to the relationship that
exists between a car and fuel. It does not matter whether the car is brand
new, if there is no fuel in the tank, nothing will happen, the car will not
move even a centimetre. Similarly, no matter how well a teacher may know
the learning theories, students will not learn anything if the teacher does
not know how to provide motivation. Motivation is the energy that drives
learning. Let us start from the beginning by defining motivation.
What is Motivation?
There may be variations as regards the specific terminologies that are
used to define motivation, however, generally speaking, motivation can be
defined as an internal state that energises, directs and sustains behaviour
(Woolfolk, 2010; Santrock, 2008).
As scholars (e.g. Graham & Weiner, 1996; Pintrich, Marx & Boyle,
1993) have pointed out, motivation seeks to address a number of questions
at the centre of which are the following:
1. Why do people differ in the way they choose what to focus on?
One student, for instance, will focus on art, while another will
devote himself/herself to mathematics, yet another student might
be consumed by a passion for accounting.
2. Why is it that some people will begin working on a task they have
been assigned to do right away, while others will keep putting it
off?
63
3. How is it that some people get deeply involved in fulfilling their
assignments, while others only take a half-hearted approach?
4. Why do some people easily give up upon encountering hurdles as
they try to accomplish a task, while others persist until the task is
accomplished?
5. Why do some people enjoy themselves as they go about
accomplishing their tasks, while others have to endure their tasks?
Motivation in all its various forms, seeks to answer the above listed
questions. It seeks to answer questions about people’s manner and level
of involvement in tasks. Quite inevitably, therefore, these questions are at
the core of any teaching-learning situation. Teachers need to understand
why learners get engaged in learning particular subjects. They also need
to be cognisant of students’ level of involvement in fulfilling tasks in those
subjects. Finally, teachers need to know how students address challenges
when they encounter them as they go about learning different subjects.
Motivation is something every person has experienced, consciously
or unconsciously. We have all experienced, either in formal learning
situations, or in our day-to-day engagements, how it feels to be driven
towards a particular task. In those situations, it probably did not matter
what odds were against us. We still felt a surge of inner energy propelling
us towards our goal. Yet, we have also experienced those moments where
we had to depend on external stimulation to be able to complete a task. This
brings us to the two types of motivation. These are; intrinsic motivation
and extrinsic motivation (Santrock, 2008; Woolfolk, 2010).
Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation refers to the internal urge that people have to accomplish
a task. It is that ‘fire in the belly’, if you like, that drives someone to defy
all odds in pursuit of a goal. When one is intrinsically motivated, external
stimulation becomes secondary or even inconsequential, in some cases
(Anderman & Anderman, 2009; Reiss 2004). A student can, for instance,
be driven to study and practice music not because she wants to get a good
grade, but because of the inner love that she has for the subject.
Extrinsic Motivation
Unlike the case is with people who are intrinsically motivated, extrinsically
motivated people pursue goals in order to earn something good (e.g. a good
grade, a gift, or praise) or to avoid unpleasant consequences, (e.g. ridicule,
punishment). Thus, people who are extrinsically motivated only perform
tasks because of what performing the task will lead to. In other words,
64
it can be said that extrinsically motivated people see accomplishment of
tasks as a means to an end (Anderman & Anderman, 2009; Reiss 2004).
Having broadly indicated what motivation is, our next step is to
relate it specifically to teaching-learning situations. There are mainly
four approaches of motivation that are used in the process of teaching
learners. These are: Behavioural approach; cognitive approach; social-
cognitive approach; and humanistic approach. Let us discuss each of
these approaches one at a time.
Behavioural Approach to Motivation

Under the behavioural approach, emphasis is placed on using external
rewards and punishment to shape or control learners’ behaviour. Earlier
psychologists, who have advocated for the use of incentives, have argued
that incentives (rewards or punishments) arouse learners’ interests to
learn lessons that they are taught in the classroom (Emmer, Everston, &
Worsham, 2006).
There are a number of incentives which teachers can use to motivate
their students. Firstly, teachers can use numerical scores and letter grades
to provide feedback on how learners are faring. A grade of A+, for instance,
can be motivating to a learner who values high grades. Recognition and
praise can also be used as reinforcers. For learners in pre-school and early
grades of primary school, the use of stars, stickers with characters that are
valued by learners, can be a huge source of motivation (Santrock, 2008;
Child, 1986; Dembo, 1994).
Behavioural motivation techniques are a very important source of
encouragement to students mainly because their effects are tangible and
immediate, in most cases. For example, a high grade given to a learner
will immediately elate the concerned learner. Consequently, the learner’s
interest in the subject will soar. Praise and tokens of various kinds have
similar effects. While the use of extrinsic motivational techniques has these
positive effects, they are not without problems. The major problem with
the use of extrinsic motivators, as has been noted by a number of scholars,
is that they tend to make learners more dependent on the incentives and
less on their own creativity and ingenuity (see Santrock, 2008). In other
words, it seems extrinsic motivators build a desire in the learner not for
the mastery of the task, but for the impending reward. To address this
deficiency of extrinsic motivation, other forms of motivation are used.
Cognitive Approaches to Motivation

As we have indicated above, behavioural approaches to motivation were
found to be too inadequate to effectively and meaningfully motivate
65
learners towards their learning goals. Thus, the cognitive approaches
came into being. The move towards cognitive approaches of motivation
became particularly strong in recent years. Scholars around the world have
understood the fact that learners are not passive receivers of information,
but that they actively engage with the information they receive through
their cognition (Meece, Anderman & Anderman, 2006; Oka, 2005; Stipek,
2002; Locke & Latham, 2002; Wigfield, Byrnes & Eccles, 2006). These
Scholars all point out that learners are not motivated by the desire for a
reward, but by the inner quest to achieve. In this respect, learners will
set long-term and short-term goals in order to achieve what they want to
achieve. Learners will use their deep inner need for achievement to help
them plan what they must do and monitor their progress at every stage
(Schunk & Zimmerman, 2006; Locke & Lathan, 2002).
In a classroom situation, teachers should give each learner an
opportunity to deeply think about all their learning activities and why they
are engaged in the learning process in the first place. Such an approach
would remove the often common tendency for the students to engage in
classroom activities for the love of the external reinforcements. Learners
must be allowed to critically evaluate their learning process and be able to
make adjustments, should they require a different outcome than what they
are getting presently. We need to emphasise that this process of planning,
evaluating and making adjustments should not be a once-off occurrence.
Rather, it should be an on-going activity where learners are constantly
building a desire for higher accomplishments inside of themselves. Let us
look at yet another approach to motivation.
Social Cognitive Approach to Motivation

The social cognitive approach to motivation is composed of elements
from the behavioural approach and the cognitive approach. That means
that the social cognitive approach takes into account learners’ needs for
incentives, as well as the learners needs to fulfil their deep, inner needs
for achievement, regardless of external factors. From the social cognitive
standpoint, therefore, motivation is seen at two levels. Firstly, in the
individual’s expectations in pursuing a goal. Secondly, in the importance
that the individual attaches to the goal being pursued (Woolfolk, 2010).
For example, if a student attaches great value to practicing his/her piano
lessons, he/she will spend lots of time practicing. He/she will derive
lots of satisfaction from the progress that he/she makes in his/her piano
proficiency. In a way, the satisfaction that this particular learner enjoys
becomes a reinforcer that will propel him/her to engage in the activity
of playing the piano even more. On the other hand, the student may be
66
encouraged to practice playing the piano because he/she attaches lots of

importance to the activity.
The social cognitive approach to motivation also emphasises the
inherent need that human beings have to belong. According to Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs, all human beings have a deep seated need for love and
belongingness (Maslow, 1970). For students in a classroom situation, it is
important that their need for love and belongingness is addressed. In order
for this to be achieved, a class teacher needs to be warm and impartial to
all learners. A classroom needs to be a place where every learner feels
he/she has an equal chance to succeed. When the classroom atmosphere
is relaxed and warm, learners will be more open to receive the teaching
coming from their teacher. Finally, let us now discuss the fourth approach
to motivation.
Humanistic Approaches to Motivation

The humanistic approach to motivation stresses learners’ capacity and
freedom to make choices about what they need to do to attain personal
growth (Woolfolk, 2010). Among the major proponents of the humanistic
theory are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Maslow founded the
popular hierarchy of human needs, which he represents in a pyramid form
(see diagram below):
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
SELF-
ACTUALISATION
ESTEEM NEEDS
(Respect & Recognition)
LOVE & BELONGINGNESS

(Acceptance & Affection)
SAFETY NEEDS
(Security)
PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS
(Food, Oxygen, Water)
(Adopted from Santrock, 2008, p. 452).
67
According to Maslow (1968, 1970), all human beings have five categories
of needs as follows: Physiological needs; safety needs; love and
belongingness needs; Esteem needs; and the need for self-actualisation.
From the humanistic perspective, therefore, all human beings, without
exception, have a deep seated need for self actualisation, i.e. the need
for one to become the best that they can be. Teachers, therefore, need
to allow learners to freely pursue their learning goals. Where learners
are allowed to pursue their self chosen goals, in line with their desire for
self-actualisation, success is almost guaranteed. In line with the need
for learners to tap into their full potential, Rogers (1969) indicates that
educators need to have an unconditional positive regard towards learners.
Such a positive regard necessarily unlocks within the learners, the desire
and freedom to learn. With the attainment of learning freedom, learners
begin to attach significance and meaning to their lessons.
Thus, at the centre of the humanistic motivational perspective is the
recognition of the power that lies within learners to drive and direct their
own learning. In this respect, therefore, the job of a humanistic teacher is to
ensure that learners remain true to themselves and their self chosen goals.
As long as learners remain thus connected to their inner drive to strive for
self-actualisation, motivation will happen as an effortless consequence.
Summary
Motivation is a critical aspect in the field of learning. It refers to the way
students’ interest to learn a particular subject matter is aroused, directed,
and sustained. In this respect, motivation is comparable to the energy that
fuels learners through the learning process.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of motivation; extrinsic and
intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation comprises techniques that are
used to externally energise learners. Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand,
focuses on energising learners from inside. Extrinsic motivation is mainly
used in the behavioural and social cognitive motivational approaches,
where external rewards and/or punishments are applied in various ways to
ensure that learners’ interest to learn is sustained. Cognitive and humanistic
approaches of motivation are dominated by the use of intrinsic motivators,
whereby learners are encouraged to harness and use their inner power to
pursue their learning goals.
From our discussion of the concept of motivation, we have seen that
there is not one single motivational approach which can fully address the
learning needs of students. Best results are usually yielded when intrinsic
68
and extrinsic motivational techniques are systematically combined. Thus,
teachers need to be cognisant of the various ways in which they can
combine the different motivational techniques. Further, different learners
will prefer different motivators. Again, as far as motivation is concerned,
‘one size does not fit all’; each learner is unique and should be treated as
such.
We have included some activities below to help you establish your
understanding further.
Review Activities
1. Explain what you understand by the term motivation.
2. Using concrete examples, demonstrate how you can use intrinsic
and extrinsic motivators to motivate students.
3. Demonstrate how you can use the cognitive approaches of
motivation.
4. Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs has some educational
significance. Explain how teachers can apply the humanistic
motivational techniques to teaching-learning situations.
Behavioural approaches to motivation Motivation
Cognitive approaches to motivation Social-cognitive approaches
to motivation
Extrinsic motivation Self-actualisation
Humanistic approaches to motivation
References
Anderman, E.M., & Anderman, l.H. (2009). Motivating children and
adolescents in schools. Columbus, OH: Merrill/ Prentice-Hall.
Child, D. (1986). Psychology and the teacher. London: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston Ltd.
Dembo, H.M. (1994). Applying educational psychology. New York:
Longman publishing.
Emmer, E.T., Everston, C.M., & Worsham, M.E. (2006). Classroom
management for middle and high school teachers (7th ed.). Boston:
Allyn & Bacon.
Graham, S., & Weiner, B. (1996). Theories and principles of motivation. In
D. Berliner & R.C. Calfee (eds), Handbook of educational psychology
(pp. 63-84). New York: Macmillan.
69
Locke, E.A., & Latham, G.P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory
of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American
Psychologist, 57, 705-717.
Maslow, A.H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being (2nd ed.). New York:
Van Nostrand.
Maslow, A.H. (1970). Motivation and personality (2nd ed.). New York:
Harper and Row.
Meece, J.L., Anderman, E.M., & Anderman, L.H. (2006). Classroom
goal structures, student motivation and academic achievement. Annual
Review of Psychology, 57. Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.
Oka, E.R. (2005). Motivation. In S.W. Lee (ed.), Encyclopedia of school
psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Pintrich, P.R., Marx, R.W., & Boyle, R.A. (1993). Beyond cold perceptual
change: The role of motivational beliefs and classroom contextual
factors in the process of conceptual change’. Review of Educational
Research, 63, 167-199.
Reiss, S. (2004). Multifaceted nature of intrinsic motivation: The theory of
16 basic desires. Review of General Psychology, 8, 179-193.
Rogers, C. (1969). Freedom to learn. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill.
Santrock, J.W. (2008). Educational psychology (3rd ed.). Boston: McGraw
Hill.
Schunk, D.H., & Zimmerman, B.J. (2006). Competence and control
beliefs: Distinguishing the means and ends. In P.A. Alexander & P.H.
Winne (eds), Handbook of educational psychology (2nd ed.). Mahwah,
NJ: Erlbaum.
Stipek, D.J. (2002). Motivation to learn (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn &
Bacon.
Wigfield, A., Byrnes., & Eccles, J.S. (2006). Development during early
and middle adolescence. In P.A. Alexander & P.H. Winne (eds),
Handbook of educational psychology (2nd ed., pp. 87-113). Mahwah,
NJ: Erlbaum.
Woolfolk, A. (2010). Educational psychology (11th ed.). London: Pearson
Education International.
40
Index
Name Index
Anderson, J.R. 42, 45, 50 Huitt, W. 58, 60 Santrock, J.W. 31, 34, 37, 40-41,
Ashcraft, M.H. 43, 50 Koriat, A. 46, 50 44-46, 51, 53-54, 63-65, 67,
Baddeley, A. 36, 50 Kounin, J.S. 28, 50 70
Bandura, A. 23, 24, 28, 30 Lachter, J. 34, 50 Schenk, H. 15, 20
Bergh, Z. 8-9, 11-14, 18, 20, 25, Lages, A. 53-54, 56, 60 Schraw, G. 42-43, 51
30, 54 Lockhart, S.S. 37, 50 Schunk, D.H. 41, 45, 51, 66, 70
Bjork, R.A. 41, 51 Maslow, A. 53, 60, 67-70 Sigelman, C.K. 31, 51
Borich, G.D. 4-6, 11, 12, 20 Mayer, G.R. 25, 30 Silverman, S.K. 45, 47, 51
Burke, J.F. 54, 60 Mezzacappa, E. 36, 50 Skinner, B.F. 3, 8, 10-12, 19-20
Craik, F.I.M. 37, 50 Miller, G.A. 34, 50 Smith, F. 33, 51
Davidson, D. 36, 50 Miller, S.A. 37, 50 Smith, S.M. 41, 45, 51
Dembo, M.H. 14, 20, 65, 69 Munsaka, E. 27, 30 Sulzer-Azaroff, B. 25, 30
Driscoll, M.P. 41, 50 Myers, D.G. 42, 50 Swanepoel, B.J. 14, 20
Egan, G. 54, 60 O’Connor, J. 53-54, 56, 60 Theron, A. 8-9, 11-14, 18, 20, 30
Erasmus, B.J. 20 Olson, M.H. 1-2 Tombari, M.L. 4-6, 11-12, 20
Fontana, D. 39, 46, 50 Pansky, A. 46, 50 Van Wyk, M.W. 14, 20
Forster, K.I. 34, 50 Pavlov, I. 3-5, 8, 19 Walker, J.T. 11, 21
Glenberg, A. 41, 51 Rachlin, H.3, 30, 43 Watson, J. 3, 5-8, 19
Goldsmith, M. 46, 50 Reston, J. 57, 61 Wittrock, M.C. 29-30
Gray, P. 42-45, 50 Rider, E.A. 31, 51 Woolfolk, A. 1-3, 8-9, 12-15, 17,
Guy, T.C. 27, 30 Rogers, C. 53-57, 59-61, 67- 21, 24-26, 30, 32-33, 36-41,
Hergenhahn, B.R. 1-2 68, 70 43, 46-48, 51, 54, 63-64, 66-
Hill, W.F. 10, 20, 24, 30, 51, 70 Ruthruff, K.I. 34, 50 67, 70
71
Subject Index
A Humanistic approaches to motivation 67
Adolescence 31, 70 Humanistic psychology 53-54
Aggressive behaviour 23 Humanistic theory of learning 59
Attention phase 17, 20
I
B Implicit memory 42
Behavioural approaches to motivation 65 Information-processing model 25, 31, 32
Behavioural learning theories 3 Interference 38, 46
Bobo doll experiment 23 Intermittent reinforcement schedule 11
Intrinsic motivation 64
C
Children 23 K
chunking 37 Knowledge 1, 31
Classical conditioning 3-4, 7, 43
L
Cognitive approaches to motivation 65
Learning 1, 24, 25
Cognitive development 31
Learning theories 1, 31
Cognitive development model 31
Lesson 34
Cognitive learning theories 31
Long-term memory 33, 40, 42, 44, 46
Contextualisation 40, 41
Contiguous pairing 4, 19 M
Continuous reinforcement schedule 11 Maintenance rehearsal 38
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 67
D
Memory 32-33, 36
Decay 38
Mental processes 2, 20, 29, 31, 49
Discovery learning 60
Modelling 23-25, 27, 29
Discrimination 5
Motivation 63-68
E Motivation phase 26
Elaborative rehearsal 38 Motivational techniques 65
Emotional aspects 41, 45
N
Encoding 32
Negative punishment 13-14, 18-19
Episodic memory 42
Negative reinforcement 9-10, 13-14, 16, 18
Explicit memory 42, 44
Extinction 5 O
Extrinsic motivation 64 Observation 24, 29
Observational learning 24-25, 27-29
F Operant conditioning 3, 8, 15, 19
Fixed interval schedule 12
Fixed ratio schedule 12 P
Forgetting 38, 46 Parents 16
Peers 25
G Positive punishment 13, 17-18
Generalisation 5 Positive reinforcement 9-10, 15-16
Goals 14, 27, 29, 54 Priming 43-44
H Proactive inhibition 38, 46, 48
Hierarchy of needs 67 Procedural memory 43
Punishment 9, 13-15, 17-19, 24, 28, 64-65, 68
72
Index
Q Self-actualisation 53, 68
Questions 35, 55 Semantic memory 42
Sensory memory 33
R Sensory register 33-34, 36-37, 48
Recall 41, 47 Shaping 15
Reciprocal determinism 24 Short-term memory 33, 36-39, 44, 46, 48
Recognition 65, 67-68 Social cognitive approach to motivation 66-67
Rehearsal 25-26, 37-38, 45, 48 Social learning theory 23-24
Reinforcement 5, 7, 9-16, 18-19, 26, 28, 66 Stimuli 5-6, 8, 19, 33-34
Reinforcer 9-14, 16, 18, 26, 65-66 Stimulus 4-7, 13, 19, 24, 29
Remember 25, 37-47 Storage 32, 36-40, 44-45, 48
Repression 39, 46, 48 T
Reproduction phase 26, 29 Teacher 1, 7, 10-18, 25-28, 34-36, 39, 43,
Response 3-6, 8, 11, 19, 23-24, 56 47-48, 56-58, 63, 67-68
Retention phase25, 29 Teaching 1, 7, 11, 15-17, 27-28, 34, 39-41,
Retrieval 32, 44-45, 47-48 46-47, 54, 57-58, 63-65, 67
Retroactive inhibition 38, 46, 48 U
Review activities 19, 29, 49, 59, 69 Unconditioned response 4, 6
Reward 9, 12-13, 15-16, 27, 65-66 Unconditioned stimulus 4, 6-7, 19
Role model 38
V
S Variable interval schedule 12-13, 16
Schemas 24, 45 Variable ratio schedule 12, 16
School 7, 13-14, 17, 23, 27-28, 36, 42, 44, 54, Vicarious conditioning 7, 19
65 Vicarious learning 24
Science subjects 28 Vicarious reinforcement 29
Script 43
W
Selective attention 33-34, 48
Working memory 33, 36-37, 44-45, 48
73
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Chapter 6: Motivation, Teaching and Learning...................... 63

A Broad View of Learning

are observable and probably measurable, while the knowledge aspect of

Ivan Pavlov’s View of Learning

The Three Phases in Classical Conditioning

Phase 1: Pre-conditioning Phase

Adopted from Borich & Tombari, 1995, p. 147.

John Watson’s View of Learning

that do not naturally lead to any response) with unconditioned stimuli

The Three Phases in Watson’s Experiment

Phase 1: Pre-conditioning Phase

Adopted from Borich & Tombari, 1995, p. 147.

with an unconditioned stimulus were done. It also happened even when

Application of the Principles of Classical Conditioning to the

Skinner’s Operant Conditioning

How Consequences Affect Behaviour

that the preceding behaviour will be repeated in future, whereas, if the

Adopted from Woolfolk, 1995, p.204.

Thus, whenever an individual does something and the behaviour is followed

that he used in his experiments made a relationship between the operant

Continuous Reinforcement Schedule

presentation of reinforcers after varying periods of time. A teacher can,

Adopted from Woolfolk, 1995, p. 205.

Negative punishment on the other hand, involves the removal

Adopted from Woolfolk, 1995, p. 204.

An example of negative punishment can be that of a teacher who tells his

is a more effective technique of behaviour modification. The reason for

Application of Operant Conditioning to Teaching

may sound as if it is punishment, but actually it is not. Punishment aims to

Key Terms used in the Chapter

Walker, J.T. (1995). Psychology of learning. New York: Prentice-Hall.

Bandura’s ‘Bobo Doll’ Experiment

The Nature of Observational Learning

The Four Phases of Observational Learning

Reinforcement in Observational Learning

Application of the Social Cognitive Learning Theory to Teaching

Key Terms used in the Chapter

The Cognitive-developmental Model

How Memory Works

Adopted from Woolfolk, 1995, p. 248.

Implication of the Sensory Register for Teaching

Storage in the Short-term Memory

Forgetting in the Short-term Memory

There is a third type of forgetting known as repression. Freud (cited in

Implications of the Short-term Memory for Teaching

Storage in the Long-term Memory

Types of Long-term Memory

How Information is Retrieved from the Long-term Memory

Forgetting in the Long-term Memory

Implications of the Long-term Memory for Teaching

Key Terms used in the Chapter

Santrock, J.W. (2008). Educational psychology (3rd ed.). Boston: McGraw

The Main Principles of Humanistic Psychology

How Humanistic Psychology has Influenced Education

How to Attain Meaningful Learning

Key Terms used in the Chapter

Black publishers Ltd.

Behavioural Approach to Motivation