Psychology of Learning

Psychology of Learning is the area of psychology which provides necessary theoretical and empirical data regarding the learning process. It describes the principles of learning, motivation strategies, transfer of learning, memory, retention and forgetting. The interest in Psychology of Learning is not just in academic per se, but is useful in understanding the fundamental problems or emotional development motivation, social behaviour and personality of people.

  Definition of Learning

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour, which includes both observable activity and internal processes such as thinking, attitudes and emotions. Learning occurs right from the birth of the child and proceeds until he/she dies. Learning is acquired due to the prior experience one has gained. A child may learn from his/her environment (teacher) consciously or unconsciously, and in the process, his/her behaviour is being modified either negatively or positively. However, the essence of enrolling in the school by the students is to acquire desirable/positive behaviour under the tutelage of the teacher. To this end, learning can be described as a process by which an individual:

1. acquires a novel idea or experience to a situation;
2. retains and applies the idea, skills and knowledge in solving the confronting problems.

iii.              modify one’s behaviour by the experience gained in the past and making the change permanent.

In view of the above points, learning is considered as:

1)                relatively permanent change in behaviour

2)                not just a visible but also a manifest responses of the learner

3)                modifying the learner’s behaviour.

4)                being dependent on previously acquired experience.

Some behaviour cannot be described as being learnt because they occur at the moment of anatomical maturation. This type of learning occurs as one matures physically. For example, a child does not learn how to walk, eat or talk but acquires these skills as he/she advances in age. This behaviour is regarded as “specie-specific behaviour”.