Psychologies of Learning

Abstract

The primary responsibility of teachers is to promote student learning. This chapter explores the schools of educational psychology and how human activities change as a result of extrinsic motivators such as incentives, rewards, and punishments. Behaviorists advocate influencing behavior through the systematic adjustments of stimulus-response reinforcements. Cognitive psychology holds that information is more likely to be acquired, retained, and retrieved for future use if it is learner-constructed, relevant, and built upon prior knowledge. Humanist psychology focuses on individual growth and development. It stems from the theory that learning occurs primarily through reflection on personal experience, and as a result of intrinsic motivation.