LEARNING AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

LEARNING

INTRODUCTION

Learning occupies a very important place in our life. Most of what we do or what we do not do is influenced by what we learn and how we learn it. Learning, therefore, provides a key to the structure of our personality and behaviour. An individual starts learning immediately after his birth, or in a strict sense even earlier in the womb of the mother.

Experience, direct or indirect, is found to play a dominant role in moulding or shaping the behaviour of the individual from the very beginning. For example when a child touches, the flame of the fire, it gets burnt. The next time, when it comes across a fire it loses no time in withdrawing from it. Thus, he learns to avoid all burning things. When this happens, we say the child has learnt if one touches the flame, one gets burnt. In the same way, an individual learns from other experiences in life.

MEANING

Learning is bringing about change in the behavior of a creature. Learning occurs knowingly or unknowingly. Learning is very important in life. It is necessary to learn to progress culture and civilization. There exist individual differences in learning.

From the educational point of view, the process of modification of behaviour is termed as learning. From the psychological point of view, learning implies making the most appropriate response to stimulus. Man’s behaviour is constantly changing at every state of development.  Hence, learning is a process of change and making an individual to adjust to circumstances.

DEFINITION

• Learning is a permanent change in behavior due to experience which is a basic of psychology. However it is a process that must be assessed indirectly .We can only assume that learning has occurred by observing permanent - Robert S. Feldman.
• Learning is a process that results in permanent change in behavior or behavior potentially and is based on experience / practice - Philip G. Zimbardo & Richard J. Gerrig.
• Learning is any relatively permanent change in an individual which results from experience / training - Gates
• Learning is the acquisition of habits, knowledge and attitudes - Crow & Crow
• Learning is the acquisition of new behaviour or the strengthening or weakening of old behaviour as a result of experience - Henry P. Smith
• Learning is the process by which behaviour (in the Broader/wider sense) is originated or changes through practice or training - Kinsley and Garry
• The term learning covers every modification in behavior to meet environmental requirements- Gardener Murphy
• Learning is the process of progressive behavior adaptation – Charles E. Skinner
• Learning is the modification of our readymade behavior due to experience – Colvin
• Learning is the process by which an activity originates or is changed through teaching to an encountered situation, provided that characteristics of the change in activity cannot be explained on the basis of native response, tendencies, maturation, motivation, emotions or temporary state of organism” - E.L. Hilgard

NATURE

• Learning is adoption / adjustment with an environment.
• Learning is improvement and development.
• Learning is continuous and lifelong process.
• Learning is universal and goal oriented.
• Learning is purposeful.
• Learning is depending upon the maturation of the learners. Maturation refers to the internal growth of an individual.
• Learning gives progress in the right direction.
• Learning is acquisition or getting.
• Learning is retention of information and skill.
• Learning is both individual and social.
• Learning is relatively permanent, but subject to forgetting.
• Learning involves some form of practice, perhaps reinforced practice.
• Learning gives the change in behaviour or modifies/alters the behaviour.
• Learning involves active conscious focused on and acting upon event outside or inside organism.

PROCESS

 

1. Motives / purpose
2. Blocks / barrier
3. Goal

LEARNING CURVE

INTRODUCTION

Learning process is not always similar. There is more progress in sometimes, sometimes less and sometime absolutely nil. So, we can not find out the rate of learning. But, psychologists have attempted to measure the progress in learning. They described the progress in learning by drawing a line on the graph paper. This line is curve, and not straight. So, it is called Learning curve.

The first person to describe the learning curve was Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885. He found that the time required memorizing a nonsense syllable increased sharply as the number of syllables increased. Psychologist, Arthur Bills gave a more detailed description of learning curves in 1934. He also discussed the properties of different types of learning curves, such as negative acceleration, positive acceleration, plateaus.

DEFINITION

·        According to Skinner, a learning curve is a progress representation of person’s improvement or lack of improvement in a given activity.

·        Raimers et.al defined the learning curve as a method of partial learning of a given activity.

·        A learning curve is a graphical representation of how learning takes place in a particular situation – S.K.Mangal.

·        Learning curve refers to the graphical relationship between the amount of learning and the time it takes to learn.

PROCEDURE

In the learning curve there are two scales: horizontal and vertical. The horizontal scale is called x-axis and the vertical scale is called y-axis. For drawing the learning graphs we divided the horizontal scale (x-axis) into units of time or the numbers of trials required for learning and the vertical scale (y-axis) into units of achievement, material studied or problem solved, etc.  

STAGES

Normally learning curve comprises of four stages.

1. Initial Stage: It is also called lag phase. In lag phase the learning is merely zero for first few practices.  
2. Steep up Stage: This is the second stage. It is also called log or exponential phase. In this stage the learning is suddenly increased and rate of improvement is substantial.
3. Intermediate Stage: It is also called Stationary Phase. Now, there is no progress in learning or improvement is arrested. So, it is called Plateau.  Skinner says ‘a plateau is a horizontal stretch indicative of apparent progress.’ It places an important role in learning process because when such a stage is reached, a learning curve becomes almost flat.

Reasons for Plateau in learning:

·         Poor or faulty method of learning

·         Physical and mental fatigue or boredom

·         Too much difficulty or complexity of the learning material

·         Lack of proper motivation and loss of interest of the learner

·         Poor and unfavorable environment

·         Distraction and inattention of the learner

·         Satisfaction of the learner with moderate achievement

4. Final Stage: this is the final stage. Here the learner has reach the maximum limit of the improvement.     

TYPES

            There are three types of learning curve based on the units which plotted.

1. Concave Curve

This learning curve is also called positively accelerated curve. It depicts slow initial improvement in learning that increases with time leading towards the mastery of learning materials. At the initial the rate of progress may be slower, but at the final the learning rate increases noticeably. This learning curve is often occurring in the learning situation. Here the task may be new one or difficult one to the student at the beginning. But with the increasing practice he is mastery over that at the end.      

2. Convex Curve

This learning curve is also called negatively accelerated curve. It depicts rapid initial improvement in learning that decreases with time. At the initial the rate of progress may be faster, but at the final the learning rate slows down noticeably. This learning curve is occurring in the learning situations where the task is simple or learner has had previous practice on a similar task.              

           

3. Concave-Convex Curve

                  The third curve involves the combination of the first two concave and convex curves, is known as Concave-Convex Curve.  It looks like an English letter ‘S’. So called S-shaped curve. In the beginning this is depending upon the nature of the learner, learning material and the learning environment. It is normally obtained where the situation the learner study the entire learning from zero performance to its mastery.

CHARACTERISTICS

1. There is an initial improvement whether it is slow or rapid.
2. No stage learning progress is uniform. There are various ups and downs (spurts) in the learning curve even a general acceleration is recorded.
3. In between the beginning and end of the learning curve, there is no improvement in learning is called plateau (flat or stationary stage).
4. At the final stage in the learning curve, we can find whether there is any little learning or no learning takes place.
5.  After reaching the stationary stage or plateau the learning curve again shows some improvement with spurts.

           

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

·        The teacher should keep in his mind the individual differences of the learners.

·        The teacher has to choose or use proper method of teaching and techniques and environment by the guidance of the learning curves of his students.

·        The students may acquaint with their own progress in learning. It can give them the opportunity of self-appraisal.

·        The unusual spurt reveals about the fatigue, poor motivation, poor method of teaching and other personality characters of the learner.  The teacher can make use of his knowledge in studying the behaviour of the student and eliminate the plateau.

·        Efficient methods creating interest, making aware of the goals, moving simple to complex, providing motivation, minimizing the distraction factors are used to eliminate the plateau.

FACTORS INFLUENCING LEARNING

Learning is the comprehensive process. The success of this process depends not only upon the effective teaching but also upon so many group factors. The factors related with the learner, the teacher and the environment are seen responsible as a determinant of quality, nature and speed of learning.

FACTORS RELATED TO THE LEARNER:

1.    The learner himself: The learner is the pivot of any learning activity. All activities turn around them. So, every learning activity is according to his interest, needs, aptitude, physical and mental capacities. The learner with high interest, attitude and needs etc. can study easily and quickly than others. The pupils without interest, good attitude will find very difficult with the learning material.

2.    Intelligence: It is the main factor that influences learning. The proof for this factor is very commonly found in the classroom. According to his intelligence, we divide the students in various categories like gifted, brilliant, average, below average and slow learner normally. The learner with high intelligence can learn better and easy than low intelligence.

3.    Age: Maturation of the individual makes a difference in the total learning of an individual, experience also accounts for a difference both of which are linked up with age. So, we find that children are speedier and more efficient at the learning tasks as they grow older.

4.    Willingness to learn: The will to learn is always labeled as a factor determining the amount of learning. Willingness is determined by the interest, desires and the purpose of the individual.

5.    Guidance: The leaner with proper guidance should aim at developing initiative and discourage the tendency to seek ready made solutions. The pupil with excessive or no guidance always leads to failure in learning.

6.     Educational Background: Educational background of the learner is a vital factor that affects his learning. The students come from well educated background may learn better than the students come from illiterate family.  Student may be backward in all subjects or in a particular subject. The students are backward in all subjects called as general backwardness and students weak in particular subject called as specifically backward.  

7.     Health Status: The health of the learner should be sound. The health should be in all domains of cognitive, affective and psychomotor. The teachers and parents help the children to maintain the health in a good condition.

8.      Attitude: It refers to the predisposition of an individual towards a person or a subject. If the learner having positive attitude towards the subject can learn better than the learners having negatively attitude.

9.    Level of Aspiration:  The leaner having high level of aspiration learn better than the learner low level of aspiration.

10. Anxiety: it is the nervousness or worry of the learner. Leaner with mild anxiety can learn better than more anxiety.

11. Motivation: Motivation is one of the basic principles for effective and purposeful learning. The learner with proper motivation having strong desire for strong learning. 

FACTORS RELATED TO THE TEACHER:

1.     Knowledge of the Subject: Teacher’s knowledge of the subject, his experience and ability has direct relationship with the learning of the students. The teachers having thorough knowledge with the subjects can make the students to understand the subjects. If a teacher does not possesses deep knowledge of his subject he can not give much enough to his students.

2.     Teachers Behaviour: Teacher behaviour influences the learning of students directly. A teacher should inherit all the essential qualities of a good teacher such as sympathy, kindness, cooperation, objectivity, oration skill, listening skill, sweet tempered and polite etc.

3.     Knowledge of Psychology: Every teacher must have extensive knowledge of psychology without which can be neither know the student nor set the stage of learning. Knowledge of psychology only makes the teacher fully competent and enthusiastic in dealing with his students.

4.     Methods of Teaching: Teaching methods have a direct link with learning process. Consequently, each teacher has a unique method of teaching. The traditional methods of teaching were more formalized, conservative, teacher dominated as opposed to modern, more flexible pupil involved, learner centered methods.

5.     Knowledge of Individual differences: It is must for the teacher, because each student is unique in his own interest, attitudes, aptitudes, needs, potentialities, capabilities, values, intelligence, etc. The teachers have to face and fulfill learning thirst of all his students apart from all individual differences. So, knowledge of individual differences is essential to the teacher.

6.     Personality:  Good and appealing personality is the basis of successful and effective teaching. Teachers are the role model and leader to their students. Students keenly observed the teachers personality and go behind. From this point of view the personality of the teacher must attract and influence the learning.   

7.     Skills: The teacher must be familiar with the skills of motivation, use of teaching aids, evaluation and guidance. If the teacher having good skills that will influence the students learning positively.

The following teacher related factors also influence learning.

8.     Mental abilities and capacity of the teacher

9.     Educational and academic qualifications

10.  Capacity of Classroom Management

11.  Job involvement and responsibility

12.  Communicative competencies

 

FACTORS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENT:     

1. Healthy School Environment
2. Favourable Classroom climate
3.  

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY

INTRODUCTION      

Ivan Pavlov (1849 – 1936), a Russian psychologist developed the concept of classical conditioning. Actually classical conditioning was first outlined by the psychologist Twitmeyer but Ivan Pavlov took the credit for discovering classical conditioning in 1911. This is also known as “Pavlovian conditioning”.

DEFINITIONS

• Classical conditioning is a form of associative learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus and acquires the capacity to elicit a similar response.
• Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which an organism learns to connect or associate stimuli. 

PAVLOV EXPERIMENT

           

Pavlov conducted his famous experiment upon a pet dog. A hungry dog is tied on the experimental table. A tube is connected to the dog’s salivary glands. When the experiment started, a bell was rung at the moment when the dog was given food. Initially, it was observed that saliva naturally began to flow as soon as the dog saw the food. Every time when the food was given before the dog, the bell was rung. After sometimes the bell was rung but food was withdrawn i.e. not given. However, it was found that this time also the saliva was secreted from the salivary gland of the dog.

PHASES

There are three phases in Classical Conditioning. They are

1. Pre-conditioning Phase / before conditioning

            Bell Tone (CS) – No Salivation (CR)

            Food (US) – Salivation (UR)

2. Conditioning Phase / during conditioning:

Bell Tone (CS) + Food (US) – Salivation (UR)

3. After Conditioning:

Bell Tone (CS) – Salivation (CR)

KEY TERMS

1. Unconditional Stimulus (US) - Food

·         A stimulus that elicits a particular response without any prior learning.

·         A thing that can already elicit a response.

2. Unconditional Response (UR) - Salivation

·         The unlearned response elicited by an unconditional stimulus.

·         A thing that is already elicited by a stimulus.

3. Conditional Response (CR)

·         A learned response to a stimulus that was not originally capable of producing the response.

·         The following factors influence the formation of conditional response. These include

1.    Practice

2.    Time

3.    Motive

4.    Intelligence

5.    Age

6.    Mental Health

4. Conditional Stimulus (CS) – Bell Tone

·         An initially neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a particular response after being paired with unconditional stimulus that always elicits the response.

·         A new stimulus which we deliver at the same time when we give the old stimulus

5. Conditional Relationship / Association

·         The new stimulus – response relationship created by associating a new stimulus with an old response.

LAWS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

1.    Law of Causation

      Repetition of controlled stimulus (Bell Tone) followed by the uncontrolled stimulus (Food) leads to response.

2.    Law of Extinction

If the controlled stimulus (Bell Tone) is not followed by the uncontrolled stimulus (Food) the controlled response may gradually disappear. Gradual weakening and disappearance of a learned response occurs because the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus or the response is no longer reinforced.

3.    Law of Reinforcement

      Food which has a reinforcement effect strengthens the bond between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned response

4.    Law of Generalization

      A selective controlled response can be established by selective reinforcement. The fact that one stimulus can be substituted for another and produce same response that the former stimulus did

5.    Law of Discrimination

Once the controlled response is established, it may be elicited by any stimulus. The process of differentiation and responding differently to stimuli varies on one or more dimension, sort of the opposite of Generalization

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

The day-to-day learning at home and school consists of plenty of examples where the child learns through conditioning.

1.    Development of Attitude: We develop many of our attitudes, prejudices, fears as well as perceptual meaning through conditioning. A child who has received painful injection may develop fear of any doctor.

2.    Teaching: Some academic learning like knowledge on multiplication of tables, historic dates, spelling is probably explained in terms of conditional response.

3.    Emotional stability: It provides a cure for children suffering from mental ill-heath and also provides emotional stability. 

4.    Cognitive Process: Modern views of classical conditioning emphasize the important role of cognitive process. It is useful in the acquisition of speech, language development, forming good habits, knowing names of various articles, temperament and study habits.

5.    Basic principles of classical conditioning can be used to increase our understanding of phobias and drug overdoses.

OPERANT CONDITIONING

INTRODUCTION

B.F Skinner was a professor Emeritus at Harvard University and a leader in the field of behaviourism. His work focused on explaining the causes of behaviour by looking at events in the environment and organisms’ response. Skinner considers an operant as “a set of acts” which constitutes an organism’s doing something e.g. pressing the lever.

DEFINITION

o   Operant Conditioning is the learning process whereby a response is made more probable or more frequent and operant is strengthened i.e. reinforced - A.B. Bhatnagar

o   A process through which organisms learn to repeat behaviours that yield positive outcomes or permit them to avoid or escape from negative outcomes - Robert A. Baron

o   Operant conditioning is also called instrumental conditioning. This is a form of learning in which the consequences of behaviour produce changes in the probability that the behaviour will occur – John W. Santrock.

SKINNER’S EXPERIMENT

He conducted his experiment with rats and pigeons. He kept a rat inside a skinner’s box.  The rat was kept hungry.  Skinner wanted the rat to learn to press the lever in the cage.

When the rat was inside the cage it went this way and that way. It made many casual movements. In one such movement, it accidentally pressed the lever.  This was just a casual behaviour of the rat.  It was emitted by the rat accidentally. Now this (pressing the lever) was what Skinner wanted that rat to learn. Immediately food was given to the rat. The rat began to emit this casual behaviour more often. Each time it did this casual behaviour, food was given. Here food is responsible for making the desired behaviour. The operant behaviour is conditioned to become the usual operant behaviour by reinforcement. This is called Operant Conditioned Learning.

TYPES OF RESPONSE

• Elicited (draw out) by known stimuli which is called Respondent Behaviour
• Emitted (give out) by the unknown stimuli which is called Operant Behaviour

REINFORCEMENT CONTINGENCIES

Reinforcement (reward):  A consequence that increases the probability that behaviour will occur. A reinforcement contingency is a consistent relationship between a response and the changes in the environment that it produces. There are two types of reinforcement.

1. Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcer is any stimulus that when made dependent on behaviour increases the probability of that behaviour over time. The delivery of a positive reinforcer dependent on a response is called positive reinforcement.

2. Negative Reinforcement

Negative reinforcer is any stimulus that when removed, reduced, prevented, increases the probability of a given response over time. The removal, reduction of prevention of a negative reinforcer following a response is called negative reinforcement.

SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

Rules determining when and how reinforcement will be delivered, Skinner has suggested the following schedules of reinforcement.

1. Fixed Ratio Schedule: Fixed ratio reinforcement is given when the frequency of reinforcement depends on the rate at which responses are given i.e. the pallet of food is delivered after each fourth, eighth responses.
2. Variable Ratio Schedule: In a variable ratio schedule the reinforcer is presented after a different number of responses on different occasions.  Sometimes the difference amounts to one or sometimes two.  Thus, the digit goes on changing as one, four, seven, nine etc.
3. Fixed Interval Schedule: On a fixed interval schedule a fixed interval of time has to elapse before the reinforcer can be presented i.e. every 2 minutes or 4 minutes.  This is also known as periodic reinforcement.
4. Variable Interval Schedule: When the interval between reinforcement randomly varies, it is known as a variable interval schedule. In this situation the subject is reinforced on a time interval basis but the interval of time is indefinite.

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

Skinner’s operant conditioning theory is of great importance in teaching – learning situations. The programmed learning originated from Skinnerian principle and it works based on operant conditioning.

1. Shaping of behaviour: The teacher can use this principle in teaching a socially acceptable form of behaviour to the students. He can generate the desired pattern of behaviour by controlling the stimulus.
2. Knowledge of results: If the student is aware of his progress and result of learning, he can make progress in his learning.
3. Reinforcement: It is very essential in the teaching – learning process. Positive reinforcers make the learning better.
4. Satisfaction: Skinner proved that satisfaction encourages and inspires activity and this strengthens the learning process.
5. Small Steps: The division of the learning material into many small steps improves and strengthens the learning process.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CLASSICAL AND OPERANT CONDITIONING

Sl. No.	Classical Conditioning	Operant Conditioning
1.	Developed by Russian (Pavlov) experiment.	Developed by American (Skinner) experiment
2.	The learner is not independent in this type of learning.	The learner is independent in this type of learning.
3.	Classical conditioning is restricted to animal learning only.	Operant conditioning may be useful for the purpose of human learning also.
4.	Stimulus oriented.	Response oriented.
5.	Behaviour is elicited.	Behaviour is emitted.
6.	Reinforcement comes before the act.	Reinforcement comes after the act.
7.	Learning through stimulus substitution.	Learning through response modification.
8.	Response is forced.	Response is voluntary.

CONNECTIONISM

EDWARD THORNDIKE

Edward Lee Thorndike was an American psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University. His work on animal behavior and the learning process led to the theory of connectionism and helped lay the scientific foundation for modern educational psychology. He served as president of the American Psychological Association in 1912.

 

CONNECTIONISM

One of Thorndike's major contributions to the study of Psychology was his work with animals. Through long, extensive research with these animals, he constructed device called ‘Puzzle Box.’

Thorndike placed a hungry cat inside a box and put a piece of fish outside. To escape from the box, the cat had to learn how to open the latch inside the box. At first the cat made a number of ineffective responses. It clawed or bit at the bars and thrust its paw through the openings. Eventually, the cat accidentally stepped on the lever that released the door bolt. When the cat was returned to the box, it went through the same random activity until it stepped on the lever once more. On subsequent trials, the cat made fewer and fewer random movements, until it immediately pushed the lever to open the door.

LAWS

From the above experiment Thorndike proposed the following laws.

1. Law of Effect

The principle that behaviours followed by positive outcomes are strengthened and that behaviours followed by negative outcomes are weakened.

2.    Law of Readiness

A series of responses can be chained together to satisfy some goal which will result in annoyance / irritation if blocked.

3.    Law of Exercise

The law of exercise stated that stimulus-response associations are strengthened with practice and weakened when practice is discontinued.

PRINCIPLES

The classic example of Thorndike's S-R theory was a cat learning to escape from a "puzzle box" by pressing a lever inside the box. After much trial and error behavior, the cat learns to associate pressing the lever (S) with opening the door (R). This S-R connection is established because it results in a satisfying state of affairs (escape from the box). The law of exercise specifies that the connection was established because the S-R pairing occurred many times (law of exercise) and was rewarded (law of effect) as well as forming a single sequence (law of readiness).

 

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

The Law of Readiness:

            It is preparation for action. It is very essential for learning. If the child is ready to learn, he learns more quickly, effectively with greater satisfaction. The teacher should motivate the students by arousing their interest, attention and curiosity.

The Law of Effect:

            It means that learning takes place properly when it results in satisfaction and the learner derives pleasure out of it. Getting reward as a result of some learning motivates the child to proceed on the same path with more intensity and enthusiasm, while punishment of any sort discourages him and creates distaste towards that learning.

The Law of Exercise:

It has two sub-parts namely law of use and law of disuse. The law of use refers to the strengthening of connection between stimulus and response with practice. The law of disuse refers to the weakening of connection between stimulus and response and forgetting when practice is discontinued. Children learn by doing and forget by not doing, although to a small extent only. The law of exercise emphasizes on the need of repetition, practice and drill work in the process of learning.

KOHLER’S INSIGHT LEARNING THEORY

INTRODUCTION

Wolfgang Kohler was one of the founders of Gestalt psychology along with Max Wertheimer and Kurt Koffka. He is famous for his description of insight learning which he tested on animals, particularly chimpanzees.

Kohler was born in Reval, Estonia on January 21, 1887. His family moved to Germany when he was six years old, and he was raised in Wolfenbuttel. In Berlin, he did his Ph.D. research on psycho-acoustics, and studied under the likes of Max Planck (physics) and Karl Stumpf (psychology).

After completing his Ph.D., Kohler worked at the Psychological Institute in Frankfurt-am-Main, where he met Max Wertheimer and Kurt Koffka. Together, they formed a new branch of psychology called Gestalt. They opposed the structuralist view and argued that the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. While generally thought of in relation to perception, the ideas of Gestalt had applications in other areas of psychology. He also worked at the American Universities of Clark, Harvard and Chicago. He died on June 11, 1967.

LEARNING

• Learning is the process by which behavior is originated or changes through practice or training - Kingsley and Garry.
• Learning is the acquisition of new behavior or the strengthening or weakening of old behavior as the result of experience - Henry P. Smith.
• The term learning covers every modification in behavior to meet environmental requirements - Gardener Murphy.
• Learning is the process of progressing behavior adaptation - Charles E. Skinner.
• Learning is the acquisition of habits, knowledge and attitude - Crow and Crow.
• Learning is the modification of our readymade behavior due to experience – Colvin.

INSIGHTFUL LEARNING THEORY

Sometimes it is seen that a person learns something in one attempt than by several trials and errors methods.  When a person has the whole situation before him, he observes the whole situation extensively.  It is called the method of Insightful Learning. When a person is presented with the whole situation, then he would make use of insight. So, sudden appearance of the solution is an essential characteristic of insightful learning.

 Attention was drawn to this method by Kohler. Kohler rejected Thorndike for the reason that he did not present the whole situation before his subjects. The situation of the case comes before the rat or cat in a bound form.

To prove this opinion, Kohler has done two experiments.

                

  Experiment - 1

            Kohler performed an experiment with six chimpanzees in his laboratory in the Canary Islands. He kept the animals in a room which had smooth unclimbable walls. A banana was suspended from ceiling and three boxes were put in the middle of the room, two or three yards (1 yard = 3 feet) away from the banana. A stick was also placed nearby. All the six chimpanzees jumped repeatedly for the banana but could not get it. Then Sultan one of the most intelligent chimpanzees, who had shown himself in the other test also, after surveying the whole situation paced up and down, suddenly placed in front of the box, moved it quickly towards the goal, climbed, picked up the stick and finally placed the three boxes one over the other to secure the banana, taking only twenty seconds in his final continuous act with the boxes. The other apes acquired the performance with some difficulty. In this way a number of experiments were performed.

Experiment - 2

            With a slight modification in his previous experiment Kohler performed one more experiment on chimpanzee named Sultan.  In this experiment Kohler put Sultan, the most intelligent of the apes in a cage and some banana was placed outside the cage, beyond the reach of Sultan. Two bamboo sticks (cane), each too short to reach the banana, were also placed inside the cage.  However, the two sticks were constructed in such a way that they could be joined by fitting one into the open end of the other. Sultan indulges in much, trial and error and tried to reach the banana with one stick, but failed. After making various kinds of attempts the chimpanzee squat indifferently on the box kept in the rear of the cage. After some time he got up the two sticks and started playing carelessly with them. In course of play, he found himself holding one stick in each hand in such a way that they made a straight line. He pushed the thinner stick into the opening of the thicker one, and realizing that he had a longer stick rushed to the other side of the cage and got the banana. On the next day, he needed only a short time to get banana. Thus Kohler emphasized suddenness with which the right solution appeared and chimpanzee’s behavior was not due to trial and error but due to his insight.

CHARACTERISTICS

            The following are the important characteristics of the insight learning behavior.

1. Survey, inspection or persistent examination of problematic situation.
2. Hesitation, pause attitude of concentrated attention.
3. Trial of more or less adequate mode of response.
4. In case, initial mode of response proves inadequate, trial of some other mode of response then transition from one method to other is being sharp and often sudden.
5. Persistent or frequently recurrent attention to the objective or goal and motivation in that way.
6. Appearance of critical point at which the organism suddenly, directly and definitely performs the required adaptive act.
7. Ready repetition of adaptive response after once performed.

FACTORS

Though Kohler seemed to see insightful learning in terms of a sudden ‘aha’ or a bolt of lightening, it is found to depend upon factors such as:

1. Experience

Past experience helps in the insightful solution of problems.  A child cannot solve the problems of modern mathematics unless he is familiar with its symbolic language.

2. Intelligence

Insightful solution depends upon the basic intelligence of the learner. The more intelligent the individual, the greater will be his insight.

3. Learning Situation

How insightfully an individual will react depends upon the situation in which he has been placed. Some situations are more conductive to insightful solution than others.

4. Initial Efforts

Insightful learning has to pass the process of trial and error, but this stage does not last long.  These initial efforts in the form of a simple trial and error mechanism open the way for insightful learning.

5. Repetition and Generalization

After obtaining an insightful solution of a particular type of problem, the individual tries to implement it in another situation, demanding a similar type of solution. The solution found in one situation helps him to react insightfully in other identical situations.

PRINCIPLES

(a) Law of Similarity

This is the principle which determines the formation of groups in perception such as groups of lines, dots, or similar pairs. E.g.:                  

+ + + + + +

-  -  -  -  -  -

x x x x x x

%%%%%%

x x x x x x

-  -  -  -  -  -

+ + + + + +

(b) Law of Proximity

Nearness of the parts helps to form group. Items tend to form groups if they are spaced together.

 

            Parallel lines

(c)  Law of Closure

Closed areas more readily form a group. This law also means that when the perception of the situation is incomplete, the individual is not able to solve the problem. The problem is solved when he is able to bring the separate parts of the situation together into a closed perceptual figure, consisting of the goal and the means of obtaining the goal.         

 

(d) Law of Continuity

In perception one tends to continue with a series as straight lines and curves as circle. This law indicates the tendency of factors to act in a manner whereby they show the direction, movement and continuation.

­

e) Law of Contrast

A perception or an idea tends to suggest the contrary opposite. For instance adversity/hardship reminds a person of his days of prosperity.  Similarly, the heat of summer suggests the cold of winter, in these laws of learning is brought out the Gestalt point of view that the organizational capacity of the brain makes to grasp the whole in priority with the parts.

 

IMPLICATIONS

1. Helplessness to Mastery

           In some moment of life, people feel helplessness and no solution to the problem, but as they gets the solution they becomes master of the problem.

            In class room situation sometimes student feels helplessness or tension and then in second moment he gets the solution and becomes master of the problem. Teacher creates tension in the class by asking a question. By some assistance, the student can reach a stage of mastery. This indication of insightful learning has great impact in teaching-learning situation.

 2. Good Retention

        This is the indication of insightful behaviour. The chimpanzee could retain the means and goal (boxes and banana) for reaching next time. This insightful behavior can be indicated by good retention of the learner.

3. Trail and Error

                 Gestalt psychologists have demonstrated the value of insight. They have not disproved the value of trail and error. Trail and error is relationally ‘blind’ in the sense of lacking foresight of the result of a move. Insight means perception of those parts of the situation that provide a route to the goal.

4. Transfer

            Transfer of learning in one situation can be transferred to other situation i.e. due to insightful behavior. The insightful behaviour helps the learner to identify the elements, which can be transferred to another situation. NSS, NCC, Mathematic, language can be transferred to future life or vocational education has greater value because it is life oriented education.

5. Originality

            Originality in insightful learning implies novel behavior or new manner in the situation. It is not action-research or trail and error method, because in insightful learning goal and means are visible but he has to fill up the gap. Trail and error is not goal oriented. Insightful behavior is goal oriented. The originality is needed in fulfilling the gap between means and goal.

6. Confidence

            A person who has insight will be well confident; one who has no insight will not have confidence. Chimpanzee’s (Sultan’s) behavior shows great confidence when he receives banana. In teaching-learning situation, it has important role. The important factor for effective teaching is confidence of the teacher. Result of teaching can be evaluated with regard to student’s confidence in the content. Insightful learning can create confidence among the students.

OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

Definitions

1.    Learning brings about change in the behavior of a creature. Learning occurs by know or unknown. Learning is very important in life. It is necessary to learn to progress culture and civilization. There exist individual difference is learning - Dr.Ram Shakal Pandey.

2.    Any relatively permanent change in behavior or behavior potential resulting from experience is called learning.

3.    Learning is a permanent change in behavior due to experience is a basic topic of psychology. How ever it is a process that must be assessed indirectly .We can only assume that learning has occurred by observing permanent - Robert S. Feldman.

4.    Learning is the acquisition of knowledge and attitude -  Crow and Crow

5.    Learning consists in doing something new provided the new activity is reinforced and can reappear in later activities - R.S.Wood Worth

     

OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

1. Observational learning means the acquisition of new information, concepts of forms of behavior through exposure to others and the consequences they experience -Robert A. Baron.
2. Observational learning means, learning through observations of others (models) -Robert S. Feldman.
3. The individual after simply watching another person exhibiting behavior that was reinforced or punished later behaves in much the same way or refrains from doing so. This is known as observational learning -Philip G. Zimhardo.
4. Observational is the process by which an organism learns new responses by observing the behavior of a model and then imitating it -Dr.Prem Prakash.

SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES

1. Attention:

        First, in order to learn through observation you must direct your attention to appropriate models –that is to other persons performing an activity. And as you might expect you don’t choose such models at random but focus most attention on people who are attractive to you.

2. Retention:

        Second, you must be able to remember what the persons have said or done. Only if you can retain some representation of their actions in memory can you perform similar actions at later times or acquire useful information from them.

3. Production process:

          Third, you need to be converting these memory representations into appropriate actions. Production process depend on

                1. Your own physical abilities.

                2. Your capacity to monitor, your own performance and adjust it until it matches that of the model.

4. Motivation:

         Finally, motivation plays a role. We often acquire information through observational learning but do not put it into immediate use in our own behavior .He observed behaviors may involve high risk of punishment or repugnant to you personally.

As when you observe an ingenious way of cheating during an exam but don’t want to try it yourself. Only if the information or behaviors acquired are useful will observers put them to actual use.

Learning by Imitation

1. Imitation method of learning is very important. Much of our learning is based on imitation .Learning by imitation is a major method of man. Children learn by imitation many things. Cats, dogs, rats and other such lower grade animals can not be benefited much from this method.
2. Of course, apes and chimpanzees use this method.
3. Many kind of our behavior are based on imitation. Our speech, walking, rising, sitting, running etc. is based on imitation. Human children get many good and bad habits by imitation. 
4. The imitation method seems to be better quality than the trial and error method and insight method. This method is found in the creatures of high level. A child learns language by imitation.
5. For experimented carried out on a cat. Two cats were selected one was very proficient and the second quite negligent. The proficient cat was put to work and other cat was made to sit idle. The second cat looked at the proficient cat working and when the proficient had finished the task, the second cat was left at that place. The second cat could not do any action.

GAGNÉ'S HIERARCHY OF LEARNING

Introduction:

Robert Gagne's (in Anand, 1998 and Barba,1997) research deals with the foundations of effective instruction. He combines theories of behaviour modification with competency-based education. Gagne sees learning as a kind of information processing. It is progressive or sequential, building upon previous knowledge. He defines 5 categories of learning:

1. Verbal information (this consists of a student stating desired information).
2. Intellectual skills (involves the student in knowing how to perform an act).
3. Cognitive strategies (internally organised capabilities that a learner employs in guiding his processes of attending, learning, remembering, and thinking).
4. Attitudes (internal states of organisms that influence actions).
5. Motor skills (activities such as driving a car or playing a musical instrument).

Into his findings:

In 1956, the American educational psychologist Robert M. Gagné proposed a system of classifying different types of learning in terms of the degree of complexity of the mental processes involved. He identified eight basic types, and arranged these in the hierarchy shown below within the box. According to Gagné, the higher orders of learning in this hierarchy build upon the lower levels, requiring progressively greater amounts of previous learning for their success. The lowest four orders tend to focus on the more behavioural aspects of learning, while the highest four focus on the more cognitive aspects.

Increasing complexity

8.  Problem Solving 7.  Rule Learning 6.  Concept Learning 5.  Discrimination Learning 4.  Verbal Association 3.  Chaining 2.  Stimulus-Response Learning 1.  Signal Leaning

1. Signal Learning.

This is the simplest form of learning, and consists essentially of the classical conditioning first described by the behavioural psychologist Pavlov. In this, the subject is 'conditioned' to emit a desired response as a result of a stimulus that would not normally produce that response. This is done by first exposing the subject to the chosen stimulus (known as the conditioned stimulus) along with another stimulus (known as the unconditioned stimulus) which produces the desired response naturally; after a certain number of repetitions of the double stimulus, it is found that the subject emits the desired response when exposed to the conditioned stimulus on its own. The applications of classical conditioning in facilitating human learning are, however, very limited.

2. Stimulus-response learning.

This somewhat more sophisticated form of learning, which is also known as operant conditioning, was originally developed by Skinner. It involves developing desired stimulus-response bonds in the subject through a carefully-planned reinforcement schedule based on the use of 'rewards' and 'punishments'. Operant conditioning differs from classical conditioning in that the reinforcing agent (the 'reward' or 'punishment') is presented after the response. It is this type of conditioning that forms the basis of programmed learning in all its various manifestations.

3. Chaining.

This is a more advanced form of learning in which the subject develops the ability to connect two or more previously-learned stimulus-response bonds into a linked sequence. It is the process whereby most complex psychomotor skills (eg riding a bicycle or playing the piano) are learned.

4. Verbal association.

This is a form of chaining in which the links between the items being connected are verbal in nature. Verbal association is one of the key processes in the development of language skills.

5. Discrimination learning.

This involves developing the ability to make appropriate (different) responses to a series of similar stimuli that differ in a systematic way. The process is made more complex (and hence more difficult) by the phenomenon of interference, whereby one piece of learning inhibits another. Interference is thought to be one of the main causes of forgetting.

6. Concept learning.

This involves developing the ability to make a consistent response to different stimuli that form a common class or category of some sort. It forms the basis of the ability to generalise, classify etc.

7. Rule learning.

This is a very-high-level cognitive process that involves being able to learn relationships between concepts and apply these relationships in different situations, including situations not previously encountered. It forms the basis of the learning of general rules, procedures, etc.

8. Problem solving.

This is the highest level of cognitive process according to Gagné. It involves developing the ability to invent a complex rule, algorithm or procedure for the purpose of solving one particular problem, and then using the method to solve other problems of a similar nature.

MEMORY

Introduction

Actually we are learning continuously, remembering and forgetting. Learning plays a significant role in all walks of human life. For effective learning it is essential that we should be able to preserve our past experiences and learning and make use of them whenever needed. In the psychological world this ability of retention and repeating is known as memory.

Memory is the function of the mind by virtue of which it records, retains and reproduces ideas, gained by its own activity.

Definitions

Psychologists have provided a variety of definitions on memory. Thus definitions throw light upon various aspects of memory and elaborate its characteristics. The following are some of the more enlightening definitions.

1. Memory is the capacity to retain and later retrieve information
2. Memory is a process to bring our experience, learned earlier, into present.
3. Memory is an ideal repetition, in which the objects of part of experience are as far as possible in the order and manner of their original occurrence – Stout.
4. Memory consists in remembering what has previously been learned. – Woods worth.
5. The power that we need to store our experience and to bring them into the field of consciousness sometime after the experiences have occurred is termed as Memory – Ryburn.
6. A memory is a new experience determined by the disposition laid down by pervious experience, the relation between the two being clearly apprehended - J.S. Ross

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD MEMORY

1.    Rapid  learning

           The quicker an object is observed, the quicker is its memorization. Rapidity is in learning is influenced by the methods of learning, environment and ability.

2.    Good retention

            A person’s memory is considered good if he has good power of retention, and an individual who can retain any experience for a long period of time is said to possess a good memory. Students possessing little or limited powers of retention face difficulties in passing their examination.

3.    Rapid recall

            It is a characteristic of memory that whatever is learned or experienced should be recalled quickly. Some people are often found saying that something is on the tip of their tongues but they cannot recall it. This is a case of weak recall; on the other hand, it is the individual with a good memory who can recall past experience quick.                  

4.    Rapid recognition

            Another important feature of a good memory is that of rapid recognition, because in our routine life there are many situations and experience, which should be recognized at once. A person possessing a good memory immediately recognizes related experiences and patterns.

SPAN OF MEMORY

As a general rule, a person remembers any specific fact up to a particular point in time or within a space limit size. A telephone number consisting of 4 to 5 digits may be memorized on being heard only once. But, if the number consists of 10 to 12 digits, it is not possible to memorize it on hearing it once or even twice or thrice. If a person can remember a number consisting of 10 to 12 digits, it must be said that he possess an exceptionally good memory.

In the measurement of memory, individual differences are found because while one person can memorize a number of six digits or six words, another is capable of memorizing a large number of ten digits or ten words. It is possible to raise the higher limit of memory. The term “span of memory” is used to denote the maximum memory.      

BASIC TASKS OF MEMORY

1. Encoding - The process of entering the information into memory.
2. Storage - The process of retaining the information from memory after some period of time.
3. Retrieval - The process of locating the stored information in memory and accessing specific information when it is needed.

KINDS OF MEMORY SYSTEM

1. Sensory Memory

This is a memory system that retains representations of sensory input for a few moments at a time. It provides temporary storage of information brought by our senses.

2. Short-term memory

Short-term memory holds relatively small amounts of information for brief periods of time- usually thirty seconds or less. This is the memory system you use when you look up a phone number and dial it immediately. Many experts view it as a kind of system for temporarily holding information you are using or processing right now. It is also called as ‘Working Memory’.

3. Long- term memory

It is a memory system for the retention of large amounts of information over long periods of time i.e. up to an entire lifetime. According to the levels of processing view, the greater the effort involved in processing information, the more strongly it is entered into memory. Information placed in long-term memory must be found when needed. Example:  1. What is your name? 2. What is your date of birth?

PROCESS OF MEMORY

Sensory memory provides temporary storage of information brought by our sense. Information in sensory memory enters short-term memory when it becomes the focus of attention; sensory impressions that do not engage attention fade and quickly disappear. So where memory is concentrated, selective attention (our tendency to pay attention to only some aspects of the world around us while largely ignoring others) often plays a vital role. In contrast, information in short-term memory enter to long-term memory storage through elaborative rehearsal (when we think about its meaning and relate it to others information already in long-term memory).

TYPES OF MEMORY

If we classify memory after reflecting on all aspects, one fact will become clear and this fact is that every individual has a different capacity for memorizing a particular fact.

1.    Immediate memory

            This kind of memory relates to a situation in which any memorized element has to be recalled or expressed at once. This memory lapses after a short time.

2.    Permanent memory

            Under permanent memory it is possible to remember a thing permanently. Remembering our name is the simple example of our permanent memory. It may or may not involve understanding.

3.    Rote memory

            This kind of memory is found in children because they are highly skilled in learning by rote something, which they have not understood. For instance, learning a poem by repeating it frequently is an example of rote memory. This kind of memory is not regarded as a superior kind of memory.

4.    Logical memory

            The basis of this memory is logic or rational thought. It consists of memorizing a thing after rationally considering its utility.

5.    Mechanical memory

            This kind of memory is referred to as mechanical or habitual physiological memory. It comes into play when the body becomes accustomed to performing a particular activity by performing it repeatedly. When it has to be performed again, there is no need to make any special effort for the memory. Motor, driving provides a very suitable example of this kind of memory. Motor deriver, pushes those parts already learnt by him without memorizing.

6.    Active memory

            Active memory means the recollection of previously experienced factor of experiences as and when they are required. Students sitting in examination hall bring into play their active memory in order to answer the given questions.

7.    Passive memory

            This kind of memory consists of remembering of a past experience without any effort or requirement. This kind of recall does not have special purpose and does not require conscious or deliberate effort on the part of the individual

                                                        

FACTORS INFLUENCING MEMORY

Memory has a very important role in education and it can be said that memory alone is the basic of acquired educational qualifications or achievements. A child’s performance or knowledge or ability is evaluated only on the basis of his memory. Various factors influence the memory. These factors are as follows:

1.    Mental Set: An experience cannot be memorized till students are brought to a mental condition favoring the retention of that experience. When students become mentally prepared to learn a specific fact, they succeed in memorizing it.

2.    Motivation:  For any piece of knowledge or experience to be retained for a long time, it is essential that the student be motivated towards acquiring it, because, in the absence of motivation, they will lack interest in it and hence they will be unable to memorize it. 

3.    Meaningful Content:  If the content of subject matter to be learnt is meaningful, students will be able to memorize it. But if this content is meaningless, student will forget it ever after making considerable efforts to memorize it.

4.    Repetition: Students should be made to repeat and revise the subject matter given for memorizing. If this process of repetition or revision fails at any point, the student’s retention will be weakened proportionately.

5.    Physical and Mental Health: Children lacking in mental and physical health face considerable difficulty in memorizing any fact. In contrast, a child who is mentally and physically healthy is able to memorize almost any fact with great ease

6.    Methods of Learning:  Memorization is also affected by the method employed in teaching a particular fact or subject, since memorization is influenced, to some extent, by the method of learning employed. If the correct or most suitable method is used in teaching children of a particular age, their memorization of the subject matter will undoubtedly be good.

7.    Desire to Memorize: If a child does not wish to remember some specific facts; it is not possible to compel him to do so. For this reason, it is necessary to stimulate the child’s desire and interest in the content to be taught. If a child does not desire to learn something, it is not desirable to force him into learning it. The learner’s desire to learn is essential for learning.

METHODS FOR EFFECTIVE MEMORY

1. Recitation Method

Recitation means reciting to oneself. It means that the individual will first read the book or material on his own and then will try to recall that without looking the book or material. In this way, the recitation method provides continuous attempted recall or self-recitation. Gates (1917) has demonstrated the advantages of recitation over continued re-reading of a lesson. His findings are:

Sl.No.	Time for Recitation	Retained Material
1	20%	50%
2	40%	54%
3	80%	74%

a)    This procedure helps towards permanent retention.

b)    It helps the learner to identify and correct his errors.

c)    It helps a student to focus his attention on portions that require special effort.

2. Whole and Part Method

If the individual learns the things as a whole, it is called as whole method; if he learns the things by dividing them into parts and subparts, units and subunits, it is called as part method.

a. Whole Method:

• This method saves time.
• In this, learning is more effective.
• The grasp of the subject matter is thorough.
• The materials are closely related and interrelated.
• This method is applicable to higher level students.
• By this method the intelligent children learn effectively.

b. Part Method:

• It is useful to less intelligent students.
• This gives better results in memorization.
• It is applicable to lower level students.
• It is useful when the materials to be learned are large.

3. Spaced and Un-spaced Method

            This method is also called as Distributed and Massed method. If the individual uses some intervals to learn something it is called as Spaced Method and if he does not use any intervals then it is Un-spaced or Massed or Continuous method. In simple words, in spaced method we work with intervals and rest, while in Un-spaced method we continuously work. In massed method students get bored and tired because of no rest. Distributed method avoids mental fatigue and monotony (sameness).  

4. Logical Method

            In learning nonsense syllables, one employs the method of rote learning. In logical learning, one tries to build up associations in the various segments of the materials in certain sequential order. Logical learning is more efficient and useful than rote learning.

5. Mnemonic Devices

            This is the artificial system for forming association between words and letters and numbers. For examples the seven colours of a rainbow can be easily retained with the help of mnemonic device VIBGYOR and in Mathematics BODMAS.

V - Violet I - Indigo B - Blue G - Green Y - Yellow O - Orange R - Red

B - Bracket O - Of D - Division M - Multiplication A - Addition S - Subtraction

6. Meaningful Over learning:

            Over learning means the individual learns the concept again and again or repeatedly in a meaningful way. If we learn a material repeatedly with good understanding that will not forget easily.

7. Association method:

               If the individual follows the principle of association in learning and memorization, he will be able to retain the learned things for longer time. Association among the previous and new knowledge is very useful.

FORGETTING

INTRODUCTION

We cannot remember every detail of the activity. It is due to the factor Forgetting. It is very essential in each and every human life. Forgetting is the gift of nature. Without forgetting our lives will become miserable (depressed). Forgetting is a very essential aspect of the learning process. Forgetting and remembering are two faces of the same coin. Both have equal importance in one’s life. Forgetting is very essential for the better intelligence, better adjustment and better personality.

DEFINITION

1. Forgetting is the loss, permanent or temporary, of an ability to recall or recognize something learned earlier – Munn.
2. Forgetting means failure at any time to recall an experience, when attempting to do so or to perform an action previously learned – Drever.
3. Forgetting is the failure of the individual to revive in consciousness an idea without the help of the original stimulus – Bhatia.

FORGETTING CURVE

 

            In 1885, German philosopher, Hermann Ebbinghaus conducted one of the first studies on memory, using himself as a subject. He memorized lists of three letter nonsense syllable words - two consonants and one vowel in the middle of nonsense syllables at intervals ranging from 20 minutes to 31 days. He then measured his own capacity to relearn a given list of words after a variety of given time period. He found that forgetting occurs in a systematic manner, beginning rapidly and then leveling off. As shown in this curve, he found that he remembered less than 40 percent of the items after nine hours, but that the rate of forgetting leveled off over time.  

CAUSES OF FORGETTING

1. Disuse:

If the learned materials are not used for a long time by the individual it will be forgotten.

2. Decay:

It refers to the learned things are fading away from the memory. Decay theory states that when something new is learned, a neurochemical, physical "memory trace" is formed in the brain and over time this trace tends to disintegrate, unless it is occasionally used. Trace decay focuses on the problem of availability caused when memories decay.

3. Fatigue:

Forgetting is also due to the mental tiredness, toxins. They are disturbing the brain function that leads to forgetting. This is normally occurs in the olden age of the people.

4. Emotional Disturbances:

Mental tensions, shocks, fear, anxiety, illness, frustration and drug addiction are leads to forgetting.

5. Interference:

Interference theory refers to the idea that forgetting occurs because the recall of certain items interferes with the recall of other items. In nature, the interfering items are said to originate from an over stimulating environment. Interference theory exists in two branches, Retroactive and Proactive inhibition each referring in contrast to the other.

Pro-active inhibition: the interference of the present learning by previous learning is called as pro-active inhibition. E.g. the students have studied the addition of numbers. Now the teacher is teaching the multiplication of numbers. Now the teacher ask the student to say 3 × 2 =?. The student says the answer as 5. This is because of the interference of the old one into the new learnt material.

 

           

Retro-active inhibition: the interference of previously learnt material by the subsequent learning material is called retro-active inhibition. 

6. Repression:

It is the process of pushing away the thoughts and feelings from the conscious to unconscious mind, that results forgetting. It is the impact of the painful experiences in the life of the individual.

7. Lack of interest:

If the individual learns the material with full of interest is less chance for forgetting. Lack of interest leads to lack of attention and concentration results forgetting.

8. Organic causes:

Forgetting that occurs through physiological damage or disrepair to the brain is referred to as organic causes of forgetting. These theories encompass the loss of information already retained in long term memory or the inability to encode new information again. Examples include Alzheimer's, Dementia, consolidation theory and the gradual slowing down of the central nervous system due to aging.

9. Amnesia:

It occurs due to the brain damage. There are two types: Partial Amnesia - parts of thinking forget; Total Amnesia - forget full of thinking. This is may be caused by the shock or accident from childhood to adults.

10. Motivational Factors:

If the individual learns the things with greater motivation, there is little forgetting but if the individual is not motivated to learn, that will easily forget by the learner.

11.  Meaningfulness of Material:

If the given materials are meaningful and purposeful that will not easily forget by the individual.

12. Controversy of Material:

If there is no association among the learning materials or controversial learning materials leads to the lack of interest and retention which caused forgetting.