TMA 01 (essay) Option 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

TMA 01 ( ) Option 1 - Essay Example It will focus in the various psychological processes that are involved in this learning process by relating the specific problem with how children learn and develop where theories such as behaviourism, social constructivism among others will be focused on where each theory will be focus on in detail. The paper will then relate the key points in these theories with the example of brushing teeth. Finally, it will conclude by summarizing the learning outcomes of this exercise. Context Alex’s case is being used as context to examine what processes the brain requires to undertake when it comes to learning in children. One of the Major aspects of the brain, which is crucial in teaching Alex how to brush his teeth, is memory. This is because, it is important for Alex’s mind to remember how he saw his mother brushing her teeth in order for Alex to learn how to brush his teeth. For instance, Alex’s mother congratulates him when he is able to brush his teeth. When the memo ry part of Alex’s brain associates brushing with a reward, which is in this case, is the congratulations, then it will result in Alex being able to learn how to brush his teeth by himself. This is mainly so since deep in his mind he feels that his mother will congratulate him. However, there are more processes involved in the process of Alex learning how to brush his teeth other than memory. These processes are well defined in the various theories of learning. In this case, the paper will consider social leaning theory, Behaviourism theory, social constructivism theory, and the constructivism theory. Behaviourism Between the 1920s and 1950s, behaviourism was the major paradigm that was used to understand human behaviour. It combined methodology, psychology, theory. The theory was generally based on various assumptions (Crain, 2000). The first assumption was that psychology was a form of science hence theories should be supported by data that is empirical gotten from the contr olled and careful observation and the measurement of behaviour. Thus, its goal was to predict and control. The second assumption that the theory took was that the primary concern when it came to understanding human behaviour as observable without the influence of things such as emotion or thinking. The theory was based on the assumption that the environment around them determined human behaviour thus people did not possess free will. The theory also assumed that very little difference existed between the learning process of human beings and animals. The theory assumed that the brain was born blank and that human beings assimilated behaviours because of some stimulus. This meant that any behaviour that human beings can be traced down to a specific stimulus and from the stimulus the different way in which the human would assimilate certain behaviour could be determined. Behaviourism theory was also used in philosophy. Though somehow similar , the philosophical approach of the theory s tipulated that the behaviour of human beings should be viewed as natural science where what they do can be traced to a stimulus assuming that they did not think or be emotionally influenced into perfuming the action. Edmund Fantino developed this aspect of behaviourism Social learning Theory The social learning theory is an approach to psychology in understanding the learning process in human beings. The theory stipulates that human beings learning outcomes are indeed based on the social context that they are in. This theory, relates more to children where