Learning, cognitive and contextual perspectives

Solution Preview

Let's take a closer look at each section, which you can consider for your final copy. I also attached a resources on normal behavior in children and adolescent and a sample APA paper,

RESPONSE:

1. Three key concepts of each of the theories.

The Learning Perspective looks at the effects of experience and the role of the environment on development. From the learning perspective, learning is equal to development. A person's behaviors, personalities, and thoughts are shaped by the different life experiences we encounter. According to the learning theorists, a person is a product of her or his environment. There are two major views from the learning perspective: the Traditional Learning Theory and Social Learning Theory (Learning Perspective, n.d.).

Traditional Learning Theory is based on behavior modification through classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

? Classical conditioning begins with an unconditioned stimuli (US) and an unconditioned response (UR). This is an unlearned S-R bond. For example, a loud noise (US) automatically brings about a startle reaction (UR). Then a neutral stimulus is paired with the US. After several pairings, the once neutral stimulus, now the conditioned stimulus (CS) brings about the same response as the UR. It is now learned and called the conditioned stimulus (CR) (Learning Perspective, n.d.).

? As a case in point, we look to Pavlov's famous dog and salivation experiment where the dog learned though classical conditioning process that every time the bell ring, he begin to get more saliva preparing to eat because the food was paired with the sound of the bell. The dog learned that when the bell rang he got fed. And then, when he heard the bell ring without food, he still salivated. This is called classical conditioning.

On the other hand, Operant Conditioning relies on the two concepts of reinforcement and punishment to explain the learning process. For example, when a mother praises or rewards a child's good behavior, this is reinforcing that behavior so she or he will do these "good" things more often. This is an example of positive reinforcement because the mother is adding something good. There is also a theoretical concept referred to as negative reinforcement, where the mother would take away something that is considered "bad" or wrong behavior. Finally, punishment is when parents punish the child for doing something wrong. However, punishment comes in two forms: adding harm (spanking) or taking away something desirable (grounding) (Learning Perspective, n.d.).

Third, Social Learning Theory focuses on two main concepts. The first is the relationship between cognition, behavior and the environment. The second is learning through modeling or observation. The social learning theorists argue that that there are four criteria for learning by observation including attention, retention, production and motivation (Learning Perspective, n.d.).

COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

The cognitive perspective examines concepts related to cognition, which relates to concepts such as thinking, remembering, learning or using language. Therefore, the cognitive perspectives are interested in examining human development in terms of mental processing. There are also the two major views within this perspective are cognitive developmental theory and information processing theory (The Cognitive Perspective, n.d.).

Information Processing Theory was advanced by Atkinson and Shiffrin. These theorists "claim that our cognitive processes are like that of a computer. Here is an ...