PART THREE: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING
Chapter 15
LEARNING
The Chapter at a
Glance
A wide and comprehensive concept.
Theories of learning.
Laws of learning.
Significant factors in learning.
Achievement of a gifted child.
The case of a poor reader.
Remembering and forgetting.
Human and animal learning.
Learning is the process of modification of human behavior through
experience and training. The change that takes place in the learner is
manifested in the form of a habit, outlook, attitude, skill, understanding,
knowledge, mastery, insight, etc.
A Wide and Comprehensive Concept
Learning is not simply the acquiring of proficiency in school subjects
or skill in vocations. It is rather any modification taking place in any field
of an individual's life. Learning has often been defined as acquiring of
knowledge and information. This narrow and academic definition is very
misleading. One cannot deny the significance of knowledge and information in
learning. That, however, is not the whole of learning. It is a wide and a
comprehensive concept which embraces the full education of a child in the
widest possible sense of the word.
Learning also involves the assimilation of the learned material and its
intelligent use in one's daily life. An
individual whose mind is stuffed with vast funds of knowledge and information
but who does not possess the necessary wisdom to apply this knowledge to his
development and the welfare of humanity cannot be regarded a learned or an educated
person.
Basic Elements of Learning
We have defined learning as modification taking place in human behavior.
It may, however, be remembered that every modification is not necessarily
learning. The two basic elements involved in all learning are as follows :—
(1) Consciousness of modification.
(2) Dynamism of the learning process.
(1) Consciousness of
Modification: The learner must be conscious of the modifications
taking place in him as a result of learning. A student, for instance, attending
a class in arithmetic must be aware of the modifications in his arithmetical
knowledge that take place as a result of his attending the class.
(2) Dynamism of the Learning
Process: Learning is a dynamic process. All the modifications
that take place in an individual during the course of his learning become an
active or a dynamic part of his personality. No learning material ever remains
static or dead, making no influence or impact on learner's personality.
Learning rather is always active and dynamic.
Thus the knowledge and training in subjects, attitudes, values, etc.
that an individual acquires invariably become a part and parcel of his
personality. They influence his thought and behavior one way or the other.
Tests and examinations are one of the methods of measuring the extent to which
the dynamism of learning is operative in the learner.
Theories of
Learning
A large variety of conflicting theories and bitter arguments of their
exponents have remained quite an interesting phenomenon for a long time in the
field of psychology of learning. Psychologists interested in learning were
identified to one theory or another. Their theories were opposed to each other
from top to bottom. This tendency to adhere rigidly to one theory of learning
has now disappeared. Contemporary psychologists prefer more to argue about
methods of learning, fruitful areas for research and experimentation rather
than merely verbalize about universal theories.
However, a brief account of these theories is very revealing from
academic and historical point of views. Gist of some of the noteworthy theories
of learning is presented below:
(1) Association Theory:
This rather philosophical theory propounds that ideas provide the
units or elements of our mental life. These ideas follow one another in a
constant chain. Learning takes place as a result of association of one idea
with the other and so on. The stronger and pleasanter the association of ideas,
the stronger the learning.
(2) Gestalt Theory:
Unlike the Association theory which is analytical in natur, this theory
is holistic in its approach. The Gestalt theory
highlights the significance of insight, understanding and organization of the
whole of the material to be learnt in order to make the learning process really
effective and efficient. Kohler, Katona,
Wertheimer and Kofka have
conducted enlightening researches and experiments to prove their contention
that it is organization and understanding of the whole material that leads to
effective learning.
(3) Biological Theories:
A number of biological theories of learning have also been propounded.
The exponents of these theories emphasize that learning is a fundamental
biological phenomenon. They hold that in the ultimate analysis changes in behavior
brought about by learning are reflections of changes which must occur within
the central nervous system. Subscribers to this view point have conducted
enormous amount of experimental work on the relationship between the nervous
system and learning. It may, however, be added that such a work has not yet
established anything concretely.
Laws of Learning
Learning proceeds under certain laws. Various educational psychologists
have enunciated these laws variously. The first comprehensive formulation of
the laws of learning, however, grew out of Thorndike's
experiments on learning in animals.
Thorndike's Laws
of Learning
Thorndike
enumerates the following three laws of learning:-
(1) The Law of Effect.
(2) The Law of Exercise or Frequency.
(3) The Law of Readiness.
(1) The Law of Effect:
This law holds that success leads to the repetition of a response and failure
to its elimination. That is why this law is sometimes called "the law of
satisfaction and annoyance." In Thorndike's
own words the law runs as : "When a modifiable connection between a
situation and a response is made and is accompanied or followed by a satisfying
state of affairs, that connection's strength is increased; when made or
accompanied or followed by an annoying state of affairs, its strength is
decreased.
(2) The Law of Exercise:
This law states that other things being equal repetition of any response
tends to establish or confirm it. In other words the law emphasizes the old
saying that "practice makes perfect.
(3) The Law of Readiness: This
law holds that when a learner is in a state of readiness to learn, the learning
process is more pleasant and effective. Conversely, when the learner is not in
a state of readies, the learning is annoying and ineffective.
Significant Factors in Learning
The process of learning is influenced by a variety of factors. Knowledge
of these factors can prove very enlightening for teachers and parents in
understanding and guiding the process of learning among children.
Some of the significant factors that influence the learning process and
that have been discussed in the following pages are:--
(1) Readiness.
(2) Motivation.
(3) Interest.
(4) Attention.
(5) Drill or Practice.
(6) Fatigue and Boredom.
(7) Intelligence.
(8) Aptitude.
(9) Attitude.
(10) Emotional Factors.
(11) Family and Cultural Expectancies.
(1) Readiness for Learning:
Readiness means a state of preparedness. Unless a child is ready or
prepared or capable to learn, no home or class instruction can be of any avail
to him.
Differences
in Readiness: We
have already seen in an earlier chapter on Individual differences that
children differ widely from each other in several aspects. These individual
variations also determine their readiness for learning. Thus children of the
same age and studying in the same class are not necessarily all at the same
stage of readiness to learn. The degree of their readiness is determined by
such factors as physical growth, range of experiences, social and emotional
stability, etc. A teacher should, therefore, endeavor to understand these and
other factors that determine children's readiness for learning in order to make
his class instruction successful and effective.
Utility
of Understanding Readiness: An adequate understanding
of the factors determining readiness for learning among children should enable
the teacher to:
(a) Improve his
teaching methods so as to meet the requirements of students of varying degrees
of readiness in the class;
(b) Provide them with incentives to improve and to increase
their readiness, and
(c) Build up
readiness in those children who seem to be disinclined to participate in the
class instruction.
(2) Motivation for Learning:
Motivation also plays a vital role in the learning process. Every
learner has some sort of a purpose or a goal in view which motivates him to
learn. Thus a student might be motivated to work hard because he wants to earn
his livelihood after obtaining certain amount of academic qualifications. A
scholar might be motivated to learn a new language because it helps him in his
research projects. Absence of any motivation makes adverse effect on the
quality and speed of learning. A rich man's son who has neither an internal
desire nor an outward necessity to learn will make little progress in studies:
(3) Interest and Learning:
Interest also plays a great role in learning. The various interests of
the students can be exploited to facilitate their learning. Interests during
early infancy, as we have already seen, are mostly limited and short-lived. As
the child grows older his interests diversify and stabilize. A school teacher
should have knowledge of various interests of children. He can eliminate much drudgery;
monotony and boredom from school work if he makes his instruction lively and
stimulating and arouses student interest in it.
Better
Results through Interest: Once
pupils' interest is aroused in an activity they can expend more effort on it.
No learning can be achieved without proper expenditure of effort on it.
Students can even face distraction, fatigue and boredom if they feel interested
in class instruction and its allied activities. It has often been found that,
in most cases, fatigue in reality is loss of interest in the activity in hand.
Interest, therefore, can be exploited to yield results of greater quantity and
quality in the learning situations in school and everywhere.
Conflict
and Balance of Interests: Life
is so exciting that many interesting things and activities often clamor to
attract our attention at one and the same time. Children frequently face a
dilemma of mutually conflicting interests. Immediate interests often seem to be
clashing with the remoter ones. Sporting interests, for instance, might
conflict with scholarly interests. A student might thus feel in a quandary at
least for the time being when his interest in sports impels him towards the
play-field and his interest in studies forces him to concentrate on books.
In such cases of
confecting interests a lot of hesitancy, wastage, frustration and unhappiness are
bound to follow. What is needed is an education at home and school which should
discipline children to achieve a healthy balance in their interests. They
should be trained to budget their time in such a manner as to pay a reasonable
to all the various interests__ scholastic, athletic, social, etc., within the
time at their disposal.
Using Interest to Facilitate Learning:
Blair et al have suggested the
following techniques for utilizing interests in order to facilitate learning:
(1)
Interesting teaching methods.
(2)
Purposive learning.
(3)
Student participation
(1)
Interesting Teaching Methods: The teacher should endeavor to make his teaching
interesting and inspiring. The material to be learned should be placed in an
interesting and, if possible, a novel context. Audio-visual aids, group
discussion, even illustrative games, etc. could be utilized to make it more
interesting and engaging.
(2)
Purposive Learning: if the students are able to see that the learning is purposive and
leading to a precise goal they can invest more interest and effort into it. The
material to be learned should, therefore, be so placed before the students by
the teacher as to enable them to realize that it is a necessary step towards
the achievement of a definite purpose or goal in life.
(3)
Student Participation: The class room atmosphere should be so pleasant, permissive, friendly
and stimulating that every pupil is encouraged to participate actively in its
entire doings.
(4) Attention and
Learning: The role of attention in learning is too
obvious. No learning is possible without attention. The quality and quantity of
attention determines to a very considerable extent the quality and quantity of
the material to be learnt. Distraction impairs the progress of learning very
seriously.
(5) Place of Drill or Practice: Simple
material is usually easily learned. It does not involve much practice, drill,
exercise, repetition, etc. More complex and difficult material,
however, needs practice and repeated exercises. The teacher should, therefore, give enough practice
to the class, determining its quantity and frequency by the nature of the
material that they are learning.
Drilling is not parroting. Care should, however, be taken not to turn
practice or drill work into unintelligent parroting. Even when drilling or
repeating aloud, the students should be trained to keep their eyes constantly
on the meaningful aspect of the matter. They must do every learning practice
with due attention and interests, making it as pleasant as possible.
(6) Fatigue and Boredom: It is usually boredom
or lassitude rather than fatigue which bothers the learners. The difference
between the two is that fatigue is mental or physical decrease in efficiency
and competency to do work. Boredom,
on the other hand, is a lack of desire to do work or an aversion for it. Such an aversion makes one feel fatigued
without being actually fatigued.
Studying seldom causes fatigue.
It is mainly boredom, causing the impression of fatigue, which
decreases student efficiency in learning.
Causes of Fatigue and
Boredom: In a class-room situation the following
factors might result in the feeling of fatigue and even in producing actual fatigue:
(a) Boring and un-stimulating teaching methods.
(b) Defective physical
environment, e.g., inadequate lighting,
extremes of temperature or humidity, unhygienic conditions, etc.
(c) Subnormal bodily conditions of the learner, e.g., malnutrition, anemia,
temporary or
permanent physical ailments, discomforts, etc.
(d) Emotional disturbances, e.g. tensions, conflicts, frustrations
and other emotionally
disturbing
conditions.
Prevention and treatment: A systematic prevention and treatment
would involve a diagnosis of all possible causes that produce fatigue and
boredom, and adoption of proper methods to meet them. As a general rule,
however, an interest in the subject-matter, an enthusiastic attitude towards it
and a strong will to achieve success in it wards off fatigue and boredom even
in most unfavorable conditions.
(7) The Role of Intelligence: Intelligence
affects the quality and quantity of one's learning very considerably. The
results of intelligence tests prove very helpful in determining what can or
should be expected of various children at various levels of their development.
Let us now discuss the influence of the following levels of
intelligence on the learning of children:
(a) Inferior intelligence.
(b) Average intelligence.
(c) Superior intelligence.
(d) Exceptionally high intelligence.
(a) Inferior Intelligence and
Learning: Children of inferior intelligence may be roughly divided into
the following five sub-classes, all falling within the I. Q. range of 0 to 89.
None of these categories of children are capable of deriving any substantial
benefit from normal learning:
(i) Idiots with an I.Q range
of …………………. 0-19
(ii) Imbeciles with an I.Q
range of ……………….20-40
(iii) Morons with an I.Q range
of ………………….50-69
(iv) Border Line cases with an
I.Q range or ……..70-79
(v) Dull average children with
I.Q ….range of...80-89
(i)
Idiot Children: Children with I. Q. of 19 or less are technically known as idiots.
Numerically they
are very rare. Idiot children are essentially incapable of learning anything.
(ii)
Imbecile Children: Those children
whose I. Q. ranges from 20 to 49 are termed as imbeciles. Such children are capable
of very meager learning. It is absolutely futile to teach them to read, spell
or learn arithmetic, etc.
(iii) Moron
Children: Morons are those children who fall within the I. Q. range of
50—69. Such children can make a little progress in
learning if they are placed in exceptionally simple learning situations and if
the patient teacher makes strenuous and continuous efforts with them. The
morons falling in the I. Q. range of 50—60 are particularly incapable of achieving
any genuine comprehension in the field of
riding, arithmetic, etc.
All of the three foregoing categories of inferior children,
ranging in I. Q. from 0 to 69, fall
under the group of the mentally deficient children.
(iv) Border-Line Children: Those
children whose I.Q. ranges from 70 to 79 are known as borderline cases.
Such children also experience great difficulties in learning. In fact it is
impossible to impart regular instruction in a regular school to a child with an
I.Q below 75.
(v) Dull
Children: Children who fall within the I. Q. range of 80—89 are technically
known as dull average children. Studies conducted by Burt reveal that dull children experience great difficulty in
keeping pace with the average and brighter children in the class. Teachers and
parents of such children should, therefore, refrain from imposing ambitious
academic demands on them.
(b) Average
Intelligence and Learning: Children with average intelligence belong to the I. Q.
range of 90—109, i.e., those I. Q. clusters round about 100. Such children do
fairly well at school except in the more abstract aspects of learning.
(c) Superior
Intelligence and Learning: A child within the I. Q. range of 110—119 is superior in
intelligence. Superior children usually keep up with the class without
demanding much attention and effort from the teacher.
Children coming within the I. Q. range of 120—139 are very
superior in intelligence. Very superior children possess a lot of initiative
and self-direction. They are, therefore, apt to be neglected by the teachers
who tend to think that such children do not need any attention, help, or
guidance.
(d) Exceptionally
High Intelligence and Learning: Exceptionally superior children
are about 140 in I. Q. Such gifted children make exceptional achievement in most
learning situations. Their giftedness is indicated even at an early stage of
their life. Some of these early indications are as follows:—
(i) Exceptional
intellectual curiosity.
(ii) Wealth
of miscellaneous information.
(iii) A burning
desire to learn to read.
Achievements of a Gifted Child
The following account of the educational achievements of an
exceptionally intelligent child is presented by Hollingsworth. The child’s chronological age is 8 years 5 months. He
has an I.Q. of 187.
Exceptional Language Proficiency: In addition to his regular school work the child has
covered the following special work in language and mathematics, either with the
general guidance of a tutor or his mother. In Geometry and Algebra he has gone
as far as equations. In Latin he has acquired partial knowledge of the four
declensions and can read easy matter. He worked out the Greek alphabet himself
from an astronomical chart, between the ages of five and six year. In French language
his proficiency equals to that achieved in about two years ordinary schooling.
He is capable of holding ordinary conversation in German. He has attended
Spanish classes with his mother and can read and understand it. He possesses
reading knowledge of Italian and can hold simple conversations in it. As he
could not get adequate facilities for learning Portuguese, he asked his mother
to learn it. He is a beginner in Hebrew and Anglo-Saxon.
Exceptionally Keen
Observation: He
displays a very keen interest in Astronomy and has worked out all the
constellations from Mac-Cready. One evening he noticed a new planet near the
Twins. He said it was Saturn. Mother thought it to be Mars. He worked out the
position from the "astronomical chart and found that the planet was
Saturn. He has a great interest in nature. History is his chief and absorbing
school subject.
His
writing, however, is not equal to his other accomplishments. He is a slow
writer. For this reason he dictates most of his "home work" to a
stenographer.
Intelligence
and Scholastic Achievement: Most of the studies have highlighted a high and positive
correlation, on the whole, between intelligence and scholastic achievement.
Parents and teachers should, therefore, realize the practical significance of
such a correlation. They should assign such learning tasks to children as are
appropriate to the level of their intelligence.
(8) Aptitude and Learning:
Aptitude is one of the most fundamental determinants of the
learning process. A learner who possesses aptitude or natural liking for a
particular subject of study or material will learn it better and retain it
longer. On the other hand, he will require relatively longer period of time to
study a subject for which he lacks natural aptitude. He is liable to forget it
soon besides feeling bored and unhappy all the time while learning it. Hence it
is extremely desirable to analyze aptitude of children before prescribing
courses of study for them.
(9) Attitude and Learning:
The learning process is also influenced considerably by the
attitude of the learner. If the learner is alert, attentive and interested in
the material to be learnt he is bound to have a favorable attitude towards it.
Such an attitude will enable him to tackle the learning situation economically,
pleasantly and effectively. Conversely, if he is slack, inattentive and
uninterested in the material his attitude is bound to be unfavorable. This will
hinder the smooth learning of the material in hand besides involving undue
strain and tension in the Learner.
(10) Influence of
Emotional Factors:
Desirable emotional conditions enhance the quality and
speed of learning. Happiness, joy and satisfaction are always favorable for any
type of learning. Adverse emotional factors, on the other hand, hinder
learning. Many studies have established the fact that emotional strain,
stress, tensions, disturbances, etc., are extremely inimical to scholastic pursuits.
Common Emotional Provocations: The
most common emotional provocations which have been observed to interfere with
smooth learning among children are as follows:
(i) Unfulfilled needs.
(ii) Wrong
parental attitudes at home.
(iii) Disturbances, difficulties, inadequacies,
insecurities, etc. connected with home
life.
(iv)
Inferiority and frustration
resulting from real
or imaginary physical defect
or
deformity.
(v)
Previous experiences of school
failure.
(vi)
Humiliating attitude of the teachers
and class-mates.
The
Role of the Teacher: An understanding teacher can help children immensely in
overcoming their emotional impediments to learning. An adverse attitude on the part of the
teacher may aggravate rather than alleviate the emotional inhibitions of young
learners. It may thus put a serious
obstacle in the way of their scholastic progress.
The Case of a Poor Reader
That a teacher may contribute towards a child's emotional
difficulties and thereby impede learning is illustrated by the following
example:
“When I was in an Elementary School, I was
rather nervous and high strung. I was tall and very thin. The thing I remember
and I shall never forget was an incident that happened in about the fifth
grade. I wasn’t a very good reader and I think that this was partly due to the
fact that I was shy and didn’t like to be made fun of. I was called upon to
read. Things were moving along fairly well until I made one mistake and it
seemed everyone in room was laughing at me. This caused me to make more
mistakes. My teacher said, ’that will do, fine, I guess you will never learn to
read’.”
These few humiliating words by the teacher which the child
will “never forget” proved a great obstacle in his learning.
(11) The Role of
Family and Culture:
Family and cultural expectancies also influence learning
very considerably. The influence of family and culture on various aspects of
children has already been worked out in detail in two separate chapters in Part
Two.
Family Expectancy and Learning: A child's learning is greatly influenced by the ambitions
and aspirations of his parents. The family expectancies vary from culture to
culture and from region to region.
Lower Class Families: In our country the parents in lower
class families are mostly illiterate. Owing to abject poverty the children are
expected to assume adult responsibilities too early. These factors leave little
opportunity for poor children to join a school and devote time to scholastic
pursuits. Consequently, very few children from poor families are able to derive
any substantial benefit from school instruction.
Middle Class Families: In middle class families, on the other
hand, parents are rather over-ambitious academically. They wish their children
to make quick academic progress, grow up and find a respectable vocation,
preferably a white collar job. Such children, therefore, get sufficient
incentive from their families. This, of course, is most favorable to
scholastic learning, although an overdose of family emphasis on acquiring academic
degrees might affect the child's mental and physical health adversely.
Upper Class Families: The upper class families, however, are
not very much bothered about educating their children for economic or
utilitarian purposes. They are more anxious to impart such instruction to their
children as it nourishes their feeling of superiority, their consciousness of
their prestige and the idea that they are the ruling class. Upper class
parents, therefore, are usually keen to send their children to specialized
educational institutions of a princely type. Such institutions mostly fail to
introduce the child to those democratic values which are the true essence and
foundation of any learning.
The Role of Culture: Similarly, cultural demands and expectancies
also influence learning. The spirit of a culture is reflected in its social and
educational institutions. Children's learning, therefore, is greatly determined
by the demands and expectancies of their culture. Thus, for instance, in an
industrialized culture the emphasis mostly centers round mechanical sciences
and preparing children for highly mechanized vocations. In an agricultural
country, on the other hand, the educational process focuses its attention on
preparing children for those skills which are suited to meet the needs of an
agrarian community.
The Philosophical Aspect of
Culture: The
ideational and the philosophical element of culture also influence the spirit
of children's learning. Thus children in a democratic culture tend to acquire
democratic values and attitudes. A feudal, aristocratic or dictatorial
culture, on the other hand, promotes autocratic modes of thought and behavior.
Learning by Doing
and Playing
Children are apt to achieve more if the learning methods involve
interesting movements, playful activities, etc. A class instruction which is
predominantly oral has little chance of making any considerably substantial and
permanent addition to their knowledge and information.
Modern teaching methods, therefore, are putting more and more emphasis
on learning by doing and playing. Certain specialized teaching techniques have
recently been formulated which tend to turn the class-room into a sort of a
workshop or a play-field. These educational techniques will be dealt with in
detail in the next chapter.
Permanence of
Learning
(Remembering
& Forgetting)
All that we learn is not equally or permanently retained. Some material
is forgotten immediately after learning, other retained for a few days, and
still other might be retained practically forever. The quality, quantity and speed of
remembering and forgetting depend upon several factors. Some of these factors
are presented for consideration in the following pages.
Factors
in Forgetting
Ebbinghaus has
done pioneer quantitative work on the psychology of remembering and forgetting.
Mainly due to his research it has now been established that nonsense or
meaningless material is usually forgotten very soon. Significant and meaningful
material, e.g., poetry, interesting stories, etc., is retained for a relatively
longer period.
The
Learning Method: Much depends upon the method of learning. The evidence of
research and experiment shows that if the learner arranges the material in
order, grasps the meaning of the whole, sees the relationships between various
parts and commits it to memory intelligently he has less chance of forgetting it very quickly.
The Role of
Interest: The
amount of interest taken in the material to be committed to memory also
determines the degree of forgetfulness. If the memorization is accompanied by
the interest, keenness and enthusiasm of the learner it is forgotten very
slowly. Similarly, a learning situation which involves interesting movements,
playful activities, etc., has far more chance to prevent or decrease
forgetfulness than a boring learning experience which is devoid of any
exciting and engaging element.
Retention of
the Learned Material: Some of the significant factors that favor retention of the learned
material are as follows:
(1) Recitation: Occasional recitations
are very helpful in retaining the learned material especially for young
children.
(2) Vividness of the Material: If the presented material is
either vivid in itself or is made so by the teacher or the learner himself it
is better retained.
(3) Meaningfulness: When the learner is
able to grasp the meaning and spirit of the material to be learned it is easily
memorized and retained for a longer time.
(1) The Method of Learning: Out of
several methods of learning the following two have been found to favor
retention:—
(a) The Whole Method.
(b) The Spacing Method.
The whole method of learning consists in grasping the meaning and
significance of the whole of the matter from the beginning to the end instead
of dividing it into self-contained parts.
The spacing method involves the spacing of the learning period by
suitable intervals of rest or engagement in a different type of activity.
(5) Conditions of Learning: Better
physical conditions lead to better and more permanent learning. Similarly, a
better emotional state in the learner also promotes learning and retention.
Physical disease or defect, emotional disturbance, uncongenial environment,
etc., are unfavorable for retention of the learned material.
(6) Specific School Conditions: Certain specific factors
in the school also influence retention among children. The school building, the
quality of the discipline and the personality of the teacher make a
considerable influence on the retention of the learned material. A school, for
instance, which is housed in un-stimulating and depressing premises, where the
discipline is lax, arbitrary or inconsistent and where the teacher is a maladjusted
or an incompetent person, is inimical to learning. Such adverse school
conditions are extremely unfavorable for the long retention of the class
instruction in the mind of the learner.
Human and Animal Learning
It may be kept in mind that learning and remembering are not the
exclusive monopoly of human beings. Animals, too, learn and remember a lot.
Innumerable experiments have been conducted on animal learning. The most
commonly-used subjects in such experiments have been rats and monkeys. The
learning process of chimpanzees has been found to be very close to that of
human beings.
Human beings, however, are far superior to animals in learning and
remembering. Woodworth and Marquis
mention the following as the main points which establish human superiority over
animals in the field of learning.
(1) Better
Observation:
Human beings are better observers. They are better able to discern the
salient features of persons, objects and situations than animals can do. Better
observation facilitates learning and remembering. Animals are incapable of
competing with human beings in observation.
(2) Better Approach:
While learning, human beings make a better approach towards
the material to be learned, by using deliberation management, control, etc. Animals are
incapable of attacking their problems in such an improved, refined and
organized manner.
(3) Use of Language:
Use of language, names, numbers, etc., by the human beings facilitates
learning among them very considerably. Animals, on the contrary, are seriously
handicapped in this respect.
(4) Use of Ideation:
Human beings can think of persons, things and situations even in their
absence. This ability is known as ideation or abstract thinking. It
facilitates quick grasp and insight into things and situations. Animals are either
incapable of or relatively inferior to man in this aspect as well.
Man, therefore, is definitely a far more capable learner
than the animals. He can also remember the learned material better and for a
longer period than the animals.
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