Categories of Human Learning

Book excerpt: Categories of Human Learning covers the papers presented at the Symposium on the Psychology of Human Learning, held at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor on January 31 and February 1, 1962. The book focuses on the different classifications of human learning. The selection first offers information on classical and operant conditioning and the categories of learning and the problem of definition. Discussions focus on classical and instrumental conditioning and the nature of reinforcement; comparability of the forms of human learning; conditioning experiments with human subjects; and subclasses of classical and instrumental conditioning. The text then takes a look at the representativeness of rote verbal learning and centrality of verbal learning. The publication ponders on probability learning, evaluation of stimulus sampling theory, and short-term memory and incidental learning. Topics include short-term retention, stimulus variation experiments, reinforcement schedules and mean response, systematic interpretations, and methodological approaches. The book then examines the behavioral effects of instruction to learning, verbalizations and concepts, and the generality of research on transfer functions. The selection is highly recommended for psychologists and educators wanting to conduct studies on the categories of human learning.