Learning and memory: mechanisms and applications

Learning and Memory

In the field of psychology, theories on learning have been closely linked to either classical conditioning or operant conditioning, theories developed by Ivan Pavlov and BF Skinner, respectively. Learning as determined by classical conditioning is posited to be part of associative learning, wherein an individual learns that two events are related or linked (at the most, even a causes event B) (Santrock, 2000:188). This definition also operates in operant conditioning, wherein an individual wherein "consequences of behavior produce changes in the probability of the behavior's occurrence" (195). Another school of thought about learning places cognitive development as playing a major role. In cognitive psychology, learning occurs because of the presence and operation of "cognitive maps" within an individual. These 'cognitive maps' are defined as an "organism's mental representation of the structure of physical space" (208). This concept represents learning as a relationship between the mind of the individual and his or her physical environment. Learning takes place in his or her interaction with the environment, and through the cognitive maps, s/he was able to retain these events and recall them as part of his or her learning.

This, in effect, links learning to memory. Memory is likened to the idea of cognitive maps, or at least the way cognitive maps operate in the mind of the individual. Memory is described as processing information through encoding (getting information and memory), storage (retaining information over time), and retrieval (taking information out of storage) (219). These processes that the individual goes through to create and retain memory is highly related to the theories of learning enumerated earlier: classical conditioning posits that stimuli (a memory of an event) is needed to elicit a particular behavior from the individual; operant conditioning described learning as the consequences in behavior of the person, linked also to the memory of an event and its consequences; and lastly, cognitive maps, which aptly describes how an individual learns through memories mapped out and retain in his/her mind.