Social learning theory posits that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social

context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction, even in the absence of
motor reproduction or direct reinforcement. In addition to the observation of behavior, learning
also occurs through the observation of rewards and punishments, a process known as vicarious
reinforcement. The theory expands on traditional behavioral theories, in which behavior is
governed solely by reinforcements, by placing emphasis on the important roles of various
internal processes in the learning individual.
The socio-cultural approach is based on the idea that society and culture shape cognition.
Social customs, beliefs, values, and language are all part of what shapes a person's identity and
reality. According to this approach, what a person thinks is based on his or her socio-cultural
background. A socio-cultural approach takes into account more than the individual in attempting
to understand cognitive processes.
Psychoanalytic theory refers to the definition of personality organization and the dynamics of
personality development that underlie and guide the psychoanalytic and psychodynamic
psychotherapy, called psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology. First laid
out by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century, psychoanalytic theory has undergone many
refinements since his work. Psychoanalytic theory came to full prominence in the last third of the
twentieth century as part of the flow of critical discourse regarding psychological treatments
after the 1960s, long after Freud's death in 1939, and its validity is now widely disputed or
rejected.
Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value
andagency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking
and evidence (rationalism, empiricism) over established doctrine or faith (fideism). The meaning
of the term humanism has fluctuated, according to the successive intellectual movements which
have identified with it.[1] Generally, however, humanism refers to a perspective that affirms some
notion of a "human nature" (sometimes contrasted with antihumanism).
Connectionism is a set of approaches in the fields of artificial intelligence, cognitive
psychology, cognitive science,neuroscience, and philosophy of mind, that
models mental or behavioral phenomena as the emergent processes ofinterconnected networks
of simple units. There are many forms of connectionism, but the most common forms use neural
network models.
Gestalt psychology or gestaltism (German: Gestalt "shape, form") is a theory of mind of
the Berlin School. The central principle of gestalt psychology is that the mind forms a global
whole with self-organizing tendencies. This principle maintains that the human mind considers
objects in their entirety before, or in parallel with, perception of their individual parts;
suggesting the whole is other than the sum of its parts. Gestalt psychology tries to understand
the laws of our ability to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions in an apparently chaotic
world.
Reception theory is a version of reader response literary theory that emphasizes the reader's
reception of a literary text. It is more generally called audience reception in the analysis

of communications models. In literary studies, reception theory originated from the work
of Hans-Robert Jauss in the late 1960s. It was most influential during the 1970s and early 1980s
in Germany and USA (Fortier 132), amongst some notable work in Western Europe. A form of
reception theory has also been applied to the study of historiography
Sign Learning
Tolman's theorizing has been called purposive behaviorism and is often considered the bridge
between behaviorism and cognitive theory. According to Tolman's theory of sign learning, an
organism learns by pursuing signs to a goal, i.e., learning is acquired through meaningful
behavior. Tolman emphasized the organized aspect of learning: "The stimuli which are allowed
in are not connected by just simple one-to-one switches to the outgoing responses. Rather the
incoming impulses are usually worked over and elaborated in the central control room into a
tentative cognitive-like map of the environment. And it is this tentative map, indicating routes
and paths and environmental relationships, which finally determines what responses, if any, the
animal will finally make."
Insight learning.
In the 1920's, German psychologist Wolfgang Kohler was studying the behavior of apes. He
designed some simple experiments that led to the development of one of the first cognitive
theories of learning, which he called insight learning.
In his experiment, Kohler hung a piece of fruit just out of the reach of each chimp. He then
provided the chimps with either two sticks or three boxes, then waited and watched. Kohler noticed
that after the chimps realized they could not simply reach or jump up to retrieve the fruit, they
stopped, had a seat, and thought about how they might solve the problem. Then after a few
moments, the chimps stood up and proceeded to solve the problem.

Conditions of Learning (Robert Gagne)

This theory stipulates that there are several different types or levels of learning. The significance
of these classifications is that each different type requires different types of instruction. Gagne
identifies five major categories of learning: verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive
strategies, motor skills and attitudes. Different internal and external conditions are necessary for
each type of learning. For example, for cognitive strategies to be learned, there must be a
chance to practice developing new solutions to problems; to learn attitudes, the learner must be
exposed to a credible role model or persuasive arguments.

Subsumption Theory (David Ausubel)

Ausubel's theory is concerned with how individuals learn large amounts of meaningful material from
verbal/textual presentations in a school setting (in contrast to theories developed in the context of
laboratory experiments). According to Ausubel, learning is based upon the kinds of superordinate,

representational, and combinatorial processes that occur during the reception of information. A
primary process in learning is subsumption in which new material is related to relevant ideas in the
existing cognitive structure on a substantive, non-verbatim basis. Cognitive structures represent the
residue of all learning experiences; forgetting occurs because certain details get integrated and lose
their individual identity.

Cone of Experience
Dale's "Cone of Experience," which he intended to provide an intuitive model of the
concreteness of various kinds of audio-visual media, has been widely misrepresented. Often
referred to as the "Cone of Learning," it purports to inform viewers of how much people
remember based on how they encounter information. However, Dale included no numbers and
did not base his cone on scientific research, and he also warned readers not to take the cone
too seriously. The numbers may have originated as early as the 1940s, when a scholar at the
University of Texas at Austin created visual aids for the military.
The Spiral Curriculum is predicated on cognitive theory advanced by Jerome Bruner (1960), who
wrote, We begin with the hypothesis that any subject can be taught in some intellectually honest
form to any child at any stage of development Bruner hypothesized that human cognition occurred
in three relatively discreet stages: Enactive, or actually manipulating and interacting with objects;
Iconic, or manipulating images of the objects or phenomena; or Symbolic, or the manipulation of
representations of the actual objects or phenomena.

attribution is the process by which individuals explain the causes of behavior and events.
Attribution theory is the study of various models that attempt to explain those processes.
[1]
Psychological research into attribution began with the work of Fritz Heider in the early part of
the 20th century, subsequently developed by others such as Harold Kelley andBernard
Weiner.
Control theory is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering and mathematics that deals with
the behavior of dynamical systems with inputs, and how their behavior is modified
by feedback. The usual objective of control theory is to control a system, often called the plant,
so its output follows a desired control signal, called the reference, which may be a fixed or
changing value
Self-efficacy is the extent or strength of one's belief in one's own ability to complete tasks and
reach goals.[1] Psychologists have studied self-efficacy from several perspectives, noting
various paths in the development of self-efficacy; the dynamics of self-efficacy, and lack
thereof, in many different settings; interactions between self-efficacy and self-concept; and
habits of attribution that contribute to, or detract from, self-efficacy.
Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation and personality,
concerning people's inherent growth tendencies and their innate psychological needs. It is
concerned with the motivation behind the choices that people make without any external

influence and interference. SDT focuses on the degree to which an individuals behavior is
self-motivated and self-determined.
The uncertainty reduction theory, developed in 1975 by Charles Berger and Richard
Calabrese, is a communication theory from the post-positivist tradition. The theory asserts the
notion that, when interacting, people need information about the other party in order to reduce
their uncertainty. In gaining this information people are able to predict the others behavior and
resulting actions, all of which according to the theory is crucial in the development of any
relationship.
Drive theory is based on the principle that organisms are born with certain psychological needs
and that a negative state of tension is created when these needs are not satisfied. When a need
is satisfied, drive is reduced and the organism returns to a state of homeostasis and relaxation.
According to the theory, drive tends to increase over time and operates on a feedback control
system, much like a thermostat.
Metacognition is defined as "cognition about cognition", or "knowing about knowing". It
comes from the root word "meta",meaning beyond.[1] It can take many forms; it includes
knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or for problem solving.
[1]
There are generally two components of metacognition: knowledge about cognition, and
regulation of cognition