Theories of Learning (Part 8)

A theory of purposive learning is presented by Edward C. Tolman (1932). He too is preoccupied with behavior and the need for adaptation. His theory is based on association of stimulus situations with concepts, perceptions and expectancies.

He is more concerned with achievement than with the means of achievement. He accepts the ideas that associations occur as a result of contiguity of stimulus pattern and perception or cognition, but he is most interested in the nature and complexity of the response.


He describes six kinds of learning:

1. Cathexes, "the acquisition of a connection between a basic drive like hunger and a specific type of goal object" like a particular food, or a negative drive like fright along with a specific object of fear



2. Equivalence beliefs, "a connection between a positively cathected type of goal—and a sub-goal," or the equivalent negative



3. Field expectancies, once called "sign-Gestalt expectation," the acquisition by the organism of "sets" or "field expectancies" on successive experiences in a particular environment which makes possible short cuts or roundabout routes



4. Field cognition modes, meaning that field expectant is dependent not only upon memory but on perception and inference as well



5. Drive discriminations, the ability to distinguish between different drives



6. Motor patterns if learned (conditioned) when the patterns lead to the desired goals

Tolman sees goals and configurations in a cause-and-effect sequence. The social environment is the stimulus, and rewards are of great importance. Practice leads to acquiring the "feel" of the situation.

Norman Maier (1931) offers a theory of frustration along with an explanation of learning. He found that frustration tended to freeze or fixate a response, even if punishment was the ultimate result of the response. He concluded that frustration is an aspect of behavior completely separate from learning. He divides learning into two categories, associative and selective, the first in terms of conditioning, the second in terms of the learning what happens in the course of solving a puzzle, where the outcome provides the direction of the learning.

Behavior can be altered in four ways, he says: in the "extension of a response (conditioning) so that it will be expressed in a variety of situations," in changing the consequences of an action; in "a change of perception or stimulus interpretation"; and in "insightful problem solving" in which the goal influences the nature of the insight and resulting behavior; (this differs from trial-and-error learning in that insight rather than past experience directs the solving of the problem).

Maier describes behavior changes as: stimulus-response reactions "determined by neural connections only"; motivated behavior determined by the consequences of such behavior; and frustration, not guided by consequences but able to be changed by guidance, possibly because of associations acting through neural connections, and in this explanation the fixation response appears to be similar to association by contiguity.

A dynamic approach known as functionalism has been offered by F. S. Robinson. The factors which he considers important in learning are contiguity, assimilation (meaning that one activity prompts another), frequency and intensity. He too is concerned with adaptation, and his interpretation of the mind is based on neural action. Man's intellect causes movements in the direction of adjustment, and environment is a major factor. Practice is extremely important, according to this theory, but operational personality factors are not considered.