learning theory

learning theory

a body of concepts and principles that seek to explain the learning process. Learning theory actually encompasses a number of specific theories whose common interest is the description of the basic laws of learning, usually derived from studies of classical and instrumental conditioning and verbal learning. These include Hull’s mathematico-deductive theory of learning, the purposive behaviorism of Edward C. Tolman, the Rescorla–Wagner theory, and the comparator hypothesis, among others.