Learning Theories & Psychology Flashcards
6 cards from real GED practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Learning Theories & Psychology flashcards as text
Lev Vygotsky emphasized which factor as central to cognitive development?
Answer: Social interaction and the role of language
Vygotsky believed cognitive development is fundamentally social — it occurs through interaction with more knowledgeable others, and language is the primary tool of thought and learning.
Jean Piaget identified four stages of cognitive development. Which stage is associated with abstract and hypothetical reasoning?
Answer: Formal operational stage
The formal operational stage (approximately age 12 and beyond) is characterized by the ability to think abstractly, reason hypothetically, and engage in systematic deductive reasoning.
The concept of 'self-efficacy,' central to Bandura's theory, refers to:
Answer: A student's belief in their own capacity to execute tasks and achieve goals
Self-efficacy is a person's belief in their own ability to successfully perform specific tasks — it is one of the strongest predictors of motivation, effort, and academic achievement.
Classical conditioning, developed by Ivan Pavlov, demonstrates that:
Answer: A neutral stimulus can become associated with a response through repeated pairing
Classical conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus until the neutral stimulus alone elicits the conditioned response — as with Pavlov's dogs and the bell.
Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences proposes that:
Answer: There are eight or more distinct types of intelligence beyond verbal-linguistic ability
Gardner proposed that intelligence is not a single capacity but multiple distinct intelligences including linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic.
Which learning theory focuses on how people organize, process, and store information in memory?
Answer: Information processing theory
Information processing theory uses the metaphor of the computer to describe how humans take in sensory information, process it in working memory, and store it in long-term memory through encoding strategies.