A SUMMARY OF THREE ADULT LEARNING THEORIES

(John Duxbury)

- John B.Watson B.F.Skinner Gestalt Jean Piaget Ausubel &BrunerGagne Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development Abraham Maslow Carl Rogers

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John Duxbury, of Applied Foreign Language, Far East University Fen-Ming Lee, Dept. of Applied Foreign Language, Far East University

ABSTRACT
This article presents three adult learning theories-behaviorist, cognitive, and humanist orientation. The behaviorist orientation is concerned mostly with the work of Jonn B. Watson and B.F.Skinner some current practices which incorporate behavioristic models ave mentioned. The cognitive orientation is then discussed with mention of the Gestalt psychologists, with Jean Piaget, Ausubel &Bruner, Gagne, and finally with the emphasis of Vygotskys zone of proximal development. The humanist ovientation talks mostly about the work and theories of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers which differs from the behavioral predetermined orientation by asserting that people can control their own destinies. The article concludes with the authors humanistic orientation and the rationale for this position. KeywordsBehaviorist OrientationCognitive OrientationHumanist Orientation

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BEHAVIORIST ORIENTATION
Of all the disciplines in psychology, behaviorism has had the most impact on general and adult education (Elias, Merriam, 1980). This system of psychology is concerned with the overt, observable behavior of an organism. John B. Watson is considered the founder of Behaviorism because of two texts he wrote in the 1920s. He believed that people could be understood solely through their behavior, not through their mind and emotions. Emotions, he insisted, were a hereditary pattern of response in which implicit visceral and glandular responses were predominant (Keller, 1977). He rejected the idea of instincts completely, ascribing to the Pavlovs principle of conditioning. Watson claimed he could take an infant and through environmental conditioning, produce either a doctor or a beggar (Watson, 1919). For the next 30 years behaviorists continued the work of Watson by concentrating on more complex behaviors such as the effects of contiguity,
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a better society. Skinner reasoned that we needed to give up our personal freedom, including its accompanying sense of dignity and personal worth, to improve our world. He was concerned with preventing our self destruction. It was important we understood peoples lack of free will - it was all an illusion; the environment shapes and maintains peoples behavior. He advocated engineering a safe society before it was too late. His book Walden Two (1948) is a fictional account of a utopian society based on behavioral engineering. He saw schools as a good way to condition citizens and he outlined who and what should be taught, and the administrative control of students in his book The Technology of Teaching (1968). Because of the work of these behaviorists, educational settings now use behavioral objectives for implementation, measurement, and accountability. There are three components of behavioral objectives: (1) the conditions or stimuli the schools employ to teach; (2) the expected student behavior; and (3) the criteria by which the behavior will be judged. A few of the conditions or stimuli being used now-a-days are programmed instruction, computer based instruction, teaching machines, and contract learning. Malcolm Knowles maintains that contract learning is the single most potent tool he has come across in more than half of a century. He now uses contracts in all of his academic courses (Knowles, Holton, Swanson, 2005). For the second component, the students expected behavior is determined by a

intervening variables between a stimulus and a response, and habits and motivations. B. F. Skinner brought Behaviorism to its hiatus of popularity with his concept of operant conditioning. In operant conditioning the behavior is strengthened by its consequences and for that reason the consequences themselves are called reinforcers one is voluntary and the other involuntary (Skinner, 1974, pp.39-40). In other words, the behavior itself is rewarding. Since humans are controlled by their environment, science can study that environment, specify that environment, and finally manipulate it. Controlling human behavior, he asserts, can result in

competency-based education. The learners progress or accomplishments are compared to a fixed standard

Behavior An Introduction to Comparative Psychology (1914) and Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist (1919).

or criterion of mastery rather than compared to other students. Hence all students can accomplish the

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objectives if they are given sufficient time and reinforcement. The third component is the criteria by which the schools will be judged. Elias and Merriams in their 1980 book, Philosophical Foundations of Adult Education, say that performance contracting and educational vouchers are two of the more intriguing ways in which school systems have sought to deal with accountability (p.91). Performance

COGNITIVE ORIENTATION
Our class text dates the beginning of Cognitive theory back to a publication in 1929 when a Gestalt psychologist criticized behaviorists for being too concerned about single events and too dependent on overt behavior (Merriam, Caffarella, 1999, p. 253).2 The Gestalt psychologists suggested looking at the whole, not the parts; seeing the patterns, not the isolated events. Perception, insight, and meaning were necessary to understand people. A person needed to reorganize incoming stimuli to make sense of the world. This would sometimes be perceived as flashes of insight. In 1966, Jean Piaget proposed a theory of neurology maturation. According to Piaget there are four stages of cognitive development which

contracting sounds a lot like the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and, of course, educational voucher would now be the school voucher programs. In adult learning, the tenets of Behaviorism are manifested in the different starting points as well as the flexibility of time needed to master a task. This is particularly important in vocational education where it is important to identify the skills needed to perform in an occupation, teaching those skills, and requiring a certain standard of performance (Elias, 1980, p.95). Current Human Resources practices use basic elements of behavioral theory. A systems model of training involves the four phases: (1) needs assessment; (2) design; (3) implementation; and (4) evaluation (Bohlander, Snell, 2004, p.235). These bring to mind the behavioral objectives of such things as contract learning, implementation, accountability, and so forth. Arguments about whether or not behaviorism is valid or appropriate seem absurd since its tenets are being employed successfully in so many areas of our society. It is a tool that enhances learning and productivity. However, I do not believe it should be used as the main orientation in education and the workplace because it has such potential to be dehumanizing.

correspond to two factors: (1) an individuals age; and (2) their interaction with the environment. David Ausubel and Jerome Bruner emphasized mental structures and organizational frameworks. Ausubel put forward that learning can take place only when related knowledge was in a persons cognitive structure (brain) and he suggested the use of advanced organizers (Ausubel, 1967). His work predated the idea of schemata, a term referring to learners worldview concerning how they process new experiences. (Merriam, 1999). Bruner talked about learning through discovery. He sees learning as three processes transpiring almost simultaneously: (1) acquisition of new knowledge; (2) the translation of that knowledge to new tasks; and (3) the evaluation of that information for appropriateness (Bruner, 1965).

Bode, B. H. (1929). Conflicting Psychologies of

Learning. Boston: Heath.

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Gagnes contributions deal with the concept of learning how to learn. Within this concept it is important to consider the learners needs, a persons learning style, and training. Gagne and two other colleagues, Briggs and Wager (1992) suggest different types of knowledge signal learning, stimulus-response, motor training, verbal association, discrimination learning, concept learning, rule

HUMANIST ORIENTATION
The humanist perspective considers the affective as well as the cognitive aspects. Perceptions are centered in experience and learning is a growth process. Humanists reject the idea that behavior is predetermined. They assert that people can control their own destiny and maintain that people are inherently good. Respected philosophers in history have had Humanistic ideologies. Confucius talked about the potential for people to be either profound or small when he explained his concept of

learning, and problem solving. Another man of note in Cognitive psychology is that of Vygotsky. He emphasized the importance of the internal and external aspects of learning and he is credited with the concept of the zone of proximal development. This zone concerns the level of problem a child can cope with independently as opposed to needing help from an adult (Bruning, Schraw, Norby, Ronning, 1999, p. 197). In general, Cognitive psychology is concerned with aiding understanding and studying mental process that will assist learning. Cognitive

self-cultivation (A Brief view, 2004). Aristotle believed that the goal of all human striving is the attainment of happiness or supreme good. This, he felt, was synonymous with happiness. Erasmus, a critic of the Catholic Church, suggested that virtue is the most important quality of humans. Humanism is also the inherent idea of the Renaissance and Existential thinkers (Elias, 1980). Abraham Maslow is considered the founder of humanistic psychology. He sees the motivation to learn as intrinsic emanating from the learner. According to Maslow, there is a hierarchy of needs and the only reason a learner does not try and reach his full potential is because he is dealing with a lower level need such as a physiological need (hunger or thirst), security and protection needs, or possibly self-esteem needs. Although self-actualization is the

psychology also helps educators to understand educational goals. My Cognitive Psychology text book gives seven Cognitive themes for education: 1. Learning is a constructive, not a receptive, process 2. Mental frameworks organize memory and guide thought 3. Extended practice is needed to develop cognitive skills 4. Development of self-awareness and

main goal of learning, Maslow cites other goals such as controlling ones impulses, grappling with existential issues, choosing discriminatively,

self-regulation is critical to cognitive growth 5. Motivation and beliefs are integral to cognition 6. Social interaction is fundamental to

appreciating the beauty of life, accomplishments, peak experiences, morality and values, discovering ones destiny, and the realization that life is precious (1970, p. 439): Carl Rogers sees learning as a similar process

cognitive development 7. Knowledge, strategies, and expertise are contextual (Brunning, 1999, pp. 6-9).

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to therapy. Both are educational and both involve a growth process. He uses the term client-centered therapy which is often equated with student-centered learning. Some of the essential characteristics of humanistic learning, according to Rogers, are that it has personal involvement, it is self-initiated and pervasive, the learner evaluates the experience, and the learner incorporates that meaning into a total experience (1983, p.20). Within the humanistic setting the students is the center. The teacher does not necessarily know best, especially when dealing with adult learners. He acts as a facilitator or guide. Responsibility for learning lies with the student. The learners are encouraged to bring all their experiences and uniqueness to the learning situation. The educators strive to have students develop intrinsic motivations for learning, not extrinsic motivations like tests and certificates. The humanists believe that the most important learning takes place for students through discovery in a supportive and socially cooperative environment.

family, counselors, teachers). By encouragement I do not mean giving them direction and advice. Although they may need direction and advice at some point, it should only be given when asked for. Unsolicited direction and advice will lead them to a path that is not theirs. These counselors and teachers, family and friends need to get out of the way so a student or client can grapple with their problems, make discoveries for themselves, and find their own unique solutions not someone elses solution. Behavioral and the Cognitive psychology are intriguing and important disciplines, but I see them as tools which aid learning and the understanding of people, not as all encompassing philosophies. An all encompassing philosophy would have to be a holistic view. Humanism is. Maslow says that looking at the world through its parts is a mild form of psychopathology a schizophrenic notion: the cosmos is one and interrelated; any society is one and interrelated; any person is one and interrelated, etc. (Maslow, 1970, xi). He suggests the metaphor of a hungry person: it is not just his stomach that is hunger - the whole person is hungry. When an

MY

THEORY OF LEARNING

ADULT

individual is motivated, it is the whole individual not just a part (p. 19). Maslows landmark book about humanistic psychology Motivation of Personality was first published a year after I was born (1954) and the second revision came out a year before I graduated from high school (1970). As I read it for the first time, I am impressed with the positive message and the hope he offers. His motivation theory came about in1942 in an effort to integrate the truths he found in

I most align with the humanist theories. When I read the Humanist Orientation section in our book (Merriam, 1999) I thought to myself, Thats me. I especially identified with the attitude expressed in a quote from that section: there is a natural tendency for people to learn and that learning will flourish if nourishing, encouraging environments are provided (Cross, 1981, p. 228). Carl Rogers impacted my beliefs about

the works of Freud, Adler, Jung, D.M. Levy, Fromm, Horney, and Goldstein (p. xi). I get the sense that this message and this work is a partial reaction to the inhumane atrocities committed and justified by

education and counseling. I have faith that most people can solve their own problems if they have encouragement from significant others (friends,

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scientist in World War II. On page three of this text he writes:

directly to education. He includes a section on student dissatisfaction. In this section he tells about a response to a survey where 3,157 students wrote that

It can happen that the pure, objective, disinterested non-humanistic curiosity of the pure scientist may jeopardize the gratification of other equally important human needs, e.g., safety. I refer here not only to the obvious atom bomb example but also the more general fact that science itself implies a value system. After all, the limit to which the pure scientist

school was a BORE (p. 15). He also reported the results of an interview that took place with 200 medical students. The message was the same over and over again students felt they were being lectured to death (p.15). Rogers gives this information as an example of the current state of teaching in the 80s. I believe it is still relevant today. Such learning, he says, is from the neck up (p.19). He stresses that we need to let the students learn, not dictate the content of what is important. The teachers job is more difficult than the learners because they must feed the students curiosity so they are inspired to learn.

approaches is not an Einstein or a Newton but rather the Nazi scientist of the

concentration-camp experiments or the mad scientist of Hollywood (p. 3.)

Maslow refutes the idea that it is only the scientist who has means to knowledge. He recognizes the insights from creative artists, philosophers, writers, poets, dreamers, and even ditch-diggers (Maslow, 1970. p.8). Rogers beliefs and message also appear to be a reaction to certain elements in society the conservatives. He sees the conservative groups as inhibiting the educational process because of their fear of change and he sees theses groups as dangerous. The conservatives have the belief that there is an absolute right and an absolute wrong. Whenever a group in society has proclaimed itself to possess the moral truth and then proceeds to impose this truth on others, the result is tyranny. He writes, Some of the darkest periods of history are characterized by this pattern, (1983, p. 13). The Inquisition and McCarthyism are some examples he gives. Although Carl Rogers thoughts originally came from the counseling discipline, his ideas relate

Rogers talks about becoming real as a teacher. To do this, a person must understand the one profound question underlying all the surface talk (p.33). This is the question all people have and learning must be connected to this question, must be in context to their education for true learning to take place. This question is Who am I? And it is a process, not a static condition.

REFERENCES
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http://www.gofigger.org/hphist/hphist15.htm [2]Ausubel, D.P. (1967). A cognitive structure theory of school learning. In L. Siegel (ed.), Instruction: Some contemporary viewpoints. San Francisco: Chandler.

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[3]Bohlander, G., Snell, S. (2004). Managing human resources. Mason, Ohio: Thomson South-Western. [4]Bruner, J. In Defense of Verbal Learning. In R.C. Anderson and D.P. Ausubel (eds.), Readings in the Psychology of Cognition. New Your: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1965. [5]Bruning, R. H., Schraw, G. J., Norby, M. M., Ronning, R. R. (1999). Cognitive Psychology and instruction (4th ed.). Columbus, Ohio: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. [6]Cross, K. P. (1981). Adults as learners: Increasing participation and facilitating learning. San

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(1970).

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Personality. (2nd ed.). New York: Harper-Collins. [12]Merriam, S. B, Caffarella, R. S. (1999). Learning in Adulthood: a comprehensive guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. [13]Piaget, J. (1966). Psychology of intelligence. Totowa, NJ: Littlefield, Adams. [14]Rogers, C. R. (1983). Freedom to learn in the 80s. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill. [15]Skinner, B. F. (1974). About Behaviorism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. [16]Watson, J. B. (1919). Psychology from the standpoint Lippencott. of a behaviorist. Philadelphia:

Francisco: Jossey-Bass. [7]Elias, J. L., Merriam, S. (1980). Philosophical foundations of adult education. Malabar, Florida. Robert E. Krieger Publishing Company. [8]Gagne, R. M., Briggs, L. J., and Wager, W. W. (1992). Principles of instructional design. (4th ed.). Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt Brace. [9]Keller, F. Behaviorism. Colliers Encyclopedia (Vol. 4). New York: MacMillan Educational Corporation, Inc. [10]Knowles, M. S., Holton III, E. F., Swanson, R. A. (2005). The adult learner. Burlington MA, USA and London UK: Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann.

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