ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of some key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. This book presents a scientifically accurate and sophisticated view of the principles of learning. It includes the qualifying statements: when a given principle holds and when exceptions occur. The field of research broadly described as learning has its origins in philosophy and science. In particular, the philosophical movements of empiricism and rationalism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the development of evolution theory within biology in the nineteenth century, fostered an interest in the scientific investigation of learning. These movements are active influences in contemporary psychology. Learning involves changes in behavioral repertoire, or the stock of behaviors that might be performed. The phrase learning curve has entered everyday language, often used as a metaphor in comparing individuals. One person is said to be farther along the learning curve than another, for instance.