ABSTRACT
Many different views of learning have been proposed by a group of psychologists known as behaviorists and this chapter examines the early or traditional conceptualizations of the learning process. It looks at the reasons why many contemporary learning theories focus on specific learning principles rather than attempting to explain all aspects of learning. The primary goal of the behaviorist is to determine the rules or laws governing this learning and use these laws to predict, control, and understand behavior. Much of the traditional learning theories have dealt with either classical, instrumental conditioning or a combination. There are several forms of learning that have defied explanation by these early theories including concept formation, problem solving, language, insight, covariation of events, and other more cognitive forms of learning. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book.
