ABSTRACT
Behaviorism provides a way of describing environmental influences upon the organism and the organism's responses by focusing on the stimulus-response (S-R) factors, with relatively little concern for the intermediary processes. Perceptual psychology is based on the premise that what takes place between a stimulus and its elicited response is not just another component of the learning process but the nucleus of learning itself. The teacher must realize that each child has a perceptual awareness of an abstraction that may differ considerably from the one the teacher intends. Among the more obvious factors affecting perception are physiological and biological disorders, such as mongolism and microcephalia, as well as mechanical or disease damage to the central nervous system. Most perceptions the individual makes reflect his previous experiences. Prior learning provides the basis for discrimination. The self-concept is a system of attitudes, feelings, and perceptions that the individual has about himself.
