ABSTRACT
The learning course may be considered the heart of a psychology major because a basic knowledge of psychology requires familiarity with the diverse ideas subsumed under the concepts of learning, motivation, and behavior analysis. Learning is the nurture in the interaction of how genes meet environment, and it is the acquisition process in an information-processing approach to memory. Learning concepts are implicit in the processes of development and acculturation, in educational and vocational psychology, and in distinguishing perception from sensation. Personality? Abnormal Psychology? Motivation? These areas incorporate basic associative processes and the effects of reinforcers and punishers on behavior. It is no surprise that three of four proposed models of undergraduate curricula in psychology include a course in learning (McGovern, Furumoto, Halpern, Kimble, & McKeachie, 1991). Given its central prominence in the psychology curriculum, professors should approach the teaching of learning with due consideration, humility, and passion: The stakes are high, the challenge is clear, and the task is daunting.
