ABSTRACT
The Set-Function Language (SFL) retains many basic tenets of cognitive formulations, but like all scientific languages, is free of specific theoretical assumptions. In addition, the SFL is based on extremely basic, and highly general, notions, so that it deals only with essential aspects of the constructs and empirical phenomena involved. This chapter reviews Gagné's eight types of learning: signal learning, S-R learning, chaining, verbal association, multiple discrimination, concept learning, principle (rule) learning and problem solving. The first four types clearly involve a single stimulus and a single response. Multiple discrimination simply refers to a set of discrete S-R pairings, each of which may act independently of the others and, hence, must be represented as a separate entity. A concept can be represented by a function in which each stimulus is paired with a common response, while an association can be viewed as a function whose defining set consists of a single S-R pair.
