Learning New Things
By Alfred Christian Sietereales and Christian Paul Lagac
A constant change in behavior usually defines learning due to multiple past experiences (Cherry, 2020). When you think of learning, the first thing that may come to mind is formal education which starts at a young age. However, learning is a process that goes on throughout your entire life. Learning is an essential part of numerous psychology fields, including cognitive, social, educational, and developmental psychology.
According to Cherry (2020), there are multiple types of learning, the first of which is through classical conditioning. In this type of learning, an association between two neutral stimuli bonds together, forming a conditioned stimulus that triggers through a conditioned response; a real-life example is Pavlov’s experiment with dogs salivating at the sound of a bell. The second type of learning is through operant conditioning, wherein something or someone following a certain behavior will lead to an increased or decreased likelihood of having that behavior again. A real-life example is when you scold a child, the child will be less likely to repeat that behavior. The last type of learning is through observation (Selbing, 2019). In this kind of learning, someone may learn something from their surroundings, such as a child learning how to swear or starting to smoke (DeBell, n.d.)
Personally, learning is a very important part of life. It is a critical experience that can affect the development of all people, including me. Learning has taught me that I should not be afraid to make mistakes as mistakes can be the greatest teacher. Without learning, I would not be who I am today if not for my previous experiences.
Throughout my life, I’ve encountered many opportunities throughout my life, most of which I rejected as I believed that I did not have the necessary skills and work ethics to take up what was offered. I was afraid that I would be embarrassed because I would not comprehend or absorb everything they taught me. But I’ve realized that it does not matter, that as long as I try, everything will be alright. With the help of my friends and family, I mustered enough courage to apply for a position in an organization, and thankfully I was accepted. After working for a couple of months, I’ve learned many new skills and knowledge, which has helped develop a sense of work ethic that I’ve failed to achieve in my high school life. I learned that it is okay not to know. What’s not okay is not even try knowing. Learning is an enabler; it enables us to develop new skills, talents, and knowledge that empowers us to become an inspiration to others.
REFERENCES
Cherry, K. (2020, May 28). The psychology of how people learn. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-learning-2795332
DeBell, A. (2020, June 8). What is observational learning? Water Bear Learning. https://waterbearlearning.com/observational-learning/#:~:text=Observational%20learning%20is%20the%20process,%2C%20memorized%2C%20and%20then%20mimicked.&text=A%20child%20may%20learn%20to,behavior%20is%20desirable%20or%20not
Selbing, I., & Olsson, A. (2019, June 24). Anxious behaviour in a demonstrator affects observational learning. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-45613-1