The Psychology of Learning An Introduction from a Functional-Cognitive Perspective

"This book provides a unique overview of psychological research on learning. It starts with an in-depth discussion on the definition and nature of learning, the distinction between different types of learning, and the main psychological approaches to studying learning. Each subsequent chapter reviews the scientific literature on a specific type of learning (e.g., classical conditioning, operant conditioning), highlighting what is known about the conditions under which learning occurs, as well as the cognitive processes that are assumed to mediate learning. The final chapter focuses on the power and potential of applied learning psychology in helping us to deal with important societal problems such as psychological suffering and climate change. The book is unique in that it summarizes and integrates knowledge from both functional psychology (e.g., behavior analysis) and cognitive psychology in a systematic manner. It does so by adopting a functional-cognitive framework that recognizes the fundamental differences between both approaches while also highlighting the way in which they are mutually supportive. It is also the first book to integrate the (functional) literature on Relational Frame Theory within a review of psychological learning research. The book can be used as an introductory textbook on the psychology of learning for undergraduate and postgraduate students alike. For researchers who study behavior and thinking, it reveals the power of the functional-cognitive framework for psychological research, both in terms of its ability to organize the existing literature on learning, as well as its value for generating new ideas for research on learning"--