Cognitive Processes

Learning can be defined as the change in mental processing, behaviour and emotion as the result of experience gained over time (Bastable, Gramet, Jacobs, & Sopczyk, 2011). It is a dynamic, lifelong process through which someone can gain new skills, knowledge, as well as adjust their attitudes, feelings or thought towards specific issues and topics. With these changes, an individual can adapt to the ever changing circumstances that may arise within their lifetime (Bastable et al., 2011).

Examines how language develops from infancy into adulthood. Focuses on the modularity debate of how language is organized in the brain. Some theorize that language is domain-specific in that the brain has processes dedicated to the task of language learning and comprehension. Others focus on a domain-general theory for language learning where the processes used to learn language are the same processes used in other situations such as problem solving.

When meaning is attached to words or sequences of speech sounds, young children begin to develop semantic knowledge. Children develop semantic knowledge through their experiences in varied environmental contexts that foster concept development. Semantic development is impacted by direct experiences because these experiences occur from birth on,

Learning is "a change in behavior due to experience" (Chance, 2003, p. 36). Learning allows an organism to modify its behavior to suit a particular situation. It is a mechanism by which one copes with the ever-changing environment. Anything an organism does that can be measured is behavior (Chance, 2003). Organisms change their behavior to fit environmental changes; this is a learning process, it provides a means to modify

     Psychologists have preformed many studies and proposed many theories regarding learning. Learning can be defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior that is due to past experience.

​There are different theories that point to how a child understands and develops a language. According to the article, Katherine Nelson, a developmental psychologist, believes that children learn languages and concepts through action, and then series of actions create events. When children develop understanding of events, they begin to label and get mental representation of them. Different kinds of events can helps children learn words by stories and variety of activities.

From a baby 's first word to their first complete sentence, there 's a lot to debate with their language development. The average child has a vocabulary of up to six-thousand words by the time they turn five years old (Brighthubcom, 2016). Language development is one of the most critical roles for an educator in both early childhood and primary settings. It is this ability of language development that is particularly interesting in the nature vs nurture debate. In order for educators to provide effective communication, it is important that they have the knowledge and understanding of the four key concepts of language, such as phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic development and the underlying theoretical perspectives that explain the processes of language acquisition and development.

Developing language is one of the most important connections a child needs in his or her life because it is a connection that will be used continuously in their lives and keep developing. Children learn and communicate from the five sense. As Sara Gable and her intern Melisa Hunting argued in the Nature, Nurture and Early Brian Development, “the brain takes in the external world through its system of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste” (Goble and Hunting).Furthermore, when caregivers provide proper education like talking, reading or even speak in the form of the speech “parentese” (Elaine Shiver) helps the child form language. If caregivers communicate this way with their children, then the child will make connections with vocabulary and picture. Children also learn from lip reading to capture accents and different dialects. This is reason why babies pick accents from their native languages.

Furthermore, through learning, a person undergoes behavioral changes, as well as changes in skills, attitude and knowledge. Therefore this

Learning has been described by Howe (1980) as ‘cumulative’ i.e. whatever we learn at any time is influenced by previous learning. It is also clear that developmental processes and learning processes are closely interlinked. Whilst psychologists agree that learning is affected by past experience and is relatively permanent there are differing theories about exactly what changes when learning takes place and what mechanisms are involved. An important issue is whether the focus is on overt behavioural changes (that which can be seen) or covert, cognitive changes (the unseen change in thoughts). The concept of learning is broad and there are different psychological theories as to what is involved in that learning process.

Childhood is an interesting time in a child’s life. It is a time for children to grow, learn, and mature so they are set up for success in adulthood. A child’s brain develops through multiple aspects in their lives such as the television, picture books, and games. Television is a way for children to develop in their age range, because the shows are aimed to help them at the stage their brain is at in development. Piaget concluded that there were four different stages in the cognitive development of children (Edward, Hopgood, Rosenberg, & Rush). It brings to question how do

Learning is defined as a process which leads to permanent change in behaviour or knowledge which occurs through experience. It is known as an adaptive function carried out by the nervous system in relation to the environment. The process of learning allows the neural pathways can be activated, rerouted and strengthened, and all of this causes the changes in behaviour. There are two main types of learning: classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning.

Learning is the relatively permanent change in behavior (Burns, 1995), and can come in the form of observable activities and internal processes. Explanations of what happens when these actions occur are known as learning theories. These theories include behaviorist, cognitivist, humanist, social learning and constructivist. In this essay behaviorist and cognitivists will be described, compared and contrasted in order to truly understand their approache.

“Cognitive psychology is a modern approach to the study of [processes by which people come to understand the world- such processes as memory, learning, comprehending language, problem solving, and creativity. Cognitive psychology has been influenced by developments in language, computer science, and of course, earlier work in philosophy and psychology” – Hayes (cited by Lundin)

Experience can shape our behavior and personality. More over our experiences contribute to our development over time. Learning process occurs when we experience situation that have negative or positive effect on us. In this essay I will briefly describe my personal learning experience; I will also define the concept of learning, and will provide analysis of what I have learned from this experience. In addition my essay will include the analysis and application of classical and operant conditioning as well as cognitive- social learning.