Wednesday, September 11, 2013

According to Hebb, what is the difference between childhood learning and adult learning?

      Donald Olding Hebb, Canadian psychologist thought there were two types of learning. The first type of learning occurs during infancy and early childhood, and involves the gradual buildup of phase sequences and cell assemblies (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2013). The result of this early type of learning is that events and objects in the environment have neurological representation. A child can think of an event or object, or a series of events and objects when not physically present during this neural development. The second type learning is a more perceptual, rapid, and insightful learning that occurs in and characterizes adult life. It involves the rearrangement of phase sequences and cell assemblies instead of their development. Olson and Hergenhahn (2013), "once cell assemblies and phase sequences have been developed early in life, subsequent learning typically involves their rearrangement" (p. 373). Basically, children learn gradually, while adults learn at a more rapid pace. This is because phase sequences and cell assemblies are developing in children but are already developed in adult and can be rearranged in nearly an infinite number of configurations.
Reference
Olson, M. H. & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2013). An introduction to theories of learning (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

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