Ontogeny of Learning in Man [antikvár]

Brain Mechanisms in Memory and Learning: From the Sir.^l-: Neuron to Man, edited by M. A. B. Brazier. Raven Press, New York © 1979. Ontogeny of Learning in Man Reuven Feuerstein Hadassah-Wizo-Canada Research Instituti, Beit Hal^crsm, Jerusalem 96308, Israel; Bar llan University, Ramat Gan, Israel The problem of the diSerential capacity of individuals to become affected by experiences of a formal or informal nature is a crucial one for both theoretical and applied aspects of psychology and is certainly a question to be addressed within the framework of this volume. The International Brain Research Organization is the framework that may be best equipped with the knowledge, instruments, and methodology necessary for the solution of the problem of differential returns of learning, characteristic for different organisms. Studies in sensory or social deprivation, or both, studies using anatomical techniques, are essential for determining those characteristics of the organism that are necessary for its generalized or more specific capacity to become modified, i.e., to learn from its exposure to stimuli. The relationship between brain and behavior, the cognitive and affective behavior of the organism, has proved to be a two-^^ay transaction, with the brain being affected by, no less than affecting, behavior. The changes occurring on various levels in the brain following exposure to stimulation have been well documented and their meaning stressed. My presentation attempts to outline a theory of the ontogeny of human learning by which differential levels of cognitive development are attributed to the differential learning capacity of a given organism, and the etiology of these differences is suggested. The problem is, to what extent can one look for the neurophysiological substrata of such differences as the direct function of this particular etiology? Learning is defined as the generation of or change in the structure of activities of the organism following the exposure to stimuli or active involvement of the organism in experiencing them, or both. This definition distinguishes between those changes produced by learning and those incurred by the organism as a result of growth or the unfolding of innately determined responses. Furthermore, in order to consider the emergence of a new behavior or the change of an existing behavior as a product of a learning process, a certain degree of stability and permanence should be attributed to it, as well as a certain degree of resistance to the effects of forgetting, fatigue, and other transient adverse conditions of the organism. 361