Describe and criticize an intelligence theory and an intelligence test that you prefer.
Describe and criticize an intelligence theory and an intelligence test that you prefer. Introduction Most people have an intuitive notion of what intelligence is, and many words in the English language distinguish between different levels of intellectual skill: bright, dull, smart, stupid, clever, slow, and so on. Yet no universally accepted definition of intelligence exists, and people continue to debate what, exactly, it is. Fundamental questions remain: Is intelligence one general ability or several independent systems of abilities? Is intelligence a property of the brain, a characteristic of behaviour, or a set of knowledge and skills? The simplest definition proposed is that intelligence is whatever intelligence tests measure. But this definition does not characterize the ability well, and it has several problems. First, it is circular: The tests are assumed to verify the existence of intelligence, which in turn is measurable by the tests. Second, many different intelligence tests exist, and they do not all measure the same thing. In fact, the makers of the first intelligence tests did not begin with a precise idea of what they wanted to measure. Finally, the definition says very little about the specific nature of intelligence. In my opinion, the definition of intelligence is best described as defined by David Wechsler as the "capacity to understand the world and is
Machine Learning in Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning in Artificial Intelligence This assignment will explore some traditional philosophical problems surrounding induction, and use them to consider the application of inductive programming techniques in Artificial Intelligence. It will conclude that the implementation on machines have been encouraging, but that the nature of induction itself will prevent a completely succeful... Show the broad problems underpinning induction, from Humean analysis, to more modern considerations of probability and weighting. `Let us begin with a definition. Induction can be broadly defined as a 'rational' process where, from premises about some things of a certain kind, a conclusion is drawn about some, or all, of the remaining things of that kind. Philosophically it has its history in Hume's exploration of the unreliability of causality. `Hume (1737) derived his notion of causality from a theory that the mind consisted of nothing but perceptions, containing impressions (sensations, emotions) and ideas (thoughts). He posited that reasoning consists in the discovery of relations - 'relations of ideas' (portraying what is conceivable and what is not, such as logical truths) and relations where objects happen to be contiguous - matters of 'fact'. Matters of fact, such as the fact that John Major is PM, possess a truth or falsehood that is only established via experience.
Learning Theory
ATTACHMENT - an emotional tie between 2 people; a process that endures over time. Attachment is associated with certain behaviours, for example clinging which falls under the category of proximity-seeking behaviour. LEARNING THEORY - explanations of attachment, put forward by behaviourists, which state that attachment is learned, rather than due to inborn tendencies. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING This concept was introduced by Pavlov, who noticed dogs began to salivate at the sight of food. He managed to condition the dogs to salivate at the sound of a metronome, as they had associated that with being fed. This concept can be applied to attachment. Food (UCS) produces a sense of pleasure (UCR) in an infant. When they are fed, the infant begins to associate the person (who is the CS) to food and eventually associates them with a sense of pleasure. So, association between the person and a sense of pleasure is what forms an attachment bond. OPERANT CONDITIONING Operant conditioning is about learning through reinforcement (via rewards) and punishment. If a person is rewarded with a pleasant consequence when they show a behaviour, it is likely they will repeat the behaviour in the future (so the behaviour is reinforced). However if the behaviour is met with a unpleasant consequence it is unlikely they will repeat the behaviour. Donard & Miller applied operant conditioning to
Understanding Adult Learning Theory.
Introduction Adults today are confronted with an environment of constant change and rapid shifts. Technology has altered the very nature of business and this had greatly influenced the employment market. Jobs requiring expertise and technical skills are growing in nearly every sector of the economy. The continuous change in what employees need to know and be able to handle suggests that learning, training and education will occur over the length of a career and, in fact, a lifetime. In light of this, adults have had to become life-long learners by consistently challenging themselves to pursue learning opportunities. Thus, a large and growing segment of the education industry more so for the post graduate courses are made of "non-traditional" students. These are working adults who are interested in enhancing their job skills, retooling for new positions and careers, and pursuing other customised learning experiences. With the changing trend in the employment market, higher learning institutions are experiencing increased demand for a larger variety of rapid paced educational resource options for the adult learning community. However, one of the greatest challenges faced by higher learning institutions is identifying instructional or delivery methods that enhance adult learning process. Thus the objective of any higher learning institutions should be to provide and
Social Learning Theory
Social Learning Theory Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, psychologists tended to believe that the explanations offered by classical and operant conditioning were fully adequate to understand human behaviour. Classical conditioning is a form of learning in which a conditioned and unconditioned stimulus become associated, such that the former comes to elicit a response previously elicited only by the latter. It is also known as the Pavlovian or respondent conditioning. Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which voluntary behaviour becomes more or less likely to be repeated depending on its consequences. It is also known as Skinnerian or instrumental conditioning. However, it is now believed that there are many other factors involved in human behaviour, such as cognitive factors, especially observational learning/modeling, and as most of these are based around experience, they are often grouped loosely together under the umbrella term of the social learning mechanisms. Dollard and Miller (1950) stated that, in humans, most learning is social and acquired through observing other people in social situations. Their Social Learning Theory, whilst having its roots in Skinnerian principles, aims to offer a more complex theory of learning in humans within a social context. Bandura (1977) states: "Learning would be extremely laborious, not to mention
Social Learning Theory
Social Learning Theory Theorist: Albert Bandura Social Learning Theory: Social Learning is on the nurture side of the Nature Vs Nurture debate. The main concept of the social learning approach is that you learn by observing the behaviour of others and the outcomes of those behaviours. For example, if a child was to see someone getting positively rewarded, they would copy the behaviour to receive the reward. Whereas, if they were to see someone being punished they wouldn't copy it. (Van Wagner K, 2005) Social learning theory explains human behaviour in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioural, and environmental influences. (Learning-Theorists, 2009) Albert Bandura stated in 1977 that "Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action." Modelling is a method used where the client learns from imitation alone, without any specific verbal direction by the therapist. (Wikipedia, modelling, 2008) The conditions that must be in place for effective modelling are: * Attention - A persons characteristics
The learning theory
Describe and evaluate one explanation of attachment in the case of the Learning Theory Behaviourists state that we do not control our lives, behaviour and destiny through the inner processes of our mind but through our observational behaviour. Therefore behaviourists put forward the 'learning theory'. The learning theory states that our behaviour is not innate but in fact learned from birth. There are two parts to the learning theory which behaviourists believe we learn our behaviour through (including attachment). The first is 'Classical conditioning' and the second 'Operant conditioning'. Behaviourists state that the strongest attachments will be shown to the person providing food and that feeding is crucial for attachment. Classical conditioning is about learning through association, for example a baby learning to associate his mother with food. Behaviourists describe this theory scientifically. This learning begins from birth when a baby at first has no response to his mother (his mother is the neutral stimulus). Before conditioning when the baby wants food and is provided with the food he will feel feelings of pleasure, however the baby will not yet associate his mother with the food. During conditioning the unconditioned stimulus is the mother providing the food and the baby's unconditioned response is pleasure. After conditioning, the baby has now associated his
Social learning theory
Describe and evaluate one social psychological theory of aggression- (24) There are 3 main types of aggression, pro-social, sanctioned and anti-social. Anti-social aggression does not benefit anyone, there are many theories which try to explain how being around others can cause us to act aggressively, such as the social learning theory. This theory is a behavioural theory which was developed mainly by Bandura. It is based on the principles of operant and classical conditioning. This theory claims that aggression, like all behaviour, is learnt from the environment. This occurs through a process called modelling- the individual observes someone behaving aggressively, and then imitates their behaviour. Certain factors make it more likely that we will imitate the aggression we see. We are more likely to imitate role models. A role model is likely to be an individual who is similar to us and who has desirable characteristics, for example we are more likely to imitate individuals of the same sex and who appear popular. An individual is also more likely to imitate a role model if they have low self esteem. We are also more likely to imitate a person's aggression, if we are vicariously reinforced. This is when we see someone getting rewarded for being aggressive (for example, a boy being congratulated by his friends for punching someone). We are more likely to remember
Social Learning Theory
Describe and discuss atleast two features of the social learning theory (10) Social learning theory looks at the social factors and mental processing in human learning. Like behaviourism, it accepts that humans can learn by classical and operant conditioning, but SLT emphasises that humans learn a lot by observation, and imitation of role models. For example, someone must pay attention and perceive what their role model does, think about the purpose of the behaviour they observe, and remember it to accurately reproduce it later. Albert Bandura believed we can learn simply by observing models in the environment and that rewards and punishments are not essential for learning. He looked at the cognitive processes involved in learning e.g. memory and thinking is essential for learning. We can also learn by imitating and copying behaviour. We copy models. We identify with someone we like to be which results in copying and imitating their behaviour. This can be a result of direct or indirect reinforcement. Observational learning has four conditions for effecting modelling to occur. The mediating cognitive factors are attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation. Vicarious conditioning is when the consequences of the model's actions have an important influence on us. Vicarious reinforcement is when the model's actions have a desirable consequence and therefore we are
Learning Theory
Learning Theory Abstract Psychologists have proposed many different theories to explain how we learn. Behaviourists insist on a scientific, controlled approach where each behaviour is seen as a response to a stimulus. The behaviour modification techniques that have appeared most effective in the special education setting are mainly positive reinforcement and contingency management (Ross and Braden 1991). Teachers should attempt to ensure that they provide frequent but variable ratio reinforcement for appropriate behaviour (Weiten, 2004) and that inappropriate behaviour is denied reinforcement by means of time out or other contingency management. As students vary in their learning styles, teachers may need to identify different techniques to be effective for individual students. When an individual demonstrates a lasting change in behaviour, as a result of experience, this is called learning (Laird, 1992; Myers, 2004). Different theories have been proposed in the attempt to explain how learning occurs. The behaviourist school of psychologists insist on a scientific, controlled approach, where each behaviour is seen as a response to a stimulus. According to these theories, we may increase the frequency of a particular behaviour either because it is being triggered by a stimulus that frequently had been associated in time with another stimulus that would more normally have
