Social learning theoryposits thatlearningis acognitive processthat takes place in asocial contextand can occur purely through observation or direct instruction, even in the absence of motor reproduction or directreinforcement. In addition to the observation of behavior, learning also occurs through the observation of rewards and punishments, a process known as vicarious reinforcement. The theory expands on traditionalbehavioral theories, in which behavior is governed solely by reinforcements, by placing emphasis on the important roles of various internal processes in the learning individual.The socio-cultural approach is based on the idea that society and culture shape cognition. Social customs, beliefs, values, and language are all part of what shapes a person's identity and reality. According to this approach, what a person thinks is based on his or her socio-cultural background. A socio-cultural approach takes into account more than the individual in attempting to understand cognitive processes.

Psychoanalytic theoryrefers to the definition of personality organization and the dynamics of personality development that underlie and guide the psychoanalytic andpsychodynamic psychotherapy, calledpsychoanalysis, a clinical method for treatingpsychopathology. First laid out bySigmund Freudin the late 19th century, psychoanalytic theory has undergone many refinements since his work. Psychoanalytic theory came to full prominence in the last third of the twentieth century as part of the flow of critical discourse regarding psychological treatments after the 1960s, long after Freud's death in 1939,and its validity is now widely disputed or rejected.Humanismis aphilosophicalandethicalstance that emphasizes the value andagencyofhuman beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism,empiricism) over established doctrine or faith (fideism). The meaning of the termhumanismhas fluctuated, according to the successive intellectual movements which have identified with it.[1]Generally, however, humanism refers to a perspective that affirms some notion of a "human nature" (sometimes contrasted withantihumanism).Connectionismis a set of approaches in the fields ofartificial intelligence,cognitive psychology,cognitive science,neuroscience, andphilosophy of mind, that modelsmentalorbehavioralphenomena as theemergent processesofinterconnected networks of simple units. There are many forms of connectionism, but the most common forms useneural networkmodels.Gestalt psychologyorgestaltism(German:Gestalt"shape, form") is a theory of mind of theBerlin School. The central principle of gestalt psychology is that the mind forms aglobal wholewith self-organizing tendencies. This principle maintains that the human mind considers objects in their entirety before, or in parallel with, perception of their individual parts; suggestingthe whole is other than the sum of its parts. Gestalt psychology tries to understand the laws of our ability to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions in an apparently chaotic world.Reception theoryis a version ofreader responseliterary theorythat emphasizes the reader's reception of aliterary text. It is more generally calledaudience receptionin the analysis ofcommunicationsmodels. In literary studies, reception theory originated from the work ofHans-Robert Jaussin the late 1960s. It was most influential during the 1970s and early 1980s in Germany and USA (Fortier 132), amongst some notable work in Western Europe. A form of reception theory has also been applied to the study ofhistoriographySign Learning Tolman's theorizing has been called purposive behaviorism and is often considered the bridge between behaviorism and cognitive theory. According to Tolman's theory of sign learning, an organism learns by pursuing signs to a goal, i.e., learning is acquired through meaningful behavior. Tolman emphasized the organized aspect of learning: "The stimuli which are allowed in are not connected by just simple one-to-one switches to the outgoing responses. Rather the incoming impulses are usually worked over and elaborated in the central control room into a tentative cognitive-like map of the environment. And it is this tentative map, indicating routes and paths and environmental relationships, which finally determines what responses, if any, the animal will finally make."Insight learning.In the 1920's, German psychologist Wolfgang Kohler was studying the behavior of apes. He designed some simple experiments that led to the development of one of the first cognitive theories of learning, which he calledinsight learning.In his experiment, Kohler hung a piece of fruit just out of the reach of each chimp. He then provided the chimps with either two sticks or three boxes, then waited and watched. Kohler noticed that after the chimps realized they could not simply reach or jump up to retrieve the fruit, they stopped, had a seat, and thought about how they might solve the problem. Then after a few moments, the chimps stood up and proceeded to solve the problem.Conditions of Learning (Robert Gagne)This theory stipulates that there are several different types or levels of learning. The significance of these classifications is that each different type requires different types of instruction. Gagne identifies five major categories of learning: verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, motor skills and attitudes. Different internal and external conditions are necessary for each type of learning. For example, for cognitive strategies to be learned, there must be a chance to practice developing new solutions to problems; to learn attitudes, the learner must be exposed to a credible role model or persuasive arguments.Subsumption Theory (David Ausubel)Ausubel's theory is concerned with how individuals learn large amounts of meaningful material from verbal/textual presentations in a school setting (in contrast to theories developed in the context of laboratory experiments). According to Ausubel, learning is based upon the kinds of superordinate, representational, and combinatorial processes that occur during the reception of information. A primary process in learning is subsumption in which new material is related to relevant ideas in the existing cognitive structure on a substantive, non-verbatim basis. Cognitive structures represent the residue of all learning experiences; forgetting occurs because certain details get integrated and lose their individual identity.Cone of ExperienceDale's "Cone of Experience," which he intended to provide an intuitive model of the concreteness of various kinds of audio-visual media, has been widely misrepresented. Often referred to as the "Cone of Learning," it purports to inform viewers of how much people remember based on how they encounter information. However, Dale included no numbers and did not base his cone on scientific research, and he also warned readers not to take the cone too seriously. The numbers may have originated as early as the 1940s, when a scholar at the University of Texas at Austin created visual aids for the military.The Spiral Curriculum is predicated on cognitive theory advanced by Jerome Bruner (1960), who wrote, We begin with the hypothesis that any subject can be taught in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development Bruner hypothesized that human cognition occurred in three relatively discreet stages: Enactive, or actually manipulating and interacting with objects; Iconic, or manipulating images of the objects or phenomena; or Symbolic, or the manipulation of representations of the actual objects or phenomena.attributionis the process by which individuals explain the causes of behavior and events. Attribution theory is the study of various models that attempt to explain those processes.[1]Psychological research into attribution began with the work ofFritz Heiderin the early part of the 20th century, subsequently developed by others such asHarold KelleyandBernard Weiner.Control theoryis an interdisciplinary branch of engineering andmathematicsthat deals with the behavior ofdynamical systemswith inputs, and how their behavior is modified byfeedback. The usual objective of control theory is to control a system, often called theplant, so its output follows a desired control signal, called thereference, which may be a fixed or changing valueSelf-efficacyis the extent or strength of one's belief in one's own ability to complete tasks and reachgoals.[1]Psychologists have studied self-efficacy from several perspectives, noting various paths in the development of self-efficacy; the dynamics of self-efficacy, and lack thereof, in many different settings; interactions between self-efficacy and self-concept; and habits of attribution that contribute to, or detract from, self-efficacy.Self-determination theory(SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation and personality, concerning people's inherent growth tendencies and their innate psychological needs. It is concerned with themotivationbehind thechoices that people make without any external influence and interference. SDT focuses on the degree to which an individuals behavior is self-motivated and self-determined.Theuncertainty reduction theory, developed in 1975 byCharles BergerandRichard Calabrese, is acommunication theory from thepost-positivisttradition. The theory asserts the notion that, when interacting, people need information about the other party in order to reduce their uncertainty. In gaining this information people are able to predict the others behavior and resulting actions, all of which according to the theory is crucial in the development of any relationship.Drive theory is based on the principle that organisms are born with certain psychological needs and that a negative state of tension is created when these needs are not satisfied. When a need is satisfied, drive is reduced and the organism returns to a state ofhomeostasisand relaxation. According to the theory, drive tends to increase over time and operates on a feedback control system, much like a thermostat.Metacognitionis defined as "cognitionabout cognition", or "knowing about knowing". It comes from the root word "meta",meaning beyond.[1]It can take many forms; it includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or for problem solving.[1]There are generally two components of metacognition: knowledge about cognition, and regulation of cognition