Introduction
Stimulus learning involves a comparatively form of changed behaviours or a form of repertoire that occurs due to continual practice or experience. It is not easy to discern between the acquired knowledge and skills stored in the mind, but transformation of behaviour is used to show the objective changes that occur during learning. Learning therefore has to illustrate acquisition of new skills or knowledge gain.
Learning presents a comparatively permanent form of behavioural adjustments that enables one to eliminate exhaustions, and builds a form of enthusiasm towards habitual, which is a simple form of learning or a complex habitual form of knowledge acquisition.
Concept of Habituation
Some forms of stimuli also promote learning because of ability to manipulate behaviour. One of the simplest form of learning is habituation, where there is a tendency to cultivate a behaviour due to influence by a stimulus.
A good example of habituation is the ability to familiarize with a given situation for instance, if a person transfers to a new location next to a rail way station, where frequent noises or rapid locomotive movements detain the mind. The noise and movements motivates habits and moulds a constant habit in the mind such that the noise is not a nuisance with time.
During the first few days, the mind becomes unfocused but eventually the mind becomes accustomed to the situation and the orienting responses fade off.
Human surrounding is full of noise and destructions such that focusing the mind to these destructive aspects causes dissipation of any of the illogical measures since one would need to focus attention to each of these stimuli. The theory of habituation allows human beings to pay little or no attention to repetitive nuisance (Reason, 2010).
Factors affecting perceptual learning
Perceptual learning is one’s ability to gain knowledge of something and be aware of previous stimuli that have ever caused an effect. In this case, the primary purpose of this form of learning is to establish the ability to recognize, identify and categorize various circumstances or entities that were concern with the stimulus.
According to Reason, capacity to recognize the stimuli depends on the changes that occur in the sensory and nervous system of a human being (2010). Perceptual learning is therefore the ability to recognize occurrences and not trying to find out the actions to take when there are stimuli within a situation.
The simple perceptual learning is the ability to recognize some stimuli that occur in certain regions of visual sensory systems such as the cortex.
Perceptual form of learning therefore allows learners to cater for several well-identified aspects of learning, learning styles and theories that synthesize essential characteristics toward a different form of learning that has a basis on behaviors and different actions perceivable from the classroom point of view.
According to Reason, perceptual approach is a learning process that reflects on most important senses namely auditory visual and tactile (2010).
Maturation
Learning depends on maturity, experiences and exposure that the mind gets. The mental age is a measure of mental ability, social instructiveness and psychological willingness to embrace development. Maturity is therefore a major factor that influences physical development of factors such as reaction or sensory mechanisms.
There is need for sensory systems made of the nervous structure to reach a definite level of maturity both physically and psychologically. Old age as a result causes deterioration of cortex tissues thus affecting coordination and learning abilities (Schunk, 2011).
Maturation is therefore a constant development of the nervous system and brain tissues or other body structures that make one ready to perform a particular activity including learning, which is modification of existing patterns of responses.
Visual Learning
As the term indicates, the visual form of learning occurs through vision or relaying on sight to capture the required information. Learners who rely on this form of learning put knowledge together by collecting spatially interrelated information and storing it graphically
Visual learning involves low-level form of sequential recognition that occurs as necessary form of discriminating visual patterns received from the cortex (Arwood and Kaulitz, 2007). The learning is a stream of information that assists in determining the stimulus and the region of incentive (Arwood and Kaulitz, 2007).
The human nervous system that causes a delay in harmonizing learning with a simple task often affects visual perceptual learning. Perceptual learning requires one to remember a stimulus for a certain period.
The human neuron system recognizes and assists in remembering a certain stimulus and this often fails to occur due to the inferiority of the temporal cortex since there is reduced ability to recognize what is perceived today (Arwood and Kaulitz, 2007). Some forms of stimulations used during the delays such as electrical stimuli cause forgetfulness.
Multiple stimuli thus linking neural systems that recognize these stimuli such that when a person perceives one of the stimuli, both neural circuits become active. Establishment of new circuits is the only viable measure of ensuring that long-term visual memory is established.
Visual learning is highly connected to conceptual learning, for instance children read load letters of the alphabet repeatedly to conceptualize them. A good example of this form of conceptualization is children knowing how to sing a whole song or can recite a whole commercial verbatim, without understanding the meaning.
Most people already in the permanent job industries are never interested in advancing studies. Learning new things through observation paves way for quicker understanding and ability to respond quickly to whatever is learnt. Observation affects the learning process since one may observe process and acquire new behaviors or phenomena for personal interpretation.
The observation is often conscious, but every now and then it is unconscious (Arwood and Kaulitz, 2007). The observation can thus lead to acquisition of bad habits especially among children, who formulate and visualize what is observed to produce an insight that depends on achievement of skills or knowledge.
Auditory Learning
This is a form where the auditory and listening skills are the key aspects of learning. According to Reason, hearing an expression of an idea involves “discovering and making use of means and relationships in reorganising the psychological field of observation” (2010). Solutions to problems might not be at reach from the normal mental of physical levels, and are therefore solvable through insight or auditory senses.
Auditory learning mainly emerges from studying the whole and then observing various sections of the whole from different perspectives. However, it is a goal seeking behaviour that may fail to give the required accuracy, but develops great behavioural need towards achievement of a goal.
Tactile Learning
Tactile learners have a preference to touch and practical implementation of knowledge. Tactile learners therefore work best when there is involvement of some form of Physical interaction in the aim of mastering a concept (Reason, 2010).
This form of learning is very delicate considering that distractions can easily cause wrong interpretation. Tactile learning triggers other forms through formation of patterns by the sensory input and need for more inputs. For instance, recognition of a ball shape comes from various definitions of the spherical figures.
References
Arwood, E. L. & Kaulitz, C. (2007). Learning with a Visual Brain in an Auditory World: Visual Language Strategies for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. UK: Autism Asperger Publishing Company. Web.
Reason, C. (2010). Leading a learning organization: The science of working with others. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Web.
Schunk, D. H. (2011). Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective. Boston, Ma: Allyn & Bacon, Incorporated. Web.