Learning
There are two ways in which infants
learn from their environment. These types of learning are known
as classical conditioning and operant
conditioning. Classical conditioning occurs when an event
in the environment becomes associated with a certain pleasurable
feeling for the child and then that event can elicit a certain
response from the infant. For example, the sound of a mother's
voice may become associated with the being cuddled and produce
a feeling of comfort for a child. Through learning the child may
no longer need to be cuddled in order to be comforted, but only
to hear its mother's voice.
Operant
conditioning occurs when a child's behaviour is reinforced
by the outcome that that behaviour produces. For example, if a
baby cries when it is hungry and receives food, it will learn
that crying is a way to get fed, and will repeat this behaviour
in the future when hungry.
Related Links
Child Psychology
Infancy
Attachment
Early Childhood
Mental Development
Social development
& Identity
Aggression
& Prosocial Behaviour
Parenting
Community
Influences
Middle Childhood
Adolescence
Developmental
Psychology
Problems
of Children & Teens
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