The most appropriate meaning of learning is
2013
The most appropriate meaning of learning is
Answer: B. Modification of behaviour — ConceptIn educational psychology, learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in behaviour, or in behavioural potential, that results from experience…
- A.
Acquisition of skills
- B.
Modification of behaviour
- C.
Personal adjustment
- D.
Inculcation of knowledge
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Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
In educational psychology, learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in behaviour, or in behavioural potential, that results from experience or practice. Gates and associates put it directly: learning is the modification of behaviour through experience and training.
Three marks therefore define learning: a change occurs, the change endures, and experience — not maturation, fatigue, illness or drugs — produces it.
Application
The stem asks for the most appropriate meaning, so the phrase chosen must name the process itself and must cover every outcome domain. In psychology the word behaviour is not limited to visible movement: it spans overt responses as well as covert processes such as thinking, feeling and attitude. A phrase built on the enduring change of behaviour therefore covers motor learning, concept learning and attitude learning at once, and it names the change itself rather than any single product of it.
Cross-check
Each offered phrase, measured against those three marks:
Phrase | Scope it actually covers |
|---|---|
Acquisition of skills | Proficiency on psychomotor or procedural tasks — one outcome domain; cognitive and affective learning fall outside it. |
Personal adjustment | The individual's balance between personal needs and environmental demands — an area of mental health and guidance, not the general process. |
Inculcation of knowledge | Transmission of information by a teacher, limited to cognitive content — an activity on the teaching side. |
Modification of behaviour | Enduring change in responses and behavioural potential caused by experience — spans the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. |
Hence, among the phrases offered, the most appropriate meaning of learning is modification of behaviour.