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Purposive Learning

Purposive Learning

E. C. Tolman emphasized the purposiveness of behavior — the idea that much of our behavior is goal-directed. For instance, employees who aim for a promotion work diligently to meet their targets. Tolman argued that when classical conditioning and operant conditioning occur, the organism acquires certain expectations. In classical conditioning, a child might fear a dog because they expect it to bite. In operant conditioning, a person might consistently work overtime because they expect a...

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...

Inductive Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning

Inductive reasoning is a form of logical thinking that uses related observations to arrive at a general conclusion. It is uncertain and operates in degrees to which the conclusions are credible. As such, inductive arguments can be weak or strong, rather than valid or invalid, and conclusions can be used to formulate testable, falsifiable hypotheses.
Inductive reasoning is common in descriptive science. A life scientist makes observations and records them. This data can be qualitative or...

Surveys

Surveys

Often, psychologists develop surveys as a means of gathering data. Surveys are lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally. Generally, the survey itself can be completed in a short time, and the ease of administering a survey makes it easy to collect data from a large number of people.

Observational Learning

Observational Learning

Albert Bandura's observational learning, also known as imitation or modeling, occurs when a person observes and imitates another's behavior. It is a quicker process than operant conditioning. A well-known example is the Bobo doll study, where children who saw an adult acting aggressively towards the doll were more likely to act aggressively when left alone, compared to those who observed a nonaggressive adult. Many psychologists view observational learning as a form of latent learning...

The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison

The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison

According to Charles Cooley, we base our image on what we think other people see (Cooley 1902). We imagine how we must appear to others, then react to this speculation. We don certain clothes, prepare our hair in a particular manner, wear makeup, use cologne, and the like—all with the notion that our presentation of ourselves is going to affect how others perceive us. We expect a certain reaction, and, if lucky, we get the one we desire and feel good about it. But more than that, Cooley...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 4, 2025

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Published on: September 11, 2021

The Multifaceted Role of Self-Generated Question Asking in Curiosity-Driven Learning.

Kara Kedrick¹, Paul Schrater^1,2, Wilma Koutstaal¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota.

Cognitive Science

|April 4, 2023

Summary

Asking questions enhances learning and discovery. Generating high-quality questions increases curiosity, information seeking, and memory retention for new knowledge.

Keywords:

Curiosity Information foraging Intrinsic motivation Memory Question asking Semantic analysis

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Last Updated: Aug 4, 2025

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Educational Psychology

Background:

Curiosity is a key driver of learning and innovation.
Identifying knowledge gaps is crucial for acquiring new information.
Self-generated questions play a vital role in active learning.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of self-generated questions in active-curiosity-driven learning.
To examine how question quality influences information seeking and memory.
To introduce new metrics for assessing question quality.

Main Methods:

Utilized the "Curiosity Question & Answer Task" paradigm.
Participants (N=135) generated questions for incomplete factual statements.
Assessed question quality, curiosity, information foraging, and memory recall.

Main Results:

High-quality question asking correlated with elevated curiosity.
Participants were more likely to seek information related to their questions.
Curiosity motivated information foraging; curiosity and satisfaction enhanced memory.

Conclusions:

Active question asking enhances the value of information, improving learning.
Self-generated questions are integral to curiosity-driven learning and discovery.
Findings have broad implications for education, research, and innovation.