Educational Psychology Essay Example For Students

Educational Psychology Essay ? Mr. ? Psychology 16 Oct. 1996 ? Mr. ? Psychology 16 Oct. 1996 Educational Psychology Essay The field of psychology that deals with the ability to solve educational problems and to improve educational situations is the field of educational psychology. Educational psychology is sometimes referred to as an applied field, meaning, one in which the objective is to solve immediate practical problems (James 29). The beginnings of educational psychology were initiated by Aristotle in his formulation of the laws of association. These laws: similarity, contrast, and contiguity, supplemented by frequency, are the beginnings to an experimental science (Piaget 9). As the science began to develop, the educational psychologists did little more than administer mental tests, which started with the Stanford-Binet test (IQ test). Today, the science has been expanded to include counseling students, teachers, administrators, and parents, in an effort to help make the school environment one which is most effective in promoting learning. As an example, if a student in school commits a disciplinary action, instead of being indiscriminately punished, that student would be sent to see the school psychologist to find out the causes of the students misbehavior and deal with them accordingly (Frandsen 92). â€Å"The earliest and most Ardent of behaviourists was Watson (1931; Medcof and Roth, 1991; Hill 1997). His fundamental conclusion from many experimental observations of animal and childhood learning was that stimulus-response (S-R) connections are more likely to be established the more frequently or recently an S-R bond occurs. A child solving a number problem might have to make many unsuccessful trials before arriving at the correct solution† (Childs, 2004).Cognitive Psychology is focused on learning based on how people perceive, remember, think, speak and problem-solve. The cognitive perspective differs in. . cial aspects of cooperative learning. In conclusion, auditory learners prefer to learn things visually; they prefer to listen to instructions. Kinesthetic learners rather touch and feel what they are doing. A teacher should evaluate her classroom to see what kind of learners she has in her classroom to be more a more effective teacher. Since in educational psychology there are many branches of psychology that are used to determine learning within the classroom.Works CitedWillingham, D. (2009). What can Cognitive Psychology do for Teachers? Encyclopedia Britannica Blog. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2009/04/what-can-cognitive-psychology-do-for-teachers/.Child, D. (2004) Psychology and the Teacher. (7th ed.). London, New York: Continuum.Social Cognition. Science Daily. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/s/social_cognition.htm