THEORIES OF LEARNING: Page 55

which the goal influences the nature of the insight and resulting behavior; (this differs from trial-and-error learning in that insight rather than past experience directs the solving of the problem). Maier describes behavior changes as: stimulus-response reactions "determined by neural connections only"; motivated behavior determined by the consequences of such behavior; and frustration, not guided by consequences but able to be changed by guidance, possibly because of associations acting through neural connections, and in this explanation the fixation response appears to be similar to association by contiguity. A dynamic approach known as functionalism has been offered by F. S. Robinson. The factors which he considers important in learning are contiguity, assimilation (meaning that one activity prompts another), frequency and intensity. He too is concerned with adaptation, and his interpretation of the mind is based on neural action. Man's intellect causes movements in the direction of adjustment, and environment is a major factor. Practice is extremely important, according to this theory, but operational personality factors are not considered. Thorpe and Schmuller (1954) have attempted to draw from all of these theories a flexible, integrated understanding of the principle of learning. Searching for a definition, they find that, stated simply, learning is a form of behavior in the acquisition of facts, that it is a social and educational process involving both heredity and environment, and then they go on to suggest as an acceptable statement that "Learning ... [is] ... the total changes which occur in an individual as a result