In education, as in psychology, clarity matters. Yet in everyday conversations about teaching and learning, terms like learning theory and pedagogy are often used interchangeably. Phrases such as “We ...

In psychology, the term “blank slate,” or tabula rasa, actually has two meanings. The first refers to the belief that all humans are born with the ability to become literally anything or anyone. This ...

In Jarek Janio’s Inside Higher Ed opinion column, “Beyond ‘Grit’ and ‘Growth Mindsets,’” Janio argues that, to promote better student learning, college instructors should ignore questions about ...

Getting a sweet treat is socially acceptable after big exams because of the notion that you deserve to be rewarded when you work hard. Reinforcement, associated with behaviorism, is central to ...

Given that many readers found my claims about the nature of depression controversial (here and here), I thought I would share a somewhat longer articulation of my approach to conceptualizing ...

The field of behavioural psychology investigates the ways in which reinforcement schedules shape actions across both human and non-human subjects. By systematically varying the contingencies of ...