Learning is defined as "a relatively permanent change in behavior as a
result of experience". Areas of psychology that involve relatively
permanent changes in behavior as a result of experience: Sensation &
perception; human cognition, motivation & emotion; development;
personality; stress & coping; abnormal psychology; behavioral
therapy/psychotherapy; social psychology; health psychology;
industrial/organizational psychology. (Did I miss some?)
Thus, theories of learning have great importance in understanding
human behavior (and the mental and emotional events that underlie
behavior).
Hopefully, you became somewhat familiar with principles of learning
and how they apply to everyday life in Introductory Psychology. Your
textbook (and I) will offer everyday examples of each type of learning
we discuss this semester. We will also discuss professional
applications of learning theories: behavior analysis and behavior
modification.

In Introductory Psychology lab, and/or in Research Methods (P211),
students learn about experiments and how experimental results are used
to support or reject an hypothesis. In P325 students are challenged to
think on a more advanced level. Students will learn about different
types of learning (non-associative learning; associative learning;
observational learning), and about alternative theories that have been
proposed to explain them.
Students will be expected to understand and discuss the methods and
results of critical experiments that support or challenge particular
theories of learning.