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Psychological Processes and Learning

This book focuses on 11 key neuropsychological processes that function as aptitudes for specific academic skills. Each of these broad processes is composed of subprocesses that contribute to the effective performance of that process when demands are placed on it. Although many of these subprocesses can be described, understood, and mapped in the brain, psychological measurement of most subprocesses has not attained a level of reliability and validity that would justify the amount of time it would require to sample each of them. Moreover, interventions for neuropsychological deficits generally do not target isolated subprocesses.

Given any task, an array of processes and subprocesses becomes involved in meeting the demands of the task. The processes involved work together in an integrated fashion, but the level of contribution from each process and subprocess fluctuates during completion of the task. For instance, the following broad processes would contribute to mentally completing an arithmetic story problem that is presented orally to a learner who has acquired basic arithmetic facts and procedures: First, the learner would need to focus attention on the information being presented. Auditory processing and oral language processes would allow the learner to recognize and comprehend the information and the task demands. Executive functions would then contribute as planning and selection of a problem-solving strategy take place. In conjunction with executive functions, fluid reasoning would be employed to transform the word problem into a calculation algorithm. Long-term recall would then come into play as the necessary arithmetic facts are retrieved. After the calculation (a skill) is completed, executive functions would be called on once again, this time to evaluate the correctness of the solution. Finally, oral language processes would be needed again, this time to compose and orally express the response. From start to finish, working memory would be required to hold all of the information required to complete the steps. Also, the level of processing speed the learner functions at would be influencing the outcome. To successfully solve the arithmetic problem—a task lasting just a matter of seconds—the contributions of several broad processes and numerous subprocesses would be required. A deficiency in any one of them, especially a process that plays a significant role, might make the task challenging and difficult to complete. A deficiency in more than one of the related important processes might lead to failure.

Similar to this example, the acquisition and successful performance of any specific academic skill requires a set of well-developed psychological processes working together in a coordinated and effective manner. Because the task demands of each academic skill vary, the set of required psychological processes also varies. The first purpose of this chapter is to define and elaborate on the key psychological processes involved in learning specific academic skills. The second purpose is to review the psychoeducational research and identify the processes that make the most important contributions to specific types of learning. The overall goal of this chapter is to increase the reader's understanding of the psychological processes underlying successful academic learning and performance and the understanding of how deficiencies in these processes contribute to specific learning disabilities.

Descriptions of the Psychological Processes

Attention

Attention is a complex, multifaceted psychological process that influences more than behavior and performance (Chun, Golomb, & Turk-Browne, 2011; see Rapid Reference 2.1). Learning and the efficiency of cognitive operations, such as working memory, require adequate attentional capacity and control. The development of academic skills is dependent on the ability to focus, sustain, and divide attention (Rabiner, Murray, & Schmid, 2004). Students with higher levels of attentional control are better able to inhibit distractions, as well as to receive, process, and encode more information. Students with learning disabilities often demonstrate deficits in controlling attention (Kroesbergen, Van Luit, & Naglieri, 2003). Deficits in attentional processes can contribute to any type of specific learning disabilities, but attention seems to have the strongest relationship with the acquisition of mathematics skills.

Attention deficits may underlie learning problems without the behavior and performance problems associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Thus, it might be appropriate to associate an attention deficit that is primarily impacting cognition and learning as part of a learning disability and not diagnose it as ADHD. ADHD involves a broad spectrum of behavioral, social, and academic learning and performance problems. The hyperactive and impulsive dimensions of ADHD are less related with learning problems than the attention dimension. That is, the Inattentive type of ADHD is more closely related with learning disorders than is the Hyperactive/Impulsive type (Jakobson & Kikas, 2007). Moreover, students with ADHD, and not LD, are more likely to suffer from academic performance problems (e.g., completing homework) than from actual skills deficits. They are often able to acquire academic skills well but then fail to consistently demonstrate those skills because of a production deficiency (McCloskey, Perkins, & Van Divner, 2009).

The functioning of attentional processes is closely connected with the self-regulatory dimensions of executive functions and working memory. According to Barkley (1997), problems with sustaining attention are caused by difficulties with inhibitory control, one of the executive functions. Attentional capacity and control are also highly related with working memory (Baddeley, 1986) and with performance on standardized processing speed tests.

Auditory Processing

Auditory processing is the ability to perceive, analyze, synthesize, and discriminate speech and other auditory stimuli. It is not the sensory aspect of audition, but rather what the brain does with sensory information received through the ear. According to CHC theory, auditory processing subsumes such narrow abilities as phonetic coding, speech sound discrimination, resistance to auditory stimulus distortion, memory for sound patterns, maintaining and judging rhythm, musical discrimination and judgment, absolute pitch, and sound localization (Schneider & McGrew, 2012).

Children with auditory processing disorders have difficulties recognizing and interpreting sounds, especially speech sounds, leading to difficulties with understanding language and other auditory information. For example, such children will have difficulty distinguishing between similar-sounding words like...