Whois & Analysis for atomiclearning.com

This article deals with decision-making as analyzed in psychology.

See also Decision theory.

In psychology, decision-making is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several alternative possibilities.

Every decision-making process produces a final choice; it may or may not prompt action.

Decision-making is the process of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision-maker.

Learning is the act of acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing existing, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences which may lead to a potential change in synthesizing information, depth of the knowledge, attitude or behavior relative to the type and range of experience.

The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals, plants and some machines.

Progress over time tends to follow a learning curve.

Learning does not happen all at once, but it builds upon and is shaped by previous knowledge.

To that end, learning may be viewed as a process, rather than a collection of factual and procedural knowledge.

Learning produces changes in the organism and the changes produced are relatively permanent.

Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits.

Educational methods include storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and directed research.

Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators, but learners may also educate themselves.

Education can take place in formal or informal settings and any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational.

The methodology of teaching is called pedagogy.

Institutions are "stable, valued, recurring patterns of behavior".

As structures or mechanisms of social order, they govern the behaviour of a set of individuals within a given community.

Institutions are identified with a social purpose, transcending individuals and intentions by mediating the rules that govern living behavior.

The scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge.

To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry is commonly based on empirical or measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning.

The Oxford Dictionaries Online define the scientific method as "a method or procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses".

Experiments need to be designed to test hypotheses.

The most important part of the scientific method is the experiment.