Individual learning ability is impacted by both the environment (e.g. nurture) and genetics (e.g. nature) in several ways. Genetic factors include (a) the structure and function of specific brain regions related to learning and memory, (b) variations in how sensitive one is to stimuli such as sound or colors and (c) a person’s inherent level of emotionality. All of these factors can play a role in learning because each can facilitate or inhibit the acquisition and/or retention of knowledge.

Research about learning differences between men and women is mixed, and there does not appear to be conclusive evidence of any inherent biological differences. Most studies seem to indicate that when differences are found, they can be explained by the level of familiarity the individuals have with the subject to be learned or by stereotypical expectations about gender. Although hormones may not affect overall intellect, hormone levels can impact performance at a given point in time and impact learning. 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has a number of symptoms, including a failure to habituate to repeated neutral stimuli, chronically high levels of emotional arousal, and a fear of aversive conditioned stimuli. When the hippocampus is over-aroused, its ability to preserve conscious aspects of memory may be compromised. Each of these factors is associated with PTSD and each can have a significant impact on the function of memory.

There are various conceptual approaches to the study of learning. The functional approach relates to a study of the evolution of learning across species and how different species adapt. The behavioral approach concentrates on empirical observations of behavior. The cognitive approach arose from computer science and a desire to study information processing of the brain. The neuroscience approach may incorporate various perspectives (such as cognitive) but a hallmark is the utilization of imagery produced by brain scans—PET and fMRI.

If people are engaged in negative thoughts, worried, preoccupied about their performance, or being self-critical while attempting to learn, then they are very likely to experience impairment to working memory. This is because these types of thoughts impose limits on attention resources. None of the other answers are true because anxiety increases arousal.

The concept of meaningfulness in learning and memory refers to the use of existing knowledge as a means of increasing learning of unfamiliar material. For example, if you were asked to memorize a list of groceries, it might be difficult to remember every random item. But if you could group the items together either into one meaningful category, or in chunks, it would be much easier. For example, the list could be: Cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, flour, salt, butter, and apples. If you thought instead about buying everything you need for apple pie, then there is a provided context (e.g. assigned meaningfulness) to the random string of data that will make it easier to remember.

Multiple studies have demonstrated that circadian rhythm is linked to arousal and impacts learning ability. Peak performance times can vary greatly amongst individuals; therefore, generalities about the effects of circadian rhythm on learning cannot be made.

Human and animal studies on personal memory, long-term factual memory and spatial memory have been conducted in both laboratories and in natural settings. These studies have used pictures, nonsense syllables and objects to test the serial-position effect. The serial-position effect has been seen to appear consistently as a U-shaped curve. In other words, most of the items recalled correctly come from the beginning and the end of a list.

It is hypothesized that anchoring, rehearsal, and interference may all play a role in the serial-position effect. Anchoring refers to the tendency to latch onto the beginning and end of items in a list as “anchors” for memory. Rehearsal theories state that participants recall more items in the beginning and end because there is less competition for memory at that stage. Interference theories point to the disruption of learning when items in the middle of the list interfere with each other.  

Paired-associate learning is similar to classical conditioning; both types of learning involve the sequence of stimulus-response and rely on paired items. It is not operant conditioning because there is no contingency or reward. Discriminative stimulus control applies to operant learning and is a signal of the availability of a reward. Last, response learning refers to the process of shaping behavior.