Label Learning Theory: From Instance to Rule

This conference preprint introduces "Label Learning Theory: From Instance to Rule" as a cognitive-learning framework that explains word learning from the perspective of language and mind. It hypothesizes that in order to recall a word, the child first recalls a general mental-linguistic rule. With an analytical method and within the framework of learning psychology and cognitive linguistics, this research clarifies the cooperation of mind and language in learning. The mind consigns the word to memory through the senses and selective attention, while language constructs a general mental-linguistic rule appropriate to the learner's cognitive capability through mental-linguistic imagery and logical reasoning. The theory focuses on ages 2 to 7 and describes learning in five stages: encounter, imagery, labeling, testing, and reconstruction. Author: Seyyed Aliakbar Hosseini, Instructor, Department of English Language Education, Nour Branch, Nour Non-profit University, Mazandaran, Iran. Email: aliakbar.hosseiny@yahoo.com, ORCID: 0000-0001-8046-0055. Presented at: Fourth International Conference on Psychology, Educational Sciences, Counseling and Social Studies. Persian title: نظریه یادگیری برچسبی: از مصداق تا قاعده