Native Reactions and Acquired Reactions

James defines the purpose of education as a means of obtaining numerous possible reactions that an individual can draw from (p. 20). These are further broken down into native and acquired reactions. Native actions are those that we are born with, and acquired actions are those that we come to be familiar with as we develop. “Every acquired reaction is, as a rule, either a complication grafted on a native reaction, or a substitute for a native reaction, which the same object originally tended to provoke” (p. 20).

The teacher’s role in this process is to become familiar with the student’s native reactions and help to modify them if necessary so that their behaviors are more consistent with those desired by society. While James uses the example of behavior, this concept can also be applied to knowledge and learning. As a student comes to learning, they have a preconceived set of notions or understandings about the world around them (native reactions). As new concepts are made available to the student, they are able to modify their understandings and apply them in new and different ways (acquired reactions). Whether modifying behavior or knowledge, the teacher is responsible for creating conflict in the individual such that they are presented with new and more efficient ways of obtaining the same result. This is very similar to Piaget’s concepts of assimilation and accommodation in learning. Effective teaching in this sense is to be able to engage in the students native reactions and, if need be, offer effective substitutions or modifications to make their reactions more effective. This infers that the instructor must have a firm understanding of the student’s individual interest and motives, as well as their personality and demeanor.

James’ lecture infers that acquired reactions imparted by the teacher are always superior to the native reaction and should be encouraged. However, what if the acquired reaction is in fact worse (or just as bad) as the native reaction? For example, if a student’s school was set up to reward the student for correct answers that could be achieved by simply memorizing and regurgitating the answers, without a need to demonstrate true understanding of the material. How difficult is it to “unlearn” that acquired learning behavior or further modify it?