Theories of adult learning can be studied from individual, social, and
cultural perspectives. The individual viewpoint has dominantly focused
on cognitive aspects, dating back to the ancient philosophers who set
the grounding for our understanding of human knowledge production.
Today, a well-developed understanding of adult learning processes
considers learning as a complex system where learning processes on
different levels interact but are not reducible to each other. The roles
of memory, executive functions, and deliberate practice are elaborated
in this chapter. Motivational, metacognitive, and regulation aspects
have added to our understanding of the success of individual learning
processes, complemented with the more recent notions of the importance
of different types of conceptions and changes in them. Looking at
learning processes from social and cultural perspectives have helped us
to understand the situational and collaborative nature of knowledge
building processes. In adult learning situations, such as in studying or
working life contexts, the individual and social learning are
intertwined, making use of participants prior understanding and
resulting in collaborative knowledge building.