Cognitive Psychology

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Contents 1 Descriptions, definitions, synonyms, organizer terms, types of 1.1 Definitions 1.2 Famous Cognitive Psychologists 1.2.1 Alan Baddeley 1.2.2 Frederic Bartlett 1.2.3 Donald Broadbent 1.2.4 Hermann Ebbinghaus 1.2.5 Ulrich Neisser 1.2.6 Jean Piaget 2 Application in classrooms and similar settings 2.1 Assessment 2.2 Curriculum Development 2.3 Professional Development 2.4 Teacher-Student Relationship 3 Evidence of effectiveness 4 Critics and their rationale 5 Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations 6 Signed �?life experiences�?, testimonies and stories 7 References and other links of interest 7.1 Definitions 7.2 List of Cognitive Psychologists 7.2.1 Alan Baddeley 7.2.2 Frederick Bartlett 7.2.3 Donald Broadbent 7.2.4 Hermann Ebbinghaus 7.2.5 Ulrich Neisser 7.2.6 Jean Piaget 7.3 Applications for classrooms 7.4 Evidence of effectiveness 7.5 Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations 7.6 Personal Testimonials 7.7 Cool Links

[edit] Descriptions, definitions, synonyms, organizer terms, types of

[edit] Definitions

1.) cognitive psychology (n.)

a branch of psychology concerned with mental processes (as perception, thinking, learning, and memory) especially with respect to the internal events occurring between sensory stimulation and the overt expression of behavior

compare BEHAVIORISM, noun

Source: Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

2.) cognitive psychology

n : an approach to psychology that emphasizes internal mental processes

Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

3.) cognitive psychology,

school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, and language. It had its foundations in the Gestalt psychology of Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka, and in the work of Jean Piaget, who studied intellectual development in children. Cognitive psychologists are interested in how people understand, diagnose, and solve problems, concerning themselves with the mental processes which mediate between stimulus and response. Cognitive theory contends that solutions to problems take the form of algorithms—rules that are not necessarily understood but promise a solution, or heuristics—rules that are understood but that do not always guarantee solutions. In other instances, solutions may be found through insight, a sudden awareness of relationships. Cognitive psychologists have tried to reach a greater understanding of human memory (see memory) and language. In recent years, cognitive psychology has become associated with information processing, which examines artificial intelligence in computers to find out whether they are capable of problem solving in ways similar to humans. Information processing theory studies the parallels between the human brain and the computer, in the ways that both can receive, process, store, and retrieve information.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. :www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/

[edit] Famous Cognitive Psychologists

[edit] Alan Baddeley

Major Contribution: Proposed idea of working memory to elaborate or replace (depending on author's opinion) concept of short-term memory. Working memory is a part of memory that is specifically designated to deal with short-term cognitive tasks. It is made up of 1. The articulatory loop and 2. Visuospatial Sketchpad. The articulatory loop allows for rehearsal of one's spoken words. Visuospatial sketchpad stores and manipulates visual and spatial information. Additionally, a central executive component controls the use of these two components.

[edit] Frederic Bartlett

Major Contribution: Bartlett helped develop the notion of schema, and his use of it was "generally recognised now as the most important early use of the concept in the twentieth century". (Talib, 2005) Examined the influence of social factors on memory in his 1932 book, Remembering. Bartlett did not use nonsense materials as was the tradition of the time, but instead used materials that allowed subjects to build upon their prior learning, showing the impact prior learning has upon new learning. Schema and the conceptual model were based partly on his work in the early 1900s. Subjects were found not to simply "parrot" what they had learned, but instead to rework subject matter in light of their own understanding and experiences. Bartlett also questioned the assumption of a static, unchanging long-term memory. He would have subjects repeat the same experiences repeatedly, and found they became more and more distorted over time.

[edit] Donald Broadbent

Major Contribution:

Broadbent brought the cognitive approach to a place of prominence with his 1958 book "Perception and Communication". He dealt with attention and individual differences. He first focused on this area in response to the challenges faced by air traffic controllers who received multiple messages simultaneously. Broadbent was one of the first cognitive psychologists to pay attention to individual differences in a significant way. He was a British psychologist who lived from 1926 - 1993, and was one of the first to apply methods of communications and cybernetics to psychology. The Simulation of Human Intelligences is one of his major later works, a compilation of lectures given. He also had a tribute written to him by Alan Baddeley and another man entitled Attention: Selection, Awareness and Control. He invented something known as the fertibular device which was used in his attention and dichotic listening experiments.

[edit] Hermann Ebbinghaus

Major Contribution:Ebbinghaus was one of the first psychologists to study memory, and did so through his invention of nonsense syllables that followed a consonant - vowel - consonant pattern (CVC). He was his own primary subject. He repeatedly memorized and then tested himself on these nonsense syllables. He used nonsense syllables in an attempt to learn about memory with the least amount of influence from context as possible. He also discovered the forgetting curve. This says basically that most humans will halve their memory of newly learned material unless they revisit it.

[edit] Ulrich Neisser

Major Contribution:Neisser introduced the term "Cognitive Psychology" via his book of the same name in 1967. He described individuals as "dynamic information processing machines" and made many correlations between human cognition and computing processes. He is still alive and teaches at Cornell University. He studied IQ in depth, and made a famous statement that 25% of today's children would do as well on the 1932 Stanford-Binet test as did 3% of children in 1932. Neisser cites this as a rebuttal of the findings of "The Bell Curve", a most controversial book of the 1980s. He examines not only how IQ and memory work, but the trends in these phenomena over time. Neisser also attacked the emphasis on laboratory conceptions and experimentation regarding memory, because he believed that everyday working memory was the most important sort of memory to understand.

[edit] Jean Piaget

Major Contribution:

Piaget is one of the most famous of all cognitive psychologists, and his name is especially recognized by teachers. Piaget developed 4 stages of development (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational) which are widely used by teachers to understand child development. Piaget was an avid epistemologist, one who studies knowledge and ways of knowing. He conducted countless interviews with children in an effort to understand how they were constructing knowledge in a way which, while objectively might be incorrect, relative to their prior knowledge was insightful and consistent. Through these interviews, he was able to develop a better understanding of the cognitive processes which children undergo through learning, as well as understand the importance for teachers to help children construct their own knowledge.

[edit] Application in classrooms and similar settings

As our understanding of the cognitive processes of children have developed, our ideals of the types of assessment and instruction that are most profitable have also changed. A behaviorist approach to child development certainly leads to a greater emphasis on memorization. Students who do not achieve are thought to simply lack motivation and thus need better reinforcement. This is a perspective that still can be reflected in many teachers' approaches.

With the work of Jean Piaget and other influential cognitive psychologists, educators and psychologists have gained deeper insight into student learning and the ways in which the testing of misperceptions help young people refine their thinking and eventually arrive at more objective truth. Whereas under behaviorism the appropriate response to mistakes and un-truths was to use extinction to get rid of the wrong behavior, in cognitive psychology those mistakes can be in and of themselves important steps to gaining a deeper and more accurate understanding of life. This has a great impact on the ways in which educators approach teaching, and helps teachers to redefine the objectives of classroom activity and important ways.

[edit] Assessment

Cognitive Psychology has played an important role in the move towards alternative assessment. Under behaviorism, assessment had to do with training children to do what was desired of them through the use of adequate rewards and punishments. When children did not perform to a standard, punishments should be applied until children learned to give the proper response to any given stimulus. Assessment helped teachers, parents, and students understand how well the proper responses were being given, and then gave a vehicle through grades and the rewards and punishments that come through society and families in response to grades to either reinforce or try to extinct the given behavior(s).

As discussed above, cognitive psychology takes more of a process approach towards learning. The point is not for a student to have complete understanding at any one given moment in time. Instead, the most important thing is the ongoing process of learning which is taking place. To understand this process, teachers must have more information than can be provided on most traditional tests, which are in essence a response to a given stimulus. Instead, teachers must be able to understand the thinking processes, complete with errors, that are occurring in students. This means assessment must be much bigger, and much messier (e.g. not having just one right answer/method) than it has been in the past.

This has in large part been the reasoning for alternative assessment. Vehicles such as open-ended questions, integrating writing across subjects, and portfolios have been increasingly implemented in schools in recent years. These vehicles allow students to display what they do know, and expose areas for future growth, which provides important information to student, parent, and teacher, which can then be used to better plan instruction. Cognitive psychology has helped foster a shift not only in the forms of assessment considered appropriate, but also the reasons for those assessments in the first place. Assessment as an information-gathering tool, as opposed to a frightening test that distinguishes between the "acceptable" and the "unacceptable" is an important paradigm shift that is just beginning to work itself out in the school setting.

[edit] Curriculum Development

Constructivism is the major way in which cognitive psychology has affected curriculum development and curricular decisions. Constructivism has several major principles which, as you will see, fit nicely with cognitive psychology. First, true to its name, students construct meaning and new knowledge through their experiences. Therefore, teachers cannot impart knowledge; they instead must help students construct that knowledge. This requires students to be given a certain amount of autonomy and choice, and requires them to take initiative. As most graduates of American schools will recognize, this is a radical departure from the structure of most of our schools. In fact, schooling has been criticized by sociologists for its hidden agenda of creating docile, obedient, and subservient people out of children. This is a major philosophical as well as pedagogical shift, and one of the challenges inherent to constructivism is the frequent change in the role of the teacher.

Secondly, constructivism says that new knowledge is built upon students' prior knowledge. This means that rather than trying to tell students everything that they don't know, the important job of the teacher is to highlight the skills and ideas that they already possess which could be of use to them as they try to integrate new skills and knowledge. Again, the job of the teacher is changed. Also, this means that what students know, wonder, think, and feel is given a more important position than in traditional classrooms, where what the teacher knows, thinks and feels is the most important factor. It also means that the process of learning is a process of ongoing struggle as students struggle to reconceptualize the ideas they already have, and build upon their prior knowledge. This is not an easy process, and it takes a long time and requires a strong student-teacher relationship to help students deal with the inevitable frustration that occurs in this type of learning.

Thirdly, constructivism says that learning is contextualized. This means that students learn not only content, but also the ways in which that content is used. However teachers hope students will again be able to use that content is how students should learn the content in the first place. In mathematics, for example, it means that students should engage in meaningful problems that are similar to the ways in which they will encounter the skill being learned, rather than pages upon pages of exercises, void of meaningful context. This presents a challenge to the teacher in terms of discovering meaningful problems, readings, etc. which will be an appropriate context for teaching content that was previously devoid of context.

Constructivism comes out of cognitive psychology. One could say it is the educational arm of cognitive psych. In fact, constructivism is sometimes called "cognitive constructivism" and was referred to in one source as "cognitive apprenticeship". Constructivism in education is all about students constructing cognitive understanding via appropriate tasks, social participation, and teacher support. It is a much more enjoyable way of doing school for teachers and students, and holds great potential for improved student learning.

[edit] Professional Development

A major professional development program which utilizes cognitive psychology is known as cognitively guided instruction, or CGI. In this program, elementary teachers join in summer workshops which teach them ways of classifying math problems based on the specific objectives being learned. (For example, instead of just an "addition" problem, teachers determine if it's a combination problem, doubling problem, etc.) Then teachers spend large amounts of time analyzing student work and in-class performance (live and via videotape) to find where students' misunderstanding is occurring. After the initial multi-week seminar, teachers continue to receive limited support which doubles as data collection for the researchers as teachers allow their instruction to be guided by the understanding of their students. Teachers can then tailor large-group, small-group, and individual instruction to address misconceptions of students.

This program has received a lot of attention, and has many positive reviews. It gives teachers the tools they need to understand student cognition. Teachers learn not only about ways of classifying problems, but also about common mistakes of students and what those mistakes indicate about problems in understanding. Additionally, teachers learn strategies for instructing for understanding and ways of revising instruction to deal with misunderstandings. CGI also gives a forum by which teachers can address their own common misperceptions about mathematics, and develop a stronger mathematical content knowledge base. Teachers who have participated in the study report an increased ability to comprehend students' ways of thinking and knowing. They also appreciate the opportunity to strengthen their own mathematical knowledge in the specific areas which they are teaching to their students.

[edit] Teacher-Student Relationship

Cognitive psychology alters the teacher-student relationship in important ways, because it alters who teachers believe students are, and how students learn. In one conception, students are empty vessels, ready to be filled by all-knowing teachers. In a behaviorist ideal, students simply respond mechanically to stimuli, and increase or decrease responses based on the reinforcement which they receive. Cognitive psychology, however, shows students to be active meaning-makers. The exposure to knowledge or a person possessing knowledge is not sufficient for meaning-making to occur. Instead, students must somehow find themselves engaged in a process of problem solving.

This has important implications for the relationship between the teacher and the student. The ability of the teacher to lecture, to structure classrooms, or to provide authoritarian leadership are no longer valued. Instead, students must be free to investigate, to question, and to develop. All of these require the teacher to take on a more supportive role and put the learning of the student at center stage. Instead of the teacher as a "performer in the spotlight" he or she is principally responsible to help students analyze and develop in their own understandings of what is occurring. This requires that students and teachers become allies, together working towards a goal of deeper understanding and cognitive growth.

This shift in emphasis allows for a much more cooperative spirit, shared leadership in the direction and activities of the class, and greater dignity for students. While many of these flow naturally from a cognitive approach, some research has also been done which suggests that in order for cognitive or constructivist methods to be successful, this shift in relationship also must occur. Cognitive methods are more likely to lend themselves to a social emphasis in the classroom, as the role of the teacher is altered in a way that allows for greater social interaction.

[edit] Evidence of effectiveness

One research-backed use of cognitive psychology is the above-mentioned CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction). Teachers who participated in CGI for one summer workshop and had minor support throughout the following academic year found their students made considerable gains in their ability to solve word problems, and maintained or slightly improved their arithmetic skills (this was a major concern of both non-participants and participants alike, fearing that students would lose arithmetic skills in the more conceptually-based CGI program). (Carpenter, Fennema, et al., 1991, 1992, 1996).

More generally, effectiveness of cognitively-based methods seems to vary based on the application. For example, in several studies, the degree to which constructivism improved students' achievement depended upon the curriculum being taught (de Jager, 2002). When the goal was problem solving of some variety, be it mathematical, sociological, or being able to solve one's own problems with reading, etc., students taught in a constructivist manner made much greater gains than students taught under direct instruction (the alternative...lecturing). When the goal was acquisition of a relatively rote skill such as memorizing addition facts, remembering history dates, etc., students taught with constructivist methods showed no to little gains (although a little gain was most common). It is important to note that the use of constructivist methods did not handicap students, but the degree to which students gained over directly instructed peers depended upon the goals of instruction.

This reflects an important truth in curriculum design. While much attention is given to the methods of instruction teachers use, there is often no accompanying reconsideration of curricular goals. This study indicates the importance of congruence between goals and modes of instruction. When teachers fail to re-think the reasons for choosing either conceptual or factual foci, and are often not even aware of those foci, they are unable to make effective instructional choices, and instead either implement direct instruction exclusively, because it is easy, comfortable, etc., or implement constructivism haphazardly because someone has told them it is a "better" way to teach.

[edit] Critics and their rationale

One of the difficulties related to cognitivism has to do with the many different ways in which cognitive psychology (or cognitivism) is discussed. As well as being a psychological concept, it also is discussed in the arenas of ethics, philosophy, and even film critiques. There are also different perceptions of the scope of cognitive psychology and its implications for education.

While constructivism is derived from a foundation of cognitive psychology, there are some theorists who make a considerable distinction between the two, while others see constructivism as a natural outflow of cognitive psychology. These many distinctions can make understanding perspectives on cognitivism very difficult to do, as sometime people are using identical terminology while referring to different phenomena.

Among those who make a sharp distinction between cognitivism and constructivism, generally those who are more critical of cognitivism, the criticism of cognitivism lies in its similarity to a computer's information processing system. Data comes in, goes through a process, and a product is outputted. The process through which data goes depends on how the computer has been programmed to date. As new data and situations occur, it is possible that the programs will be altered. However, the place in which critics believe this analogy breaks down is that the computer is not able to independently change the ways in which it processes that information, whereas human beings, mind, soul, and heart, are able to think about things in different ways. More influences the ways in which human conceive a concept than only how they have been "programmed" by past experience to think of it. For example, a person may have had lots of experiences that would indicate a certain philosophical standpoint is true, but if they dislike that standpoint emotionally, even without any intellectual reason for doing so, it is quite likely that they will interpret future information against that standpoint, even if it forces them to embrace a way of examining data which is illogical or they would otherwise think was foolish. Critics of cognitive psychology believe it is overly simplistic to think of human beings as machines who process information in an always consistent manner, following the same rules and syntax. To their thinking, it is not the mind but the person who processes information, and it is the person who must be considered.

[edit] Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations

The question of how constructivism affects students from diverse backgrounds is a hot topic in educational research. The two main ideas are that either cognitively based instruction especially helps students from poor or minority backgrounds (NCTM, 2000), or that it relies on skill sets which disadvantaged students usually don't posess, thus widening the achievement gap between rich and poor, white and minority (Lubienski, 1999, 2000). First, we will examine the case for the use of cognitively based instruction.

Due to tracking and many other sources of structural inequality in the education system, minority and low-SES students have long been relegated to classes which require only the memorization of facts without any sort of conceptual understanding or exposure to rich mathematics (or rich literature, social issues, etc.). Consequently, these students are further disadvantaged by not having opportunities to learn the ways in which adults apply information and use critical thinking skills. Instead, they are relegated to simple classes which all too often simply repeat the basic skills that were part of elementary or middle school curricula. As these students are given intellectual respect via a challenging curriculum, they are able to embrace these opportunities and expand their ability to apply and think critically in a variety of situations. This makes cognitive instruction not only a curricular or instructional choice, but also a social one, as using constructivism allows for the advancement of an entire group within society that has traditionally been disenfranchised by society.

The main concerns having to do with minority and low-SES students' exposure to constructivist teaching methods have to do with the ways in which these students' cultural backgrounds affect how they interpret problems with which they are presented. Whereas middle and upperclass students generally are able to divorce the curricular content of the problem being posed from tangential issues in the problem, low SES students tend to get lost in those tangential issues. They may also approach a problem in such a way that the intended curricular objective is completely avoided. This objection has more to do with the way in which problems are posed than with the idea of posing them. Constructivist teaching requires a strong command of one's subject area (to be able to create and develop real problems which highlight a given area of the discipline) as well as a strong knowledge of students and the likely ways in which they will approach a problem.

[edit] Signed �?life experiences�?, testimonies and stories

"Cognitive errors exist in the present because they led to survival and reproductive advantages for humans in the past." (Haselton & Buss, 2000)

Studies in the topic of social cognition have found that human cognitive abilities are efficient and adaptive, yet at the same time are subject tp errors and misjudgements (Myers, 2002). The human mind is a mix of contraditions. It has unlocked the genetic code and put a man on the mood, and yet it easily forms false beliefs and memories. Then of course, the ability to understand and research our own cognitive failings is part of what makes up human nature.

[edit] References and other links of interest

References:

[edit] Definitions

Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

[edit] List of Cognitive Psychologists

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cognitive psychology".

[edit] Alan Baddeley

PowerPoint explaining Working Memory Scheme

Working Memory Definition

A Review of Alan Baddeley's book, Working Memory by Oxford University Press

Evaluate the Working Memory Model

[edit] Frederick Bartlett

Entry in the Dictionary of Philosopy of Mind from Washington University in St. Louis

Zusne, Leonard (1984). Biographical dictionary of psychology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Dr. Talib's course page regarding schemas and Frederick Bartlett

Distortion of Long Term Memory

[edit] Donald Broadbent

Cognitive Psych in Wikipedia

Psych Dept. of NWU's page on Broadbent

www.psybox.com/ web_dictionary/Attention.htm

[edit] Hermann Ebbinghaus

Forgetting Curve from Nationmaster.com

Brief Ebbinghaus Biography

Major Professional Accomplishments

More Complete Biography

[edit] Ulrich Neisser

Neisser's Faculty Page at Cornell

One source of quote regarding IQ comparison between today and 1932

Debate over Laboratory versus "Real Life" Memory Studies

More about Increasing IQ

[edit] Jean Piaget

Time Magazine's Bio of Piaget

The Piaget Society

Jean Piaget Archives

The Psi Cafe's Piaget Bio

[edit] Applications for classrooms

Assessment

National Research Council (2001). Knowing what students know: The science and design of educational assessment. Committee on the Foundations of Assessment, J. Pellegrino, R. Glaser, & N. Chudowsky (Eds.). Washington DC: National Academy Press. ISBN 0-309-07272-7

Curricular Design

Teaching reading comprehension: the effects of direct instruction and cognitive apprenticeship on comprehension skills and metacognition

Radical Constructivism and Cognitive Psychology -- This is a slightly more critical view of constructivism, but it has some good history

A good resource for constructivism, with a good definition, and a bunch of interesting links

A page for professors doing online courses; gives a nice contrast between behaviorism and constructivism

Professional Development

Carpenter, Thomas P. Fennema, Elizabeth. Franke, Megan Loef. Levi, Linda. Empson, Susan B. Cognitively Guided Instruction: A Research-Based Teacher Professional Development Program for Elementary School Mathematics.

Carpenter, T., Fennema, E., & Franke, M. (1996). Cognitively guided instruction: A knowledge base for reform in primary mathematics instruction. Elementary School Journal, 97, 1, 3-20.

Carpenter, T. & Fennema, E. (1992). Cognitively guided instruction: Building on the knowledge of students and teachers. International Journal of Educational Research, 17, 457-470.

Carpenter, T. & Fennema, E. (1991). Research and cognitively guided instruction. In E. Fennema, T. Carpenter & S. Lamon (Eds.), Integrating research on teaching and learning mathematics. Albany NY: State University of New York Press.

Teacher-Student Relationships

Herman, W.E. and Gwaltney, T.M., Human Relationships that Nurture and Advance the Construction of Knowledge, April 1999, 18 pages, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, April 19 - 23, 1999.

[edit] Evidence of effectiveness

de Jager, Bernadet (2002). Teaching reading comprehension [Online Resource] : the effects of direct instruction and cognitive apprenticeship on comprehension skills and metacognition / Bernadet de Jager. - Groningen : GION, Gronings Instituut voor Onderzoek van Onderwijs, Opvoeding en Ontwikkeling, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen ; [Groningen : University Library Groningen] [Host], cop. 2002. - Online. : ill Ook verschenen in gedrukte vorm. - Proefschr. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. - Met lit. opg. - Met samenvatting in het Nederlands.

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[edit] Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations

Lubienski, Sarah Theule. "Perspectives on Problem-Centered Mathematics Teaching." Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School 5 (December 1999): 250–55.

Lubienski, Sarah Theule. "Problem Solving as a Means toward 'Mathematics for All': An Exploratory Look through a Class Lens." Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 31 (July 2000): 454–82.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000). Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.

[edit] Personal Testimonials

Haselton, Martie, & Buss, David. (2000) Error management theory: A new perspective on biases in cross-sex mind reading. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 81-91.

Myers, David G., (2002). Social Psychology. 7th Edition. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., New York.

[edit] Cool Links

Cognitive Psychology Tutor -- This site offers tutorials in the fine arts of cognitive psychology: working memory, language, skill aquisition, and inductive reasoning.