PSY 620 psychology and cognitive science Journals

1.  Although I was familiar with the main ideas and technical vocabulary we encountered in this week's readings on learning acquisition and development in cognitive psychology, there are a few terms that are worth exploring in more depth or may be unfamiliar to some of my less educated peers. For example, Wiley & Dee (2011) use the term "mentalistic," which is not a commonly used word and is not even located in the Word dictionary. For example, the sentence they use is: "Mentalistic terms, such as belief and desire, were branded as superfluous and unscientific, and removed from accepted terminology," (Wiley & Dee, 2011, p. 3). The term evokes Houdini and mentalists who hypnotize crowds, but in this context refers to any terms that refer directly to mental processes or cognitive processes that are distinct from measurable behavioral outcomes. Immordino-Yang & Fischer (2010) avoid jargon in their discussion on the neuroscience bases of learning but refer to neural networks, which are like neurological systems dedicated to specific cognitive functions and which can be detected through brain imaging. Finally, Wiley & Dee (2011) refer to metacognition, which is crucial for learning and is the essence of self-awareness or self-monitoring.

2. Social processing is a fascinating subject. In Vanderwal, et al. (2008), reserachers use neural imaging to measure social processing to distinguish between self-referencing and mother-referencing. The authors found "striking similarities" between the different conditions, implying that self-reflective analysis actually does not differ when reflecting on an intimate other like a mother. The implications for the study of consciousness are tremendous.

3. One personal real-life example of an occurrence that supports the implications of social learning on our behaviors and beliefs occurred when interacting with some friends at a party. Even when applying the anonymity principles in the AERA Code of Ethics, it is clear that the role of emotions is critical and that feelings of joy or anger are both integral to the processing of memory as well as the process of self-reflection.

4. Based on the AERA Code of Ethics standards for retaining anonymity and rejecting cognitive bias, I believe that my biases are based on personal neuroses that can be avoided through avid self-reflection and a determination to improve my responsiveness in social situations. Ethical reporting begins with self-awareness and taking responsibility for as well as allowing self-recognition of biases.

References

Immordino-Yang, M.H. & Fischer, K.W. (2010). Neuroscience bases of learning. Retrieved online: http://latitud-nodosur.org/IMG/pdf/Neuroscience_Bases_of_Learning.pdf

Vanderwal, T. et al. (2008). Self, mother and abstract other: An fMRI study of reflective social processing. Neuroimage 41(4): 1437-1446.

Wiley, J. & Dee, B.D. (2011). Cognition: Overview and recent trends. In Aukrust, V.G. (Ed.) Learning and Cognition in Education. Elsevier.

1. In "Situative view of learning," Collins & Greeno (2010) refer to "legitimate peripheral participation," a phrase that connotes a complete student immersion in the learning experience via accessing resources outside of the immediate learning environment. The peripheral items could be external to the classroom, for example. Collins & Greeno (2010) also mention the term "situative," which emphasizes the importance of environmental or situational constraints on learning. In the context of the Collins & Greeno (2010) study, situative learning stresses the importance of social interactions and social learning scenarios like cooperative learning strategies. Finally, Collins & Greeno (2010) refer to "cognitive apprenticeship, which builds and capitalizes on the benefits of mentoring and other types of unique relationships between an educator and a learner.

2. The concept of the zone of proximal development was first set forth by renowned child development psychologist Lev Vygotsky. In "The affective establishment and maintenance of Vygotsky's zone of proximal development," Levykh (2008) comments on recent trends to adapt Vygotsky's original theory of the zone of proximal development and concludes that there is no need to "expand" the theory to include emotional aspects of learning. After all, Vygotsky did embed the potential for emotional states into the zone of proximal development, through the analysis of the processes of cognitive, social learning, and also cultural and temporal constraints. The ultimate conclusions drawn by Levykh (2008) show how important emotions are to learning and development in general.

3. When considering the effects of the zone of proximal development on behaviors and also on knowledge development, it is clear that a complex array of cognitive processes are engaged while I am learning new things. For example, in class, I developed a strong sense of self-confidence about my abilities and started to tune out because I thought I knew everything that was being taught. Then I suddenly realized that I had fallen behind and did not understand a concept. I had reached the zone of proximal development, at which point I was forced to ask for help -- which destroyed my sense of pride and from that arose some challenging emotional states that impeded my ability to learn temporarily. I did not mention the name of my teacher, so all AERA Code of Ethics standards of anonymity were still followed in this anecdote.

4. When it comes to "Fabrication, Falsification, and Plagiarism" as it is discussed in the AERA Code of Ethics, I can make sure that I write all my own material and cite my sources according to ethical standards. Avoiding plagiarism is critical to my own personal sense of pride and self-development.

References

Collins, A. & Greeno, J.G. (2010). Situative view of learning. In Aukrust, V.G. (Ed.) Learning and Cognition in Education. Elsevier.

Levykh, M.G. (2008). The affective establishment and maintenance of Vygotsky's zone of proximal development. Educational Theory 58(1): 83-101.

1. The Nokes, Schunn & Chi (2010) article on problem solving and human expertise avoids jargon generally but the principles are difficult to grasp. Therefore, the vocabulary I would like to focus on includes the operational definition of expertise itself as being related to both declarative knowledge as in self-reflection on my own performance but also procedural knowledge in that I can actually carry out a task as I believe I can. The word "heuristics," a dreaded term used by Maggioni & Alexander (2010) refers to something similar to a schema for learning, involving a process or system of solving a problem. Finally, Maggioni & Alexander (2010) also use the term discourse knowledge, the very existence of which implies that discursive cognitive processes that rely heavily on language processing may be different from other types of knowledge.

2. In "Problem solving and computational skill: Are they shared or distinct aspects of mathematical cognition?" Fuchs, et al. (2008) found that students in the third grade who struggle with mathematical problem-solving also demonstrated deficient language skills, and that both variables were linked with poverty. This shows that poverty can have direct impacts on social and cognitive learning. The research also distinguishes between different types of problem solving including those involving computational skills as well as problem solving that includes references to verbal instructions.

3. One recent incident that supports my conclusions about the effects of problem solving skills on behaviors and knowledge development was when I tried to solve a problem and could not and became frustrated. This shows that I may have some under-developed problem-solving skills and rigid mental structures or schemas that need to be liberated by exposure to new ways of conceptualizing the problem. I do not believe that there are any ethical implications as described in the AERA Code of Ethics that relate to anonymity because the incident only involved myself and no one else.

4. In the "Nondiscrimination" section of the AERA Code of Ethics, the organization clearly advises against discrimination in conducting experiments and then reporting on the results too. Some suggestions for conducting ethically-based research include recognizing how bias can be unconscious and then correcting for bias. Similarly, it is helpful to create randomized designs in diverse populations so that multiple groups are represented.

References

Fuchs, L.S. et al. (2008). Problem solving and computational skill: Are they shared or distinct aspects of mathematical cognition? Journal of Educational Psychology 100(1): 30-47.

Maggioni, L. & Alexander, P.A. (2010). Knowledge domains and domain learning. In Aukrust, V.G. (Ed.) Learning and Cognition in Education. Elsevier.

Nokes, T.J., Schunn, C.D. & Chi, M.T.H. (2010). Problem solving and human expertise. In Aukrust, V.G. (Ed.) Learning and Cognition in Education. Elsevier.