Bias
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss the ethical responsibilities involved in using conditioning to change behavior.
Principles of conditioning give us a powerful tool to potentially influence, control, or manipulate the behavior of others.
Skinner's “air crib” highlights the complex nature of the interaction between scientific discovery and public perception. If we can do something, it does not mean we should do it.
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss the ethical responsibilities of psychologists investigating biological factors in cognitive processes.
Human research is often impossible for ethical reasons. Animal experimentation is widely used since it would be unethical to perform such procedures on human beings, but psychologists must abide by the Ethical Code regulating the use of animals.
Animal research is limited in that we never know if it is generalizable to human beings.
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss the responsibilities of psychologists when researching and communicating findings about schemas and stereotypes.
The concept of schema is very socially relevant. The word “stereotype,” for example, has negative connotations. When research is published, it may be misinterpreted, which may lead to negative social consequences. Researchers have an ethical responsibility to report their results in ways that will prevent unjustified generalizations
We must be mindful about how the results of the study may be perceived by the general public
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss how schemas can contribute to bias in human memory.
Schemas can bias memory toward expected information, including schema-consistent details that were never actually present. But at the same time, schemas perform a very important function, saving us time and energy for otherwise demanding tasks.
The concept of schemas is very broad and different researchers have chosen multiple ways to operationalize schemas. Being invited to an office, being given a context picture before reading a text, being told something about a student prior to meeting them, all of these are thought to activate a “schema.”
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss how classical and operant conditioning demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships in learning.
Controlled experiments can establish whether pairing stimuli or manipulating consequences causes changes in learned responses.
Operant variability raises the question of where new behaviors originate before reinforcement selects and strengthens them.
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss how principles of conditioning can be applied to change behavior.
Reinforcement can increase desired behaviors, while punishment can decrease unwanted behaviors, making operant conditioning useful for behavior modification.
Behavior change may not last if reinforcement stops, as extinction, reinforcement schedules, and the surrounding environment influence whether learning persists.
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss the strengths and limitations of measuring learning through observable behavior.
We acknowledge the importance of clearly observable, well-defined operationalizations in the measurement of constructs can be traced back to the influence of behaviorists and their research on conditioning.
However, behaviorists themselves rejected constructs completely. For them, it was the operationalization itself that was the focus of inquiry, and they saw no point in speculating about the invisible internal forces that might provide an explanation for observed behavior.
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss how classical and operant conditioning offer different explanations of learned behavior.
Classical and operant conditioning represent different perspectives on learned behavior.
Classical conditioning operates on the principle of “stimulus → reaction.” We introduce a new unconditioned stimulus and condition the organism to develop an automatic, reflex-like response to it.
Operant conditioning operates on the principle of “behavior → reinforcement.” We wait for the desirable behavior to appear by itself, then reinforce it, thus increasing its probability in the future.
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss how bias may influence explanations of learning through classical and operant conditioning.
Experiments in conditioning are some of the most well-controlled experiments, such as those using a Skinner box, can reduce the influence of extraneous variables and researcher bias.
Behaviorism can produce a one-sided explanation of learning by focusing on observable stimuli and consequences while overlooking cognitive processes.
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss the relationship between schemas and causality in human cognition.
Experiments show that cognitive schemas influence behavior. Existing schemas influence how people interpret and remember events, although activating a schema is not always easy to isolate from other influences.
Causality between schema and behavior cannot be said to be unidirectional: they influence each other
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss how schemas develop and change through experience.
Schemas can resist change once formed, but new experiences and therapeutic interventions may help people revise inaccurate or maladaptive schemas.
Assimilation incorporates new experiences into existing schemas, whereas accommodation modifies schemas when information does not fit.
It would be nice, for example, to be able to change stereotypes. It is possible to some extent.
Schema therapy is a special type of cognitive behavioral therapy directed at modifying a client’s maladaptive schemas and replacing them with healthier ones.
In the context of learning and cognition, evaluate the strengths and limitations of brain imaging techniques for investigating cognitive processes.
For example, brain scanning technology has been a real game changer: it has allowed us to see inside the brain of a living person (as opposed to waiting for that person to die).
However, brain scanning technology has limitations, as it is limited by its spatial and its temporal resolution.
Another huge problem related to measurement is isolating factors. When we conduct a study, we want to say that A (a biological factor) influences B (a cognitive factor). But for this to be possible, A has to be isolated. The activity of our nervous system is so complex that such isolation is difficult to achieve.
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss the strengths and limitations of a cognitive perspective when explaining behavior through schemas.
Schema theory represents a cognitive perspective on behavior. It explains behavior by focusing on internal mental processes, particularly how people organize knowledge into schemas and use those schemas to interpret new information.
However, schema theory provides only one perspective on behavior. A cognitive explanation may overlook biological and sociocultural influences.
Schema theory can therefore be considered somewhat reductionist if behavior is explained solely through cognitive schemas. A more holistic explanation could consider how cognitive schemas interact with biological and sociocultural factors.
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss how bias may influence explanations of the role of biological factors in cognitive processes.
Isolating biological variables for hypothesis testing is not inherently biased, reductionism can be a necessary scientific step toward understanding cognition.
A biological explanation can become biased if one biological factor is treated as a complete explanation of a complex cognitive ability.
In the context of learning and cognition, evaluate the extent to which biological factors can be considered causes of cognitive processes.
Some researchers view cognitive processes as being caused solely by biological factors. Whether or not it is true is a very complicated question.
There is a very important difference between saying that brain activity is involved (or plays a role) in cognitive processing and saying that brain activity is the primary cause of cognitive processes.
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss how change relates to the role of biological factors in cognitive processes.
Biological factors are easy to control. This gives us a tool to change behavior.
We know to an extent which brain areas are involved in which functions, so if something goes wrong, we can put together a course of therapy that will utilize our brain’s ability to restore itself. Like speech therapy for those who suffer from aphasia.
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss the challenges of measuring the influence of schemas on cognition.
A schema itself is a construct, something hypothetical that cannot be directly observed. We build our knowledge of it based on its effects on other phenomena, the effects that we can observe.
Thankfully, cognitive schemas lend themselves to experimental studies. It is relatively easy to operationalize and manipulate a schema, making it possible to conduct true experiments and to control bias in research more easily.
In the context of learning and cognition, discuss the extent to which a biological perspective provides a sufficient explanation of cognitive processes.
Some researchers view cognitive processes as being caused solely by biological factors.
There is a very important difference between saying that brain activity is involved (or plays a role) in cognitive processing and saying that brain activity is the primary cause of cognitive processes.