Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
(PSY 305)
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IS STABILITY THE RULE, AND CHANGE THE
EXCEPTION?
Or
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ADAPTING TO OUR ENVIRONMENT
REFLEXES – INVOLUNTARY ACTIONS BY MUSCLES AND/OR GLANDS
(INFANTS, STRESS); VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL IN EXPRESSION AMONG
ALL MEMBERS OF A SPECIES; NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY
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WE CAN ALSO ADAPT TO
OUR ENVIRONMENT
THROUGH THE PROCESS
OF LEARNING
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Research Designs
Anecdotal evidence
o personal experience
Case studies
o unique circumstances
o limited number of subjects described in great detail
o useful for others (professionals, individuals)
Descriptive studies
o surveys, questionnaires, interviews
o honesty assumed
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Experimental Research
o experiment: researcher manipulates one or more variables and measures
the effects of the manipulation on one more other variables
independent variable – under control of experimenter
dependent variable – measure obtained from the subject (could be
physiological, behavioral, etc.)
extraneous (confounding) variables
o test groups
experimental group(s)
control group(s)
o within-subject vs between subject designs
data variability; ABAB design
o sampling (from population to sample)
random sampling
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ANIMAL RESEARCH AND HUMAN LEARNING
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BASIC CONCEPTS
Stimulus
stimulus events – from the environment
Response
response events
o respondent (involuntary)
o operant (voluntary)
Contiguity (degree of closeness)
temporal – based on time
spatial – based on space
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Ivan Pavlov
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Ivan Pavlov
o Russian Physiologist
o studied digestive processes in dogs
o observed salivary reflex as a function of food moisture
content
o surprised to see this “reflex” modified by experience
(“intelligent” salivary glands???)
o psychic reflexes
o developed a reproducible effect using a technique
today referred to as Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning
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Unconditioned reflex (US UR)
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Classical (Pavlovian) Conditioning
CS + US ----------------------------------- UR
(2nd trial)
(3rd trial)
“
“
”
CS ---------------------------------------- CR
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Measuring Classical Conditioning
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Important Variable affecting Pavlovian Conditioning
CS and US pairing
o trace conditioning
o delayed conditioning
o simultaneous conditioning
o backwards conditioning
CS-US contiguity
o Closer CS and US, the better the conditioning; but…
What kind of response is being conditioned?
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Stimulus features
o compound stimulus
overshadowing
Miscellaneous variables
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Applications of Classical
(Pavlovian) Conditioning
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Conditioned emotional response (CER): an emotional response to
a stimulus that is acquired through Classical conditioning
Fear Conditioning
Eleven month old “Little Albert”
distortion of experiment’s details
generalization
counterconditioning
ethical/moral issues: could we conduct such an experiment today?
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Operant (Instrumental)
Conditioning
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Thorndike and animal intelligence
• puzzle box
– cat performance
• improvement with time
– trial and error learning
– no evidence for human-like reasoning
Law of Effect
The probability of a response depends on
the consequences the response has had
in the past.
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(1) Unlike behavior studied by Pavlov, behavior studied by
Thorndike and B.F. Skinner is voluntary. They are referred
to as operant behaviors, because the organism “operates” on
the environment.
Reinforcement
• increases or strengthens a behavior
• can be positive or negative
Punishment
• decreases or weakens a behavior
• can be positive or negative
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Reinforcers
Primary reinforcers: naturally or inherently reinforcing; no learning
of reinforcing qualities; e.g., food, water
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Shaping
• reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior
• experience necessary to shape correctly and efficiently
• often used in training animals
Chaining
• conditioning an organism to perform a chain or responses
• forward chaining: first reinforcing the first link of chain
• backward chaining: first reinforcing the last link of chain
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Variables affecting Reinforcement
R-S contingency – higher contingency, better learning
R-S contiguity – closer in time, more effective
Reinforcer characteristics
Response characteristics
•Deprivation level - in general the greater the deprivation level, the better
the learning (greater reinforcing value)
However, there are limits – too great a deprivation level may be physically
damaging
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Theories of (Positive) Reinforcement
Drive-reduction theory – Clark Hull
•organisms act (are driven) to reduce physiological needs, such as fluid or nutritional needs
•as physiological needs are satisfied, the drive dissipates
•of any 2 responses, the more probable one will reinforce the less probable one (high probability
behavior reinforces low probability behavior)
•example: for the average teenager, taking out the garbage is a low probability behavior,
whereas listening to music is a high probability behavior; one can increase the low probability
behavior by making access to the high probability contingent on the low probability behavior
•unlike previous theory, the relative value of one reinforcer to another is not vital, but rather
the extent to which a behavior occurs below its baseline rate
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Theories of Negative Reinforcement – Escape-Avoidance
• an organism, provided with the opportunity, will remove itself from an unpleasant (aversive)
environment (escape)
• if possible (i.e., a predictor cue is available), the organism may learn ways to completely avoid the
aversive environment (avoidance)
• Explanations:
-Two-process Theory
Escape is the result of Operant learning (termination of the aversive event is
negatively reinforcing (removing an aversive stimulus is reinforcing)
Avoidance is the result of Pavlovian learning (pairing a cue in the environment with
a negative emotion, such as fear)
o Problem with Two-process Theory
A cue is not necessary for avoidance to occur (i.e., Sidman avoidance – pressing a
lever to delay onset of an unpleasant event, such as shock)
- One-process Theory
o Avoidance response involves only Operant learning: both escape and avoidance are
learned because each is reinforced by a reduction in aversive stimulation (i.e., shock)
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Operant Conditioning:
PUNISHMENT
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Punishment – the procedure of providing consequences for a response
that reduce the frequency of that response
R-S Contingency
The degree to which a punishing event follows a behavior will greatly affect how effective the
punishment will be. If punishment follows a behavior only 50% of the time, the decrease in behavior
will be much less that that following a contingency of 100%.
R-S Contiguity
The gap between the response and a punishing stimulus.
Intensity of punishment
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Introductory level of punishment is a very important variable. Starting with a very weak
punisher and moving gradually to more intense punishment may result in organism adapting to the
increasing punishment. Initially using a weaker punisher may ultimately require the use of a more
intense punisher to diminish a behavior than would have been otherwise required.
Deprivation level can also affect how well a punisher will work.
Theories of Punishment
•Two-process theory
Lever paired with shock will become a CS for fear. (Pavlovian process)
Moving away from level lessens shock, and is therefore a reinforce, by reducing fear (Operant
response)
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Potential problems with punishment
*Apathy
*Abuse
*Imitation of punisher
Alternatives to punishment
Response prevention
Extinction
Differential reinforcement
o differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) – reinforcing a behavior only
when it occurs at a low rate
o differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI) – reinforcing a
response that is incompatible with the undesired behavior
o differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) – reinforcing
desired, but not undesired behavior
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Vicarious (Observational)
Learning
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Model: an organism interacting with its environment
Observer: an organism observing the model interacting with its environment
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Vicarious learning is not the same as imitation
(but topographically, they may look the same)
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Variables affecting vicarious learning
Species
•some species can learn vicariously better than others (humans, nonhuman
primates, octopus)
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Consequences of the observer’s behavior
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Characteristics of the model
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Characteristics of the observer
•Age
generally, adults learn vicariously better than children
older children learn vicariously better than younger children
in some species, younger will be more likely to imitate than older
(nonhuman primates), although this does not mean that younger learn
more from models – only that they may be more likely to imitate.
Learning history
Older may learn vicariously better than younger due to greater
experience
Emotional arousal
Generally, high emotional arousal will interfere with vicarious
learning
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Theories of Vicarious Learning
Bandura
•Social Cognitive Theory – learning occurs during and shortly after the
actual observation, and involves 4 processes:
Attentional – observing relevant aspects of model’s behavior
Retentional – retaining the information, using words, verbal
representation of behavior
Motor reproductive – practicing the observed behavior
Motivational – model must be motivated by potential
reinforcement following behavior
•Some problems with theory
Why do some observers attend to behavior, while others do not?
May be due more to different learning histories, or attentional
processes
Species other than humans can learn vicariously – do these other
species also utilize complex retentional processes?
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Miller Dollard Reinforcement Theory
Theory Comparison
Bandura emphasizes internal processes, whereas Miller-Dollard stress
situational factors and learning history
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Generalization: the tendency for a learned response to occur in the presence of
stimuli that were not present during training. Example: Little Albert being
frightened of not only the little white rat, but also of other stimuli (objects)
which resembled the little white rat.
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Generalization Gradient
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SD: a discriminative stimulus in the presence of which a response will be
reinforced.
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Stimulus control and insomnia
******************************************
Most of our behavior is under stimulus control.
Example 1: A person who contributes to charity
generously while visiting a charity organization may
watch every penny spent while at work.
Example 2: A person may be talkative when with
friends but never speak out in a classroom (this
person’s speech behavior is controlled by your social
environment).
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Theories of Generalization and Discrimination
•Pavlov: suggested that after discrimination training, two areas of the brain are
distinguished, an area of excitation associated with the CS+, and an area of inhibition
associated with the CS-; when a novel stimulus is presented to the organism, if it is similar to
the CS+, it will activate this brain region near the CS+, and irradiate to the CS+ area, leading to
a CR (excitation); if, on the other hand, the novel stimulus is more similar to the CS-, then it will
activate an area of the brain near the CS-, irradiate to the CS-, leading to an inhibition of a CR.
PROBLEM: Pavlov never measured brain functioning and activity; this theory is purely
speculative.
•Spence: used Pavlov’s general ideas of excitation and inhibition, but took out the physiology;
Spence suggested that stimuli which resemble the CS+ will lead to the generation of an
excitatory gradient, and stimuli characteristics which resemble the CS- will lead to the
generation of an inhibitory gradient; the final determination of whether an organism will
respond to a novel stimulus will be a mathematical exercise (degree of similarity to CS+, and
subtracted of that the degree of similarity to CS-) – which ever is greater, “wins” out.
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Generalization, Discrimination and Concept Formation
Concept: any class whose members share one or more defining features; in
humans, the ability to form concepts is initially related to age and experience.
- Prototype
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Schedules of
Reinforcement
How hard must I work to get that reinforcer?
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Simple Schedules
Examples:
• If lever pressing is the desired response, then following each lever press, a
reinforcer (e.g., a piece of food) is presented.
• If depositing money into a soft drink machine is the correct response, then
following the deposit of the appropriate amount of money, a reinforcer (e.g., a
can of soda) is presented.
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Intermittent Reinforcement Schedule:
Any of several reinforcement schedules in which a response is
sometimes reinforced. Also referred to as partial
reinforcement.
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TYPICAL INTERMITTENT REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES:
EXAMPLES:
FR-10: only every 10th response is reinforced (piece work)
VR-10: on average, every 10th response is reinforced (salesperson on commission)
FI-10: a response will be reinforced only if it occurs at least 10 seconds since the last
reinforcement (waiting for a bus; this schedule results in a scalloped shaped curve)
VI-10: response will be reinforced only if it occurs, on average, at least 10 seconds
since the last reinforcement (predators waiting for prey)
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Extinction and reinforcement schedules
Commensurate with the degree of difficulty or ease to condition a response, is the difficulty
or ease with which it can be extinguished.
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Complex Schedules:
Multiple schedule: two or more simple schedules alternate with each schedule
associated with a particular stimulus (e.g., FI-10 when red light in illuminated; FR-33 when
green light is illuminated).
Mixed schedule: two or more simple schedules, neither associated with a particular
stimulus, alternate (i.e., one schedule may be in effect for 45 seconds, followed by
another schedule for 30 seconds, but there is no clear indication of a change in schedule)
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Cooperative Schedules:
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Concurrent Schedules:
• two or more schedules are available at the same time
Matching Law:
Given two possible responses, each on its own reinforcement schedule, the
relative frequency of each response will equal the relative frequency of
reinforcement. The distribution of responses matches the availability of
reinforcement.
R1 r1
--- = ---
R2 r2
R1 = response 1
R2 = response 2
r1 = reinforcement schedule 1
r2 = reinforcement schedule 2
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Forgetting
And
Memory
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Forgetting…
(What was that person’s name?)
a deterioration in performance
following learning
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For this course, a demonstration of
forgetting (or a lack of forgetting) will
comprise of determining whether a person
can perform an act learned in the past.
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However, sometimes an organism does not
perform a formally learned behavior because
they learned NOT to peform that behavior. For
example, if the behavior was extinguished (a rat
may not press a lever - even if lever presses
were followed by food – if that behavior was
extinguished).
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•delayed match-to-sample(a discrimination training
procedure in which the task is to select from 2 or more
comparison stimuli the 1 that matches a sample or
reference, after a retention interval)
•recognition (identifying material previously learned)
•extinction method (comparing the rate of extinction
after a retention interval with the rate of extinction
immediately after training)
•gradient degradation (a flattening of a generalization
gradient)
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Variables Affecting Forgetting
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3) Prior learning
proactive interference (forgetting caused by
learning that occurred prior to the response in
question)
4) Subsequent learning
retroactive interference (forgetting caused by
learning that occurred after the response in
question)
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Application
Memory of eyewitnesses
(incident reconstruction)
•effect of duration of exposure to incident
•effect of retention interval
•free recall vs response to specific question
effect of question wording and implications
•details forgotten, or where they never actually
learned?
•influence of witness motivation
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Theories of Forgetting
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Improving memory
Mnemonics – devices to improve memory
Examples:
•imagery
•disciplined rehearsal
•chunking
•prompts
•context cues
major presentation to entire corporation
executives
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Operant Applications:
Awareness, Thinking and
Decision Making
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The self may be described, in part, as our behavior.
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Parents help children learn self-awareness by
asking them questions, placing labels on feelings,
emotions, sensations
•Skinner – we increasingly become aware of ourselves
as we improve our ability to accurately observe others
and make inferences
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Major series of studies on self-awareness by
Gordon Gallup examined whether or not nonhumans
are self-aware.
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Self-control
Self-control techniques
•physical restraint – physical prevention
•distancing – avoid trouble-prone situations
•distraction – otherwise occupying time
•deprivation and satiation -
•inform others of one’s goals – seeking support
monitoring behavior – monitor in order to change
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Generally, individuals lacking good self-control lack
instruction (but do NOT lack willpower or character).
Verbal behavior
Traditional view - words are symbols for communicating
ideas (ideas are encoded into words by one person, and
decoded by another person)
Skinner suggested instead that one should view words
(either written or spoken) as forms of behavior, and as
such, function as does other behavior (remains theoretical)
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•verbal behavior will be controlled by the effects it
has on the environment (consequences)
•we learn to talk because speaking produces
reinforcers more than other forms of behavior
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PROBLEM SOLVING
Insight – the sudden appearance of a solution to a problem
Creativity - involves the concept of novelty, originality
Most individuals will generally use one approach or another – however, it is not
uncommon for a person to, on occasion, use the less-often used approach.
Decision may be situation specific.
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LEARNED HELPLESSNESS
When unable to escape an unpleasant/aversive environment, an
organism may give up (e.g., inescapable shock in rats, dogs, etc.)
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LIMITS OF
LEARNING
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•There are limits to learning across species
each species will learn in a unique manner,
with a unique impact by various factors
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Monkey see, Monkey do????????
•Years ago, researchers tried, unsuccessfully, to teach
nonhuman primates (chimpanzees) to talk in a manner
similar to how humans talk. Many concluded that these
attempts failed because the chimpanzees could not
acquire language.
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•Other researchers developed experimental techniques
allowing for some rudimentary language to be acquired
using sign/symbol language, instead of verbal language.
(KOKO)
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Nonheritability of Learned Behavior
Wouldn’t it be great if each of us was born with the learned
skills and behaviors of our parents? Think of the
possibilities (and how much time it would save).
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Psychologist William McDougall believed that learned
experiences were potentially passed down from one
generation to another, so that later generations would
be able to learn faster than the parents. He conducted
shock avoidance experiments, and was convinced that his
data supported this idea of one generation directly
benefiting from learning experienced by the previous
generation. It is likely that (unintentional) bias lead him
to these conclusions. Others scientists who later
conducted similar experiments failed to support his
ideas. Importantly, these later experiments included
some very important control conditions that allowed for
adequate comparisons and interpretation of the data.
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So…………………………………………..,
McDougall’s notion has not been supported. Therefore,
learned behavior is NOT passed down from one generation
to another. Each of us must learn these skills and abilities
on our own.
Thus, NONHERITABILITY OF LEARNING means that our
learning potential is limited by what we learn within our own
lifetime. We do not get the “jump start” that McDougall
thought was possible. But, don’t get too upset - imagine
that your parents didn’t learn well, or didn’t learn accurately
– you would have to learn the information all over again.
Also, societal progress may have been stalled.
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Heredity and Learning Ability
Wait a moment, how there be there any connection between
Heredity and Learning? The previous section (Nonheritability
of Learning) dispelled this notion.
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Neurological Damage and Learning
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Critical Periods
Thalidomide
Learning Language
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Preparedness and Learning
Some behaviors are more easily learned by some species
than others. In addition, an organism may show remarkable
learning in one situation, yet appear clueless in a second
situation. (Brelands’ raccoons; Instinctive drift: tendency of
an animal to revert back to a fixed action pattern.)
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Cognitive Development and
Critical Thinking
(adapted from “Challenging our preconceptions: Thinking critically about Psychology,” by R. A. Smith)
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Piaget suggested a stage theory of cognitive
development.
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Characteristics of the
Sensorimotor Stage
(0-2 years of age)
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Characteristics of the
Preoperational Stage
(2-7 years of age)
Symbolic thought develops (e.g., language
use); object permanence is firmly
established; the child cannot coordinate
different attributes of an object or
different perspectives.
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Characteristics of the
Concrete Operational Stage
(7-12 years of age)
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Characteristics of the
Formal Operational Stage
(12+ years of age)
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However, some pieces of research suggest that
Piaget’s belief that most individuals reach this
level of abstract and critical thinking was overly
optimistic. A 1976 study by McKinnon found
that of 185 freshmen at seven different
colleges, only 42.7% were operating at the
formal operational level. These and other pieces
of scientific evidence suggest that many people
(including adults) think at a level that makes
effective critical thinking difficult.
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So…
What is
CRITICAL
THINKING????
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CRITICAL THINKING:
A logical and rational process of avoiding
one’s preconceptions by gathering evidence,
contemplating and evaluating alternatives,
and coming to a conclusion.
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2) Critical thinkers identify inherent biases
and assumptions.
•most (if not all) statements we make have biases and
assumptions behind them
•biases and assumptions do not necessarily make
statements wrong, but we should be aware of that
possibility
•advertising claims (are they always true? are they ever
true???)
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3) Critical thinkers maintain an air of
skepticism.
•when young, children believe most things people tell them
(remember being told that eating vegetables would make
you grow up big and strong?)
•as children grow, they may respond to the veggie claim, “oh,
really?” – in doing so, questioning the world begins
•with aging, this individual becomes even more
sophisticated, and wants some evidence to back up the claim
(“Prove it!!”)
many of us develop this skeptical approach as we age,
although we don’t always use it (i.e., we question
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•information or ideas only when they do not fit with our
preconceived notions!)
•to be effective critical thinkers, we need to maintain a
skeptical attitude even about ideas with which we DO agree
•as adults, we can learn a lot from 4-5 years olds, who learn a
great deal about the world by asking questions
•adults should also question often, and critically
•sometimes the only way we learn that we have made an error
is to be questioned
•similarly, an important part of science is the willingness to
self-correct – to look for errors and work to correct them
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4) Critical thinkers separate facts from opinions.
•a big difference between scientists and nonscientists is the
requirement of evidence when making a decision
•remember trying to convince your parents to allow you to stay
out later than normal with the argument, “Its OK for me to
stay out late – everyone else does!” When your parents
questioned you further, you admitted that “everyone else” was
your best friend and someone else you had heard about.
•your desire to stay out late led you to confuse opinion with
fact
•we must rely on scientific evidence when drawing conclusions
about empirical matters
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5) Critical thinkers don’t oversimplify.
•although simple explanation to behavior are appealing, they
are often too simplistic to be correct
•avoiding oversimplification requires us to think divergently
– to imagine and explore alternative explanations
•we must realize that there may be more than one correct
way to answer a question
for example, a college using only one measure of academic
ability (SAT scores) is guilty of oversimplified thinking –
thankfully, most colleges look at other information as well so that
the best decision is reached
•similarly, many if not all psychological traits and behaviors
are much too complex to be explained by a single variable –
multiple variables and often complex interactions are likely
more representative of the truth
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6) Critical thinkers use logical inference
processes.
•we draw inferences when we make hypotheses based on
information given to us (e.g., when people talk to us)
•when Sally tells you that she is going to be at 9:00 pm even
though her usual bedtime is midnight, you draw some inference
– she may be overly tired, she may not feel good, or she may
have to get up early in the morning. All of these are logical
inferences because the follow reasonably from the information
provided. It would not be as logical to infer that Sally is tired
because she has been zapped by an alien ray gun that is sapping
her strength. Although this last inference is possible (???), it
is certainly not probable.
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7) Critical thinkers examine available evidence
before drawing conclusions.
•effective critical thinkers appreciate the need to consult
diverse sources of information
•if we examine and rely on one source of information, we
may fall prey to a particular set of biased assumptions
•it is usually easier to discover the biases underlying a
specific position by looking at a variety of positions
•once we have examined several sources, we can than think
in a convergent manner (zeroing in)
120
Conclusion
•even after reaching a conclusion using critical thinking,
good critical thinkers realize that they must continue to
use the above guidelines so that new preconceptions do not
blind them to alternative ideas
•for example accepted “facts” may change over time (such
is the nature of healthy science)
•REMEMBER: The view (position) we like the most or that
seems to make the most sense to us is not necessarily to
correct one – and we need to be willing to adjust
accordingly
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