cognitive revolution (Essay Sample)

Discussion #2: Cognitivism and Learning Theories Name Institution Course Professor Date Cognitivism The Cognitive Revolution The cognitive revolution was a dramatic paradigm shift in psychology, emphasizing internal thought processes rather than visible behavior. This revolution emphasized that cognition, problem-solving, language, and other higher-level thinking skills were also important to study systematically. It helped shift psychology's view of humans as having internal representations of knowledge, memories, and symbol-processing abilities. Information Processing Information processing refers to how the human mind receives external stimuli, mentally organizes and represents this information, stores it in memory, retrieves it, and makes responses (Frankland et al., 2019). From an information processing perspective, the mind is like a computer or data processor that takes raw data from the senses, encodes it, and transforms it through various mental processes before arriving at an outcome or response. The Behaviorist versus Cognitivist Definition of Learning Behaviorists view learning as a change in observable responses, while cognitivism sees it as a change in mental representations and knowledge structures, such as schemas. The cognitivist perspective provides a more comprehensive learning account based on recent evidence cited in our course readings. Behaviorism cannot account for insights gained from neuroscience on the biological mechanisms that underlie cognition (Parker, 2022). It also struggles to explain complex phenomena like problem-solving transfers, which depend more on conceptual changes than new responses. By taking a cognitive approach and studying internal schema development, we better understand how learning fundamentally transforms one's mind beyond new behaviors. Changes in My Personal Schemata My schemata around trust, relationships, and spirituality have markedly changed throughout my life. Experiences like betrayal changed my views on trust, romantic partners adjusted my views on love and commitment, and personal struggles shifted my perspectives on religion and faith traditions. These shifts reflect changes not just in observable behaviors but in my underlying internal models of schema around these important domains. After Watching This, Your Brain Will Not Be the Same | Lara Boyd | TEDx Vancouver Dr. Boyd's Suggestions and My Beliefs About Learning Dr. Boyd's comments reinforce many of my thoughts regarding learning. She discusses how our brains change chemically, structurally, and functionally through learning new information and skills. I believe the brain is plastic and continuously develops based on our experiences. Dr. Boyd also emphasizes how our behaviors can directly influence how our brains change. Practice and knowledge are essential for learning (Boyd, 2015). Her focus on learning as an active process that sculpts our neural pathways aligns with my view that we shape our brains through what we do. Effects on Persons with Brain Damage The changes Dr. Boyd discusses can help and hinder persons with brain damage depending on the type and location of the injury. The damage disrupts normal neural pathways while the brain remains plastic after events like stroke. However, her emphasis on how our behaviors directly cause our brains to rewire offers hope. Performing tasks to relearn lost skills may stimulate new connections to form (Boyd, 2015). H...