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COGNITIVE APPROACH
Lesson 22
(Also known as the cognitive Perspective or Model) After having gone through the classical and operant conditioning approaches ask yourself:
- Did we learn, all that we know, as a result of mere association of stimulus and response; or was it learnt just because we were reinforced for it?????Can learning take place as a result of some other processes?
- Why does a soldier keep resisting the strong enemy without caring for his life even when he can escape?
- Why would an artist donate his paintings to a charity school and not sell them in the market when he could have earned hundreds of thousands? All human intellectual activities and potentials, i.e. thinking, communicating, problem solving, and learning require mental processes and knowledge. It is more than just stimulus-response association or reward and punishment.
- In the 1970's much of psychology returned to the study of the mind. Cognitive psychology had a similar interest. It studied memory, information processing, decision-making, etc. Cognitive Approach to Learning
The approach that focuses upon the thought processes underlying learning.
- The approach that gives importance to cognition for understanding and explaining learning.
- Cognition is defined as "the mental processes” or the “ faculty of knowing”.Cognitive learning approach has roots in the cognitive perspective.
- Cognition means “knowledge” or “the process of knowing”.
- Cognitive approach emphasizes: o Thoughts o Feelings o Thinking o Values o Expectations etc
- This theory gives same importance to both the internal states of the person as well as the environmental events.
- Internal events are referred a s “Mediators” or “mediational processes”__ (that come in between stimulus and response).
- Mediators are ‘conceptual’ but they are defined physiologically rather than conceptually. Elements of Cognitive Model
Internal processes = essential in
understanding Behavior
Emphasis of Cognitive Approach
- Cognitive approach uses the following as its focal point: o Emotions o Social behavior o Behavior modification
Mediators = Work in a
systematic and organized way
not in terms of trial and
Error
- Cognitive approach includes the elements of psychology, linguistics, computer science and physiology__ thus called a ‘hybrid science’. docsity.com
- The roots of cognitive learning can be traced in the work of Wolfgang Kohler, and E.C.Tolman.
Wolfgang Kohler Experiments on apes by German scientist Kohler, led to the discovery of the use of insight by animals in problem solving; “learning by insight”.
- Most famous of his experiments were conducted involving “Sultan”, an ape.
- Series of experiments was conducted in which it had to reach a banana outside its cage using a stick. Once it could solve this problem several times, it was provided with a stick that was not long enough to reach the banana. However, outside the cage was placed a longer stick. The ape unsuccessfully tried several times to reach the banana with the smaller stick, till it was finally frustrated and retreated. Then all of a sudden the ape got up, got hold of the shorter stick and used it to reach the longer stick; that stick was then used to reach the banana.
- This phenomenon, Kohler thought, could be explained neither in terms of mechanical classical or operant conditioning, nor trial and error.
- The animal had exhibited a sudden change in behavior or the way it organized the problem situation based upon “insight”.
- Both Kohler and Tolman played a vital role in laying the foundation of cognitive approach.
Tolman’s Concept of Latent Learning
- Tolman talked about the ‘cognitive maps’; it is not necessary to have an association between stimulus and response, a person can learn without showing any apparent response; in other words learning and performance are not the same.
• The type of learning in which the organism does learn or acquire a particular behavior but does not readily
demonstrate it until reinforcement is provided; performance may not be the same as what one has actually learnt.
Tolman’s Series of Early Experiments:
- Tolman (1886-1959) and colleagues conducted experiments that demonstrated that only mechanical association between the stimulus and response can not explain just every type of learning. In order to demonstrate this experiment on maze learning was conducted using rats that were divided into three groups.
- Group- 1 For 17 days the rats were allowed wandering around the maze once a day without being rewarded; making many errors they took longer in reaching the end.
- Group- 2 Always given food at reaching the end; learned to run faster to the end and food box; made fewer errors.
- Group- 3 For the first 10 days treated like group-1, and then given food; running time reduced. Errors declined; performance immediately matched that of group-1.
Conclusion: Cognitive Map
• The rats who were not rewarded had learnt the layout of the maze in their initial explorations, but
demonstrated their ability/skill only after reinforcement was provided; immediately after they stared getting food they were almost as good as group-1.
• They had developed a cognitive map of the maze that was readily available in their mind, that was used
only when reinforcement was received.
Cognitive Map
• It is a mental representation of space, locations, and directions; a mental representation of learned
relationships among stimuli. What function do spatial cognitive maps perform??? In case of humans and animals:
• Spatial memory is used for identifying and recognizing the features of their environment e.g. cats find their
way back home. docsity.com
model that was not afraid and approached and handled the animal. The children learned to be less afraid. Although observing an effective model in a film is helpful, seeing a live model works better. Even more effective is watching a live model first and then participating by approaching and safely handling the feared animal.
Steps in Observational Learning
• The most critical features of another person’s (model’s) behavior are paid attention to and perceived.
• The behavior is remembered; stored in memory.
• The action is reproduced.
• The person is motivated to learn and practice the behavior; successes are reinforced and failures punished.
When is observational learning the best approach to learning???
• In learning those skills where shaping is not appropriate, trial and error impossible and classical
conditioning irrelevant, for example:
oFlying airplanes as a pilot
oPerforming surgery
Who is a good model???
• The one who is rewarded for his behavior
• Those punished for their behavior will not usually be copied.
• Socially significant models (e.g. actors or super models used in advertisements)
• Successful people
• Glamorous people
• Good communicators
Applications of Observational Learning in Real Life Situations Observational learning can be, and has been, used successfully for:
• Overcoming fears in children
• Assertiveness training
• Treating fear of medical treatment and surgery
• Learning sports and athletics
• Learning new skills, like swimming
• Classroom situation: good performers and high achievers are rewarded so that they act as models for other
children
The following behaviors are also learned through observation of others performing the same act:
- Learning gender roles
- Adopting new fashions
- Starting smoking
- Drug abuse
- Drinking alcohol
- Violence and aggression learnt and displayed by children
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Comparison of Different Learning Approaches
Aspect
Learning theorists
View of the learning process
Behaviourist
Thorndike, Pavlov, Watson, Guthrie, Hull, Tolman, Skinner
Change in behaviour
Cognitivist
Koffka, Kohler, Lewin , Piaget, Ausubel, Bruner , Gagne
Internal mental process (including insight, information processing, memory, perception
Humanist
Maslow, Rogers
A personal act to fulfil potential.
Social and situational Bandura, Lave and Wenger , Salomon
Interaction /observation in social contexts. Movement from the periphery to the centre of a community of practice
Locus of learning Stimuli in external environment
Internal cognitive structuring
Affective and cognitive needs
Learning is in relationship between people and environment.
Purpose in education
Educator's role
Manifestations in adult learning
Produce behavioural change in desired direction
Arranges environment to elicit desired response
Behavioural objectives Competency -based education Skill development and training
Develop capacity and skills to learn better
Structures content of learning activity
Cognitive development Intelligence, learning and memory as function of age Learning how to learn
Become self- actualized, autonomous
Facilitates development of the whole person
Andragogy Self-directed learning
Full participation in communities of practice and utilization of resources Works to establish communities of practice in which conversation and participation can occur. Socialization Social participation Associationalism Conversation
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