In the last sections we have
examined a wide variety of aspects related to classical and operant, and
instrumental conditioning. In this section we begin talking about the last
major and the current model of learning that is pretty much used by a lot of
people today. These are called cognitive models. So, let’s begin by looking
at some of the theorists of cognition which is shown on slide two. As you
can see, a lot of the theorists of cognitive psychology relate all the way
back to Plato. They include people like Tollman, Hull, and a variety of
other people such as Anderson.
In the last sections that we’ve talked about within
instrumental and operant conditioning, we talked about some kind of stimulus
causing some kind of response. And then following the response by some
consequent stimulus. It depended upon the particular approach that one took
whether one focused on the initial stimuli or the consequent stimuli
following a response.
In cognitive models, what is focused on is not the
consequent stimulus or the initial stimulus, but what is going on inside the
organism. We will talk about and label that stimulus with an O. So, what
goes on inside the organism is the most important thing for cognitive
theorists.
So what kind of internal variables are investigated with
different cognitive models of learning. These are listed on slide four. (For
example, locus of control, expectancy, etc.). So, let’s look at some of
these variables a little more closely
The first of these is locus of control and is shown on
slide five. In essence locus of control is defined as how much control an
individual feels they have over their environment. For Locus of control, the
important point is where the control is. For example, if an individual feels
they have no control over their environment, (that is they have little
connection between the behavior and the rewards), they have what is called a
high external locus of control. That is, everything outside of them controls
what is going on with their behavior.
Well, individuals with high internal locus of control
basically believe that the world is responsive to my actions. That is,
everything occurs because of what I do.
Now a second variable that relates to cognitive control
and internal variables is what we call self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the
belief that you have in your own ability. That is, the confidence you have
that you will succeed at something. So individuals with high self-efficacy
believe that they can succeed at anything, whereas individuals with low
self-efficacy believe that they can’t succeed at anything at all.
A third variable relates to what we call expectancy, and
this is shown in slide seven. Expectancy basically relates to what your
expectation about what will happen in a particular situation. For example,
if you believe that you will get an A on your exam, you then engage in
particular behaviors usually to help you get that A. So it’s your
expectation about what will happen is that the most important and is studied
by these cognitive learning theorists.
The next variable that’s examined are what we call
personality variables. There are many variables that are examined and some
are listed in slide eight. For example, there’s the big five. So let’s walk
through each of those beginning on slide nine. The first one is what we call
agreeableness. This is the classic example of a personality variable. For
example, is the individual sympathetic, warm, trusting, cooperative, etc.
This is a little different from extroversion types of
personality variables. Extroversion and introversion basically relate to how
talkative, social, fun-loving and affectionate individuals are. If
individuals have highly extroverted, they basically walk into a room with
anybody and start having a great time, are fun, talkable, and everything
else. Or if they are kind of shy and withdrawn, which would be low, this
would be introversion. By the way, professors tend to be very introverted
for the most part, even though we do do well in certain situations.
Conscientiousness is another personality variable that’s
examined. That is, how ethical, dependable, productive, and purposeful you
are within a particular environment.
The next variable is shown in slide 12 and relates to what
we call neuroticism. Are you anxious, insecure, guilt-prone, self-conscious
and on and on. These are a variety of different variables that relate to
different aspects of personality that we study in different models of
learning.
And finally, how open you are (shown in slide 13). Are you
daring, are you non-conforming, do you have lots of interests, are you
imaginative, or are you the opposite of each of those.
So again, these are a variety of different personality
variables that are aspects of internal variables of cognitive psychology.
All of these different things are investigated.
The next major aspect that we look at when we examine
internal events relate to what are called traits. The classic person who’s
looked at traits is Allport . Allport defines three different major traits
that we have. So lets examine these for a minute. Cardinal traits for
Allport (as we see in slide 15) are traits that dominate an individual’s
life. That is, your passion to serve others, to acquire wealth, or whatever
they are. It’s basically things that dominate your life and makes you behave
the way you are.
The second type of trait is what we call central traits.
These are shown in slide 16. These are descriptive traits that you would use
to describe someone. Are they nice, do they dress well, etc.
And finally, we have what are called secondary traits.
That is, these are traits that are not obvious, that show up in particular
situations. For example, aggressiveness with an individual who’s pretty
mellow and cool but when they get to a baseball or a basketball game, they
turn into a total monster. These are traits that are not normally obvious to
an individual, but show up in particular situations.
So in general when we look at cognitive psychology and
cognitive learning, what we look at are internal events that are out there.
And basically these internal events are all examined within cognitive
models.
Again within a cognitive model, the focus is on things
inside the organism. that is, the mind. And as a consequence of that, the
models are much harder to measure than some kind of objective behavior
that’s usually discussed by Skinner and others.
So in general what we see here is that we have a variety
of different things that relates to cognitive models of learning. In the
next section, we will continue on with this discussion, so until then have
yourself a great day.
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