Cognitivism_and_Its_Theorists

Introduction Cognitive psychology is associated with awareness, sentience (very formal), sapience (wise or learned), and the school of thought known as cognitivism. This is a theory which attempts to explain what is occurring in the mind during learning, i.e, how and why people learn, by attributing the process to cognitive activity therefore, its focus is on the mind. Essentially, this paradigm argues that the mind should be opened and understood, such like that of a “black box”, whilst the learner is viewed as an information processor (like a computer). Many ideas and assumptions of cognitivism can be traced back to the early decades of the twentieth century. Jean Piaget (1896-1980), Lev Vygotsky(1896 – 1934), and Victor Vroom (1932- ), are some of the fundamental theorists that provided psychology with very elaborated accounts of developmental changes in cognitive abilities. This project will introduce the above mentioned theorists scope of works, their contribution to training and development and explore how these theories are being used in modern day practices in training and development. Lev Vygotsky Lev Vygotsky was born in Russia in November 1896. In 1917 he graduated from the Moscow State University with a degree in Law. During his time at Moscow State, he briefly covered Psychology but in 1924 he began a more comprehensive study of the subject at the Institute of Psychology in Moscow. Vygotsky’s career included the publishing of six books on Psychology topics over a ten years period. They were mainly focussed on child development and education, psychology of art and language development. He believed that cognitive learning and development are directly related to social interactions. His explanation was that before any child can begin cognitive development there must some form of social interaction that is, a child would learn language and identification of objects through his/her daily interface with parents, siblings and other members of society. For him, this meant that cognitive development moved from external to internal. The theories put forth by Lev Vygotsky have been the centre of several researches conducted on cognitive development. His arguments have also been compared to those of Jean Piaget. In addition, Freund (1990) conducted a study to examine Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal Development. Lev Vygotsky’s work was cut short when he died from Tuberculosis in1934 at the age of 38. Main Contributions to Training and Development Vygotsky’s contribution to training and development included the theory of the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) theory. More Knowledgeable Other Vygotsky explained that the More Knowledgeable Other referred to anyone with superior knowledge or understanding of a task, process or concept than the learner. The MKO, he believed would include a teacher, coach, an older or younger person, peers or even a computer. Vygotsky It is through interactions with the MKO that cognitive learning becomes internalize and stored for future use. Vygotsky stages of cognitive development discussed learning from a stage of apprenticeship where the learner is coached or taught by a MKO. Zone of Proximal Development The theory of the More Knowledgeable Other is closely related to that of the Zone of Proximal Development. The ZPD (see fig 1.&2.) concept analyzes the how much more a child can learn with assistance in comparison to how much is learnt from working on his own. Vygotsky’s ZPD explains that the child begins a task with what skills and knowledge he has but when faced with difficulty and inability to complete the task, guidance and encouragement will aid in the completion of the task. Vygotsky theorized that children who were previously assisted in completion of a challenging task will complete the task faster than a child that had never been assisted. Freund 1990 concluded from his study that guided learning within the ZPD led to greater understanding/performance than working alone. The ZPD Illustrated Fig 1 Fig 2 How Theories Are Being Used In Modern Practices Lev Vygotsky’s theories can be seen in almost every aspect of modern practices. In schools it is seen where group studies help to develop weaker students. Students often seek out persons that are more knowledgeable of the subject to gain additional information. In classrooms teachers try to give each child additional tutoring. Some truth exists that students that attend extra classes are more successful than those that do not. Students are also given assignments to attempt a new topic on their own and are subsequently assisted by teachers in areas that they had difficulties. In some cases teachers give a mock exam, works through the problem with the students and then the real exam is given. In doing so, weak areas are identified in order to provide assistance. In the workplace on the job training is being used where a more knowledgeable employee is assigned to train others thus enabling them to gain additional skills. Apprenticeship is also applied to modern practices. In this scenario an unskilled or partially skilled person is given the chance to learn from a more skilled person. In doing so he gains the requisite skills and memorizes it to be used later on. Victor Vroom Victor Vroom, was born in Montreal Canada, on August 9, 1932. Vroom was a business school professor at the Yale School of Management and also holds a PhD from University of Michigan. He is an accomplished author with Work and Motivation, Leadership and Decision Making and The New Leadership being some of his most renowned works. General Electric and American Express are a few of the giant corporations, whom have sought his consultation based on his expertise. The Expectancy Theory Victor Vroom's expectation theory is based on motivation and defines motivation as a process governing choices among alternative forms of voluntary activities, a process controlled by the individual. It presumes that one’s behavior/conduct results from particular choices amid alternatives whose purpose it is to minimize pain and maximize pleasure (how motivated you are with the results that follow an action). This theory can be linked to Pavlov’s dog which salivated at the ringing of the bell and indicates that stimuli may be generalized just as in the case of employees getting promotion or bonuses at particular intervals for the work they did well. Crucial elements to this theory are referred to as EXPECTANCY, VALENCE AND INSTRUMENTALITY. Expectancy (E)- What you thing you can get done and what the expected results are, Instrumentality (I)- the notion that the work you do will get you a salary, and Valence (V)- strength to prefer a particular outcome,( i.e.- What’s in it for me'), and essential to the understanding of the theory is to appreciate that each of these factors corresponds to a belief. The simple formula is Expectancy x Instrumentality x Valence = Motivation Fig 3. The Expectancy Theory of Motivation (Porter & Lawler, 1968; Vroom, 1964) This theory as a model of behavioral choice, an explanation of why individuals choose one behavioral option over others, iIn doing so, it explains the behavioral direction process. It does not attempt to explain what motivates individuals, but rather how they make decisions to achieve the end they value. The formula (see fig 3.), can be used to analyze job satisfaction, occupation choice, job stability, effort that an employee will put in at work. “Vroom realized that an employee's performance is based on individual factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities”. The expectancy theory says that individuals have different sets of goals and can be motivated if they believe that: • There is a positive correlation between efforts and performance, • Favorable performance will result in a desirable reward, • The reward will satisfy an important need, • The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile. In the work environment, motivation is often viewed as what people can do and what they will do, it begins with the needs that exist within us. If these are unsatisfied we inherently establish a goal and take action to achieve that goal. Contributions to Training and Development We see this exhibit itself every day in school as we are all here to attain OR sustaining that highly regarded managerial position, hence we have established a goal, it being to accomplish a Bachelors degree. In restaurants, you clearly see employees of the month displayed on the wall; this is an incentive for others to work harder to earn a coveted spot on the wall of fame. In the Christmas season, most employees expect a bonus, therefore, they work more efficiently and effectively in hopes of achieving that bonus What a manager can do according to Expectancy Theory is to clarify the path of the employee by • Providing proper tools and training, eg. • a comprehensible performance evaluation system • and mostly by listening to his problems • It is of equal importance, to understand people’s perceptions, behaviors, attitudes, and motivation as this is crucial in achieving both organizational and managerial effectiveness and goals. The expectancy theory firstly emphasizes payoffs and/ or rewards. Managers as a result, believe that the rewards offered, will be parallel with what the employee desires and as such, the theory is based on self interest where each person seeks to maximize on their expected satisfaction. Secondly, the expectancy theory stresses that managers need to understand why employees view certain outcomes as or appealing or not. They will want to reward individuals with those things they value positively. Thirdly, the theory emphasizes on behavior that is expected. Do employees really know what is expected of them and how they will be evaluated' Unless employees see this connection between performance and rewards, organizational goals may not be met. Lastly, the theory is concerned with perception, so an individual’s own perceptions of goal satisfaction and performance reward will determine their level of effort not necessarily the objective outcomes themselves. Accordingly, continuous feedback is necessary to align perceptions with reality. So, the key to the Expectancy Theory is an understanding of an individual’s goals and the linkage between effort and performance, between performance and rewards, and between the rewards and individual goal satisfaction. Jean Piaget Jean Piaget is another influential Researchers in the area of developmental Psychology during The 20th Century. Piaget Consider himself to be an expert in the art of gaining Knowledge i.e. “how we come to know.” He spent over twenty (20) years perfecting his theory, and he is widely acknowledged as one of the most valuable developmental theories-of his time. It’s obvious that there are many new and possible more valid theories now, but Piaget’s theory has had a lot of influence on schools, teaching and education all over the world. Jean Piaget’s Theory and modern day practices in training and development Jean Piaget penned the four stages of child development (see fig 4.) and this can also be extrapolated to compare to training and development in adults. In the same way children go thorough different stages we note that similarities are experienced through continued practices. 1. Sensorimotor stage (birth - 2 years old) -- Child interacts with environment through physical actions (sucking, pushing, grabbing, shaking, etc.) These interactions build the child's cognitive structures about the world and how it functions or responds. Object permanence is discovered (things still exist while out of view). Object permanence is experienced in training and development in that this is as “the show it to me process” or the process of observation of objects which will help to build your knowledge of something and also how it functions. Here you gather information about fixed structures and hence develop from there. 2. Preoperational stage (ages 2-7) -- Child is not yet able to form abstract conceptions, must have hands-on experiences and visual representations in order to form basic conclusions. Typically, experiences must occur repeatedly before the child grasps the cause and effect connection. With modern day practices, this can be termed as the training period. We do jobs and tasks repeatedly until we can master them. Hands-on experience can be obtained through workshops, seminars and conferences whether in internal organization or otherwise. 3. Concrete operations (ages 7-11) -- Child is developing considerable knowledge base from physical experiences. Child begins to draw on this knowledge base to make more sophisticated explanations and predictions. Begins to do some abstract problem solving such as mental math, etc. Still understands best when educational material refers to real life situations. Here we are on a probationary period where we are being observed as a training process. We draw from our own initiative and of course what is being taught on the job, at home, church or other places. We develop as time goes by and make contributions for overall development. 4. Formal operations (beginning at ages 11-15) -- Child's knowledge base and cognitive structures are much more similar to those of an adult. Ability for abstract thought increases markedly. What have been learnt will now be applied continuously. You are now left on you own to apply information that was taught. A person is faced with complex problems to solve problems and will eventually find solutions or possible factors to comprehend and have optimum output. Fig 4. The facts and theories of Piagetian genetic constructivism, and more especially its description of the developmental stages of intelligence and scientific knowledge, were the subject of very different readings depending on the type of conception, avowed or not, that each reader had of culture, which is undeniably the ultimate goal of any educational endeavor. Among these various conceptions, two marked tendencies may be distinguished: one which sees culture as a sort of structure to be built gradually according to a well-planned procedure, and the other which considers it rather to be a kind of network endowed with a certain flexibility and capacity for self-organization and whose construction or reconstruction may accordingly be prompted, facilitated, but not entirely controlled. The interesting fact however, is that both tendencies refer to Piagetian genetic constructivism, or to be precise to its theory of stages, but give two interpretations of it which are situated at different levels, one more specifically psychological and the other more strictly epistemological. These interpretations have, in the practice of teaching, ultimately become radically opposed to each other. The first, that which places greater emphasis on the psychology of the child, considers a stage to be a degree, a precise and necessary step in the construction of the cultural edifice; it is a step determined by the very nature—almost the biological nature—of the developmental process, and is supposed to represent a stable and solid acquisition without which any subsequent construction is impossible. Typical of this position is, for instance, recourse to Piagetian ‘tests’ so as to give a more ‘scientific’ justification to educational guidance and selection procedures aimed at organizing both the education system and educational practices into a hierarchy of levels regarded as ‘homogeneous’ and increasingly difficult to attain. Opposed to this first interpretation of Piagetian genetic constructivism is the second, which is more concerned with epistemological analysis. This school of thought interprets the stage rather as a sort of structuring or sudden restructuring, partially unpredictable, always temporary and unstable, of a complex network of relations which link a number of concepts and mental operations together in a continually changing pattern. A typical example of this second position—which is strongly reminiscent of Kuhn’s (1962)—is the jettisoning of all rigid forms of programming and standardization in teaching practices in favour of close attention to setting up the right contexts, i.e. those believed to foster the emergence of the desired patterns of organization of knowledge. Although opposed, these two positions are often found simultaneously in various areas (both literal and figurative) of the complex and heterogeneous world of education. Sometimes one or the other gains the upper hand, depending on the precise historical circumstances, local traditions, economic issues and the political forces at work. However, the latter seems to be the one that is gaining ground today, perhaps less in conventional schooling than in non-formal education, and in particular in managerial training strategies for company executives, possibly as a result of the new challenges that are more and more interconnected and unpredictable environment imposes on the organization of human dealings. So, while Piaget the psychologist has left an undeniable stamp on educational practices, especially where early childhood education is concerned, and while Piaget the educational ‘politician’ has unquestionably contributed to the promotion of movements for the international co-ordination of education, Piaget the epistemologist now influences the educational task in fields he never dreamed of. Here we have an undeniable indication of the wealth of theoretical implications and concrete suggestions that his work still offers to educators. REFERENCES Blanchard P.N., & Thacker J. W. (2004). 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