Cognition and Learning

Meaning of Cognition and Learning

In psychology, you can think of cognition as a fancy word for thinking: the ability to understand, store, and retrieve information, intentionally concentrate or remain alert, and make decisions about how to think or act. Cognition plays a big role in how we learn through using skills we learned in the past (remembering), practicing new skills (rehearsing), and connecting old information to new information.

Fg. 1 Cognition plays a big role in learning, pexels.com

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior or thinking due to experience. We can take in new information, process it, and apply it in real life because of our cognitive abilities. Learning can happen in many different ways, but these are two of the most common ways:

• Behavioral Learning

• Social Learning (Observational Learning)

Types of Learning

You can probably tell what these types of learning are all about just from their names. Behavioral learning is all about how our behaviors interact with our environments. Social learning is all about how our social life interacts with our learning!

Behavioral Learning

Behavioral learning refers to learning through conditioning. In psychology, there are two types of conditioning: classical and operant. Classical conditioning is unconscious, automatic learning that produces automatic, conditioned responses (like reflexes). We are classically conditioned pretty much every day without even realizing it!

Operant conditioning is learning based on consequences, like rewards or punishments. In behavioral theory, rewards are called reinforcement. We learn to behave in certain ways based on rewards and punishments.

Social Learning

Social Learning, also known as Observational Learning, is learning through observing the behaviors of models. Models are anything or anyone we can observe and learn from simply by watching and paying attention. Replication is when we reproduce the behavior of a model.

Fg. 2 Child observing how to play the guitar. pexels.com

Cognitive Process in Learning

What are the different types of cognitive processes that make learning possible? In psychology, there are many different ways that cognitions influence learning, and three of those are the overjustification effect, latent learning, and learning by insight (the “ah-ha” moment).

The Overjustification Effect

The overjustification effect explains why someone's interest or motivation may decrease when an external reward is introduced. When someone is naturally interested in an activity, they want to participate in it even without any external rewards. If you try to reward them for doing it, they become less motivated instead of more.

Essentially, the extrinsic motivation (a reward) replaces the person's intrinsic motivation (personal desire), causing motivation to go down. You would think it would go up, right? Wrong! The added external motivation overjustifies the internal motivation, causing both to decrease.

Latent Learning

Latent learning means learning that happened in the past but is only demonstrated when there is a good reason to do so. In other words, the person learned a new behavior, but they will not show what they have learned until they are motivated to do so, maybe by an incentive or reward.

This type of learning is purely cognitive since it does not result in immediate behavioral changes. It shows that learning can occur without acting anything out. The person absorbs and stores the information in their mind, but there is no reason to display what they have learned until later.

Insight

Insight is best defined as an unexpected and new solution to a problem that seems to appear in your mind out of nowhere. It is also called a lightbulb or ah-ha moment. You are struggling to figure out how to answer a question on a test, so you skip the question. As you are reviewing all of your answers, suddenly a solution to the question pops into your head! You quickly write it down.

Fg. 3 Sudden insight can help solve a problem, pexels.com

Insight solutions seem to come out of nowhere, but unconscious cognitive processes are happening that lead up to the moment of insight.

Cognition and Learning Examples

Just like there are different ways we learn, there are also different ways we can use cognitions when we learn. Our human reasoning abilities help us learn, but there is more than one kind of reasoning. Sometimes we forget what we learned, and we have to learn it again.

Inductive vs. Deductive Reasoning

Inductive and deductive reasoning are important components of cognitive learning. Think of them as two different kinds of mental patterns. In inductive reasoning, we use probability to reach a conclusion or decision. We move from specific information to a general conclusion or decision.

In deductive reasoning, we use big ideas or conclusions to reach a specific conclusion or decision. We move from general information to specific conclusions or decisions. These two types of reasoning help us process information, make decisions, and solve problems.

Overlearning

In most cases, when people feel that they have learned something, they stop learning and practicing it. However, sometimes we continue to practice and study what we have learned to get even better. This is called overlearning.

Even when we learn something well, overlearning helps us continue to reinforce what we learned. Overlearning helps with the cognitive retention of information in the brain and ensures that it will be really hard to forget what we have learned!

Relearning

While you may think that relearning is the ability to relearn an old concept, you would only be 50% correct. In cognitive psychology, relearning is a measure of how fast someone can relearn a concept they learned in the past, compared to how long it took them to learn it the first time. Generally, relearning is much faster than initial learning.

Cognition and Learning Strategies

What are a few strategies we can use as we learn new information or skills? Two cognitive learning strategies are metacognition and the VARK model.

Metacognition

Metacognition is the ability to think about your thinking. Everyone learns differently, but assessing your cognitive abilities will help you better understand your learning abilities.

Metacognition has so many applications in school and learning. Every day, teachers create lesson plans for their classrooms. However, teachers also recognize that students learn differently. Some students may require a quiet room to focus in, while others prefer having background noise, such as music, to help them pay attention.

Teachers know that some students will find biology easier to learn than chemistry and vice versa. This is dependent on a student's learning capabilities. By understanding how each student learns, a teacher can better plan and decide how to approach a topic with each student.

Students can use metacognition to understand the best way for them to study and learn. Some students cram last minute for exams because that's when they feel the most motivated, but others need days or weeks to study for big exams or work on big projects. Which method you choose depends on what will work best for you.

The V.A.R.K Model

Fleming and Mills (1992) developed the VARK model of learning. VARK is a learning style theory that looks at four types of learners: Visual, Auditory, Reading and Writing, and Kinesthetic.

1. Visual learners are people who prefer learning through visual aids and graphic depictions. People who fall under this category would rather look at pictures than written instructions to learn how to do something.
2. Auditory learners are people who prefer learning through listening. People who fall under this category are more likely to listen to a video or audiobook than pay attention to visuals or words.
3. Reading and Writing learners are people who prefer to learn by reading or writing. People who fall under this category will pay close attention to written instructions and may even jot down notes as they read.
4. Kinesthetic learners are people who prefer learning through a hands-on approach. People who fall under this category enjoy working with their hands and want to learn by doing.

Cognitive Learning Theory

Jean Piaget (1936) developed the cognitive learning theory (CLT). This theory suggests that new knowledge is based on a learner’s previous knowledge (i.e., what they have already learned). CLT describes cognitive learning as an active, long-lasting process. In other words, cognitive learning is continuous. We continue to learn throughout life, and we build on previous knowledge to create new understandings of what we know.

Students progressing through different grade levels are a great example of CLT. Think about the many different math classes you completed over the years. In elementary school, you were taught the basics. In middle and high school, the basic math skills you learned were expanded to include complex functions and formulas. Even though you were learning harder and more complicated math, you continued to use the basic skills you learned earlier on.

Additionally, CLT focuses on understanding how people learn and process diverse types of information. Rather than solely reacting to other people or events, Piaget said that humans can mentally process the information they receive before deciding on a response.