Introduction: An Overview
Cognition is a mental process used in acquiring knowledge, and how this knowledge is used. This encompasses features like judging, memory, sensation, and thinking. Hence, it shows how human beings get information, apply it in their daily living, and transform their lives accordingly. Cognition and the mind are closely interrelated since the mind processes information and how such information is used. Cognition can be classified into two types: conscious or unconscious; and natural or artificial (Lovett, 2013). Since time immemorial, it has been considered an abstract characteristic of living organisms and over the years been studied as a property of the brain.
Under the subject of psychology, it shows mental performance and its state of intelligence as it applies to human beings. Furthermore, it is used in the field of artificial intelligence where high-automated machines are operated by using programmed or set conditions. Studies reveal that mental processes occur in human brain and there are factors that affect those mental processes. Research carried out recently has indicated solid concepts like concretization, abstraction and meta-reasoning. Cognitive psychology is also closely related to disciplines like philosophy, neuroscience, and linguistics (Bruning, Schraw & Ronning, 1999).
Interdisciplinary Approach
The central purpose of cognitive psychology is based on how people receive, process and store information. The vast applications of cognitive research include enhancing accuracy in decision-making, boosting memory and steering educational curricula to develop learning. Interdisciplinary learning features integration of multidisciplinary knowledge over a range a fundamental program subject matter or focus. The interdisciplinary approach towards cognitive psychology comprises of computer science, cognitive science, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and philosophy. Its experimental nature has led to dependence on these other disciplines to provide for. Due to the experimental nature of cognitive psychology, there has been the reliance on these other disciplines to give simulations and experiments that are essential. These experiments give results, which are then compared directly to the already studied human behavior. Hence, this has contributed to three main categories namely experimental, computational, and neural cognitive psychology (Chick, Karis & Kernahan, 2009).
Experimental cognitive psychology deals with the application of experimental methods in the study of behavior and the processes involved in it. Therefore, animal subjects and human participants are employed in the study of these topics: memory, neural substrates, emotion, development processes, sensation, and perception. Experimental methods are normally applied in the natural sciences as a way of exploring human cognition through a natural science. The complex human behavior together with mental processes, the ambiguous interpretation, and the unconscious processes by which they are subject to leads to an emphasis on proper methods within experimental psychology.
Computational cognitive psychology involves the improvement of mathematical computational representations majorly of human cognition by employing dynamic systems enhanced through computer science related-techniques and methods. Computational neuroscience deals with the information systems of how the brain and neuro transduction of electrical current as important concepts. Computational psychology and neuroscience have largely led to the explanation of most of the mysteries in nature. It is closely associated with linguistics. The overlap happens naturally because psychologists are keen in the acquirement, utilization, and conservation of language.
Neural cognitive psychology explores neuroscience methods that deal with models that assist in understanding the neural fundamentals about cognition in human beings. It gives a layout of the understanding of how the composition and working of the brain is related to definite psychological processes. It attempts to look at how the brain's mental processes are dependable on the bodies’ cognitive abilities in storing and producing new memories, recognize objects and people, enhance language, and increase our sense of reason and problem-solving.
Emergence of Cognitive Psychology as a Discipline
As a psychology discipline, cognitive psychology is involved in the assessment of mental processes. The cognitive revolution was an outcome of attempts by researchers to enhance theories leading to the mind on the fundamentals of computational measures and procedures. The important pillars of cognitive revolution was the incapability of behaviorism to differentiate between memory and performance; hence not able to account for complex learning in totality complex learning.
Decline of Behaviorism
Behaviorism encompasses the study of the theory that relates distinct behavior to recognizable objective stimulus, which is conditioned to functioning minus the recourse aimed to using internal mental processes. Through behaviorism, behavior is possibly studied without the use of any mental processes. Behaviorism caused the segregation of cognitive psychology. Not only that, but it was discredited because the last part of its definition denotes the lack of application of a mental processing groundwork which proves crucial in cognitive psychology. Furthermore, the decline of behaviorism has caused an incorporated outlook regarding cognitive psychology that assists in establishing experimental models which enhances studying; this is vital in identification of the use of mental processes, which are contrary to behaviorism, which is only achieved using behaviorism (Chick, Karis & Kernahan, 2009).
Cognitive psychology is among the leading areas of study. It is also a diverse discipline of psychology since it involves a number of various categories of psychology. Among the few professions benefitting from cognitive psychology are academicians and the people involved in learning and comprehending children’s learning and development; also, enhancing curricula programs that are of advanced level of learning (Lovett, 2013). Common among such professions are architects, engineers and designers who try to understand how people reason and how information is mentally processed in the brain.
Cognition and Metacognition Interrelationship
Metacognition, as related to cognition, refers to any cognitive process or knowledge that controls or monitors cognition. The core interest here is the mention of the similarities occurring between metacognitive and executive control functions that correlate with how these processes are implemented in the brain of humans. Reviewing brain damaging studies show a circuitry of attentional networks involved in the said control processes, whose source is found in mid-frontal areas. These local points are normally active during error correction, emotional regulation, and conflict resolution. Looking at the developmental approach to the organization of the anatomy active in the executive control offers an internal perspective on how these mechanisms are affected by learning and maturation, and their relation to metacognitive activity (Bransford & Brown, 2000).
Teaching Metacognition as an Improvement to Learning
Though critically essential, metacognition has always been overlooked as an element of learning. This is because effective learning entails goal setting and planning, adapting, and monitoring of one’s advancement. By teaching students these skills, it is believed that student learning will considerably increase.
Metacognition is directly related to self-efficacy. Self-efficacy refers to the measure of belief that an individual holds towards his or her own capability to complete tasks effectively and reach their goals. Academic success is seen in terms of the grades posted by students in their respective subject categories, which is reflected in their GPA. The leading question is whether there is a leading relationship between self-efficacy and academic success. Self-efficacy and metacognition have are closely interlinked, since each affect another (Bruning, Schraw & Ronning, 1999). This is because students in educational institutions are mostly related to this issue meaning they are the best examples to use for comparison.
A Case Study: Relationship between Metacognition and Self-Efficacy
This study reached out to 456 students but those who took part in the undertaking were 72. Not every student turned up for helping out in the study. Those who turned up are those who have specialized in the field of psychology and they were chosen to help in the research process. This is to make the researchers gather effective and enough information since the students involved would provide information that is reliable, as they have majored on the field. They were in this case helpful because it was not a hard task engaging them. They made everything easy and fast, as they were able to participate actively providing effective responses. These students were instructed to prepare self-reports on their performances as well as filling out some questionnaires online.
They were required to fill out the questionnaires correctly and submit it through the internet as it was carried out online. The students were majorly Asians and Whites and filling out questionnaires was one of the most effective ways to gather information on such a research procedure. The other issue, which made it possible to gather sufficient information, is the fact that they were from both male and female genders. Carrying out research on the difference between self-efficacy and academic success required both genders so that the difference would clearly come out in relation to their performance. The other aspect that made it possible for researchers to gather effective information is the fact that they were from different years in the university (Bransford, John, Brown & Cocking, 2000). All these aspects were used to make certain that by the end of the study they achieve what they intended to.
Several research findings have documented that males usually have high self-efficacy as compared to the females. In this case, the female gender ability is undermined by role of sex. There are labels in various cultures that view females as individuals who are not able to undertake some things and make the best out of their efforts. It is clear that many individuals discriminate against them and view the male gender as those who are so able. The other thing about discrimination against the female gender is the expectation that is hold for them. May people in the society hold low expectation for the females meaning they have it in mind that no matter what, the female gender will always not be as able as the male gender (Bransford & Brown, 2000).
The judgment that their abilities are caused the accomplishment has effect on the result rather than their actual abilities. Those who believe in themselves have the chance to work under hard conditions and perform tasks that are hard and make it through. Those who view the tasks as hard lower their morale and are not able to work. Such self-drives are what determine the type of life an individual will live because it all starts with the individual. Generally, individuals with high self-efficacy always engage in hard tasks willingly while those with low self-efficacy do not. Academic success on the other had does not contribute to success in life because the level of education without commitment and high self-efficacy makes the individual in question not to succeed (Tanner, 2012).
Experience is an important element in any field. People who have practiced in different fields for a long time, even if they did not have the right qualifications in the first place, will perform better than people who are fresh from colleges and universities. Instead of people preoccupying themselves with better they are well educated, they focus more on the purpose of education. In trying to understand the purpose of education, one is then able to focus beyond academic goals. Schools are not about intellectual development; education should focus more on bringing up people who are caring, competent, and loving people. Education should be viewed as a way of sustaining or creating a democratic society. It should not be viewed as platform for economic investment, and make corporate profits for organizations.
Referencees
Bruning, R. H., Schraw, G. J., & Ronning, R. R. (1999). Cognitive psychology and instruction (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.
Bransford J.D., Brown A.L., and Cocking RR (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Tanner K.D. (2012). Promoting student metacognition. CBE—Life Sciences Education 11, 113-120.
Bransford, John D., Brown Ann L., and Cocking Rodney R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Chick, N., Karis, T., & Kernahan, Cyndi. (2009). Learning from their own learning: how metacognitive and meta-affective reflections enhance learning in race-related courses. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 3(1). 1-28.
Lovett, Marsha C. (2013). Make exams worth more than the grade. In Matthew Kaplan, Naomi Silver, Danielle LaVague-Manty, and Deborah Meizlish (Eds.), Using reflection and metacognition to improve student learning: Across the disciplines, across the academy. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
