Cognitive Theories Flashcards
Key People
Bruner Piaget Tolman Buxton Vygotsky Tinklepaugh
Bruner
Interested in categorizing and conceptualizing
Categorizing is fundamental to problem solving, efficiency
Filter data into categories/create new categories
Create 3 rules for categories
4 Rules for Schemas
Interest shifts to meaning making–constructed from experiences
“People tell selves and others stories about life and in process construct a narrative that is their reality”
Piaget
Human development is a process of adaption
Adaption=learning, 2 processes
Balance between Assimilation & Accommodation
Tolman
Looks at gross/total behavior vs breaking down to smallest components
All behavior is goal directed by cognitions
Despite behaviorist, believes cognition fuels behaviors
Tolman’s blocked path experiment
Buxton
Buxton’s latent learning experiments
Rats who stayed in maze over weekend learned their way better, ran maze faster
No reinforcement for learning but happened; not overt, not demonstrating
Goal-directed behaviors
Vygotsky
- We get meaning from cultural influences & social interactions
- Cultures set parameters, frame our experiences
- recognize culture is constructed by people
- zone of proximal growth
Tinklepaugh
Tinklepaugh’s expectation experiments
Shell game w monkeysred and yellow bowls, trade lettuce for banana, monkey is mad, disappointed
Assimilation
Put new information in old categories
Put all the dishes in one moving box
In practice, new situation & try to fit in into existing categories (good at the beginning and end of therapy)
Too much assimilation, no change
must balance
Accommodation
Create a new category (or change current category) for the new information that does not fit in other categories
Try to put the blender in the dishes box; it doesn’t fit so we need a new box or a bigger box that dishes and the blender can fit it together
In practice, make a new category for new situation
too much accommodation, no rescheduling (too much pushing)
must balance
Cognitive Theory of Learning
Some learning processes are unique to people; people can learn from mental images, representations, associations
Behavior Change is not always immediate/overt, people may store it
People play active role in learning, organizing what they know
Zone of Proximal Growth
- Scaffolding
- High SE task: you can do without support
- Medium SE task: you can do with support
- Low SE task: you cannot do even with support
Gestalt Organizing Perceptions: 5 Laws
- Closure (Closing Patterns)
- Continuity (Creating continuity)
- Similarity (Grouping similar objects)
- Proximity (grouping things close in proximity)
- Pragnanz (simplification)
Memory Traces
Tendancy to alter/skew memory
- Leveling: tone down aspect, make less extreme
- Sharpening: emphasizing an aspect
- Normalizing: take something unusual and soften into something more typical, normal, acceptable; moderate (trauma clients)
What does Gestalt Psychology have to do with cognitive therapy?
Gives insight to therapist about subjectivity of client’s experiences; allows to challenge particularly maladaptive aspects
e.g. First to talk at length about memory, how happens, why–> social anxiety example, guys throwing frisbee, started laughing
Bruner’s 3 Rules for categories
- Enactive representations; how do things feel? What is this like? Sensation of something
- Iconic representation/categorization; as it appears, e.g. “say the word ‘turkey’, all have mental image”
- symbolic; allows communicate abstract ideas
