Cognitivism

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The cognitivism is a main flow of the learning theories . It is to be distinguished from behaviorism and constructivism and shaped by the different influences of the disciplines philosophy, psychology and linguistics. The focus of cognitivism is on the individual processing of information as well as the associated thinking and processing processes of the learner.

The first roots of cognitivism can be found in the 1920s and are mainly based on the work of Edward Tolman (pioneer of cognitivism), Kurt Lewin ( gestalt psychologist ), Jerome Bruner (initiator of the cognitive turn - the development phase from behaviorism to cognitivism) and Jean Piaget (Developmental psychologist). Other important representatives of cognitivism are Jerry Fodor with his modularity theory of the mind and Dietrich Dörner with the PSI theory .

Relation to cognitive psychology

The theoretical knowledge of cognitivism comes from cognitive psychology , which is an example of overarching thinking in the social sciences. What is meant here is the adoption and incorporation of knowledge from other disciplines. Willig and Kommerell write that "learning through self-control [...] has gained more and more importance within learning theories in recent decades, because psychology cannot depict the complexity of human life with simple explanations."

cognition

The term cognition (English cognition ; Latin cognitio = knowledge, imagination, concept, recognition) includes, on the one hand, the ability to recognize certain regularities (= thinking). This process includes the ingestion, processing and evaluation of information . On the other hand, the existence of and the use of comparative knowledge (= memory) is included. In short, this is the entirety of all processes that serve to record, process and store information. For this reason, all theories that focus on mental processes are called cognitive-theoretical models. Reference is made at this point by way of example to the model learning by Albert Bandura .

Examples of cognitive processes are, according to Holzinger:

  • Concept formation,
  • Perception ,
  • Recognition and
  • inferential thinking.

One concept that can be found in modern psychology is “ cognitive dissonance ”. The background here is the striving of the human being for conformity within his thought structure as well as between his thinking and acting. An inner conflict (or “cognitive dissonance”) arises when people act differently than they think, or when they have two fundamentally different opinions.

Cognitivism

Cognitivistic learning theories assume that learning is influenced by processes and states that lie between stimulus and reaction. The “inner-psychological processes” that are decisive in this context are viewed as information processing processes with which processes such as perception, learning, planning, insight and decisions can be explained.

Cognitivism and differentiation from other learning theories

There is no completely uniform direction for cognitive-theoretical models, as the individual approaches developed independently of one another. However, some basic assumptions are common. It is assumed, for example, that cognitive processes and structures have a significant influence on the behavior and experience of a person, because the inner cognitive system always interacts with information from outside. The learner processes new information taking into account already existing information and fits this into an organized network of existing knowledge, also referred to as a scheme ( Ulrich Neisser , 1976).

The view of behaviorism that humans are a being that is almost exclusively dominated by environmental stimuli and that their behavior is based on rewards and punishments coming from the environment is abandoned in the course of cognitivism. Cognitive learning psychologists assume that it is not only the environmental stimuli themselves that cause experience and behavior, but that what matters is how a person perceives, mentally processes and evaluates environmental events. In other words, they are convinced that far more complex processes take place during learning than the passive formation of new stimulus-response links. Thus the idea that the brain is a so-called “black box” or a “passive container” is rejected, whereby only the external conditions (input and output) are of interest and neither feelings nor thoughts are taken into account. The classical conditioning is regarded more as an active process in which the organism can learn about the relationship between two events, and not as an automatic stamping of stimulus compounds (Rescorla, 1988).

Another and very important learning theory besides cognitivism is constructivism . Since the learning processes from a constructivist point of view are influenced by different processes depending on individual experiences, the learning psychological constructivists deal particularly with the subjective interpretation and construction of learning processes. In other words: what someone learns under certain conditions depends heavily on the learner himself and his experience. Compared to behaviorism (the “storage” of knowledge) and constructivism (the “construction” of knowledge), cognitivism is about the “processing” of knowledge.

An essential characteristic of cognitivism in contrast to constructivism is its philosophical objectivism, that is, the world can be constructed without the subject, there is no constructed truth of the individual.

The human image of cognitivism

The cognitivists increasingly accept humans as individuals who are not "controlled" by others, but who are independent and who can process stimuli from the environment in different ways. With this ability, i.e. the ability to think, humans stand out from the animal world. In addition to this, Willig and Kommerell write: “Everyone can shape his or her life largely through insight and reason. He can even act against the laws of learning by mentally rewarding himself. ”Due to the information processing processes taking place in the human psyche and the independence of the human being, the cognitivists assume that the actions carried out by him are goal-oriented.

The concrete learning process in cognitivism

From the perspective of cognitivism, a learning process runs like a classic "information processing process". In concrete terms, this means that, in analogy to technical systems, the brain, as an “information processing device”, receives the corresponding (e.g. multimedia) encrypted information via the sensory organs. These are then processed with the individually available prior knowledge and generated into a so-called "output". Thus, the expenses (depending on the respective prior knowledge) can turn out differently despite the same information "input" by different learners. The basic communication model with sender, transmission (via a medium) and receiver can thus be applied to instruction . The associated learning arrangement is called instruction learning .

The cognitive development theories are particularly interesting in this context . Because the results of this area on the development of human intelligence, shaped by Piaget's research, aim to shed light on "[...] how man cognitively appropriates the world and which characteristic levels of this cognitive faculty go through." Piaget describes two basic learning processes as exchange processes with the environment. He assumes that modes of action are summarized in so-called “schemes”. In the process of accommodation , an existing scheme is “adapted” to the environment, whereas a scheme is “applied” during assimilation .

Criticism of cognitivism

On the one hand, the one-sided focus on information processing during the learning process is criticized. The aspects of information processing could indeed play a role in explaining learning processes, but not serve as the sole explanatory model. On the other hand, the criticism aims at the objectivist view of cognitivism with the idea of ​​a single, objectively true and recognizable reality. According to this, knowledge would exist externally and independently of consciousness and only processed differently in individual internal processes. In addition, the difficulties faced by cognitivists in explaining physical skills are emphasized and that the flow of information in the human brain with its very complex neuronal activity cannot be precisely observed and interpreted to this day.

literature

  • Baumgart, Franzjörg: Development and learning theories. Explanations, texts, tasks. 2nd revised edition. Bad Heilbrunn 2001.
  • Frey, Dieter / Irle, Martin (ed.): Theories of social psychology. Volume II: Group, interaction and learning theories. 2nd completely revised and expanded edition. Bern 2002.
  • Hobmair, Hermann (Ed.): Pedagogy. 3rd edition, corrected reprint. Troisdorf 2002.
  • Holzinger, Andreas: Basic knowledge of multimedia. Volume 2: Learning. Wuerzburg 2000.
  • Lefrançois, GR: Psychology of Learning. 4. revised u. exp. Edition. Heidelberg 2006.
  • Willig, Wolfgang / Kommerell, Tilman (ed.): Psychology. Social medicine. Rehabilitation. 2nd Edition. Balingen 2002.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. Holzinger, Andreas: Basiswissen Multimedia. Volume 2: Learning. Würzburg 2000, p. 110 f.
  2. ↑ Cf. Holzinger, Andreas: Basiswissen Multimedia. Volume 2: Learning. Würzburg 2000, p. 134.
  3. ↑ Cf. Willig, Wolfgang / Kommerell, Tilman (Ed.): Psychologie. Social medicine. Rehabilitation. 2nd edition Balingen 2002, p. 148
  4. ↑ Willig, Wolfgang / Kommerell, Tilman (ed.): Psychology. Social medicine. Rehabilitation. 2nd Edition. Balingen 2002, p. 147 f.
  5. ↑ Cf. Willig, Wolfgang / Kommerell, Tilman (Ed.): Psychologie. Social medicine. Rehabilitation. 2nd edition Balingen 2002, p. 148.
  6. ↑ Cf. Hobmair, Hermann (Ed.): Pedagogy. 3rd edition, corrected reprint, Troisdorf 2002, p. 161.
  7. ↑ Detailed information on this in: Jonas, Klaus / Brömer, Philipp: The social-cognitive theory of Bandura. In: Frey, Dieter / Irle, Martin (ed.): Theories of social psychology. Volume II: Group, interaction and learning theories. 2nd completely revised and expanded edition. Bern 2002, pp. 277–299.
  8. ↑ Cf. Holzinger, Andreas: Basiswissen Multimedia. Volume 2: Learning. Würzburg 2000, p. 133.
  9. ↑ Cf. Willig, Wolfgang / Kommerell, Tilman (Ed.): Psychologie. Social medicine. Rehabilitation. 2nd edition Balingen 2002, p. 149.
  10. ↑ a b Cf. Hobmair, Hermann (Ed.): Pedagogy. 3. Edition. Corrected reprint. Troisdorf 2002, p. 161.
  11. ↑ More detailed information on behaviorism and stimulus-response connections, e.g. in: Baumgart, Franzjörg: Learning as the construction of stimulus-response connections - behavioristic theories. In: Baumgart, Franzjörg: Development and learning theories. Explanations, texts, tasks. 2nd revised edition. Bad Heilbrunn 2001, pp. 109-163.
  12. ↑ Cf. Holzinger, Andreas: Basiswissen Multimedia. Volume 2: Learning. Würzburg 2000, p. 131.
  13. ↑ Cf. Willig, Wolfgang / Kommerell, Tilman (Ed.): Psychologie. Social medicine. Rehabilitation. 2nd Edition. Balingen 2002, p. 148.
  14. ↑ Cf. Holzinger, Andreas: Basiswissen Multimedia. Volume 2: Learning. Würzburg 2000, p. 133 f.
  15. ↑ Detailed on cognitive development theories and Piaget's research, e.g. in: Baumgart, Franzjörg: Development as a Construction of Reality - Cognitive Theories. In: Baumgart, Franzjörg: Development and learning theories. Explanations, texts, tasks. 2nd revised edition. Bad Heilbrunn 2001, pp. 203-271.
  16. ↑ Cf. Holzinger, Andreas: Basiswissen Multimedia. Volume 2: Learning. Würzburg 2000, p. 144.