Toggle Drawer Overview – For this assessment, you will, in 5-8 pages, construct a possible approach for addressing a misconception in an identified population, drawing on the theories and principles pertaining to both cognitive and affective psychology that can inform your approach.By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria: SHOW LESS
Competency 2: Evaluate the theories and principles that pertain to the cognitive components of cognitive and affective psychology.
Apply theories and principles of cognitive psychology to address a common misconception.
Competency 3: Evaluate the theories and principles that pertain to the affective components of cognitive and affective psychology.
Apply theories and principles of affective psychology to address a common misconception.
Competency 4: Explain how the theories and principles of cognitive and affective psychology can be incorporated into professional practice.
Construct an approach for addressing a common misconception in an identified population.
Competency 5: Explain how ethical principles and practices influence the application of the theories and principles found within cognitive and affective psychology.
Analyze ethical issues raised when addressing a common misconception in an identified population.
Competency 7: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the psychology professions.
Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the psychology professions.
Competency Map CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Use this online tool to track your performance and progress through your course.
Toggle Drawer Context How do you use your understanding of cognitive and affective psychology-particularly the areas related to knowledge and intelligence-to address misconceptions? During the course of learning, individuals modify their theories and develop schemas that facilitate more-advanced thinking. Learners are not always attempting to discover new thoughts but are, instead, trying to integrate currently held views about the world with their own experienced perceptions. Misconceptions are conflicts between a learner’s experienced perception of some fact or event and the currently accepted belief about the same fact or event. Therefore, misconceptions are not really errors but the underlying source for errors. Misconceptions become problematic when they are not confronted by the learner because they stand in place of accurate knowledge representations. SHOW LESS How Misconceptions Develop One of the reasons learners develop misconceptions is that a discrepancy exists between what seems intuitively reasonable and what is real. For example, Strauss (1982) showed elementary school children two identical beakers of water and explained to them that the water in each beaker was 10 degrees Celsius. The water from the two beakers was combined, and the children were then asked the temperature of the combined beakers of water. Most of the children claimed that it was 20 degrees Celsius. Researchers Donald Peck and Stanley Jencks (1988) argue that misconceptions may not always be detectable using common forms of evaluation. They visited a sixth-grade classroom where all of the students had just passed a test on reducing fractions and were ready to move on. One of the exam problems was to reduce 18/24 to its least common denominator, 3/4, which the students were able to do. In reference to this problem, the researchers asked the class to consider this question: “Which would be the most cake, then, 18/24 or 3/4 of it?” They report the children’s responses as follows:
The children were immediately divided into three camps. One portion said that 3/4 was the most cake because the pieces are bigger. Another group said that 18/24 was more because there were more pieces. One boy thought they were the same. A look of incredulity, however, led him to quickly join the 3/4 is larger group.
Misconceptions are not limited to young children’s thinking. For example, some adults have misconceptions about concepts of space, time, and motion. References Peck, D. M., & Jencks, S. M. (1988). Beneath rules. Boston, MA: Addison Wesley. Strauss, S. (Ed.) (1982). U-shaped behavioral growth. New York, NY: Academic Press.
Toggle Drawer Questions to Consider To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.
What theories, models, and hypotheses are used to explain how knowledge is represented in the mind?
What are some of the characteristics of mental imagery?
What are analogical images and symbolic propositions?
How do spatial skills develop?
What is declarative knowledge, and how is its representation and organization explained by various theories and theorists?
What is procedural knowledge, and how is it represented in the mind? How does it differ from declarative knowledge?
Are there models that integrate knowledge types? If so, what are they?
What is intelligence? Can intelligence be measured? Can it be improved?
What are some theories of intelligence?
How is human intelligence connected to artificial intelligence? What are the issues?
Toggle Drawer Resources Suggested Resources The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom. Library Resources The following e-books and articles from the Capella University Library are linked directly in this course:
Anderson, J. R., Bothell, D., Byrne, M. D., Douglass, S., Lebiere, C., & Qin, Y. (2004).An integrated theory of the mind. Psychological Review, 111(4), 1036-1060.
Feldman Barrett, L., & Fossum, T. (2001).Mental representations of affect knowledge. Cognition and Emotion, 15(3), 333-363.
Mayer, J. D. (2009).Personal intelligence expressed: A theoretical analysis. Review of General Psychology, 13(1), 46-58.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2008).Emotional intelligence: New ability or eclectic traits? American Psychologist, 63(6), 503-517.
Sartori, R. (2006).The bell curve in psychological research and practice: Myth or reality. Quality & Quantity, 40, 407-418.
Wang, P. (2007).Three fundamental misconceptions of artificial intelligence. Journal of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence, 19(3), 249-268.
Zeidner, M., Roberts, R. D., & Matthews, G. (2008).The science of emotional intelligence: Current consensus and controversies. European Psychologist, 13(1), 64-78.
Zimmer, H. D. (2004).The construction of mental maps based on a fragmentary view of physical maps. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(3), 603-610.
SHOW LESS Course Library Guide A Capella University library guide has been created specifically for your use in this course. You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the Cognitive/Affective Psychology Library Guide to help direct your research. Bookstore Resources The resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required. Unless noted otherwise, these materials are available for purchase from the Capella University Bookstore. When searching the bookstore, be sure to look for the Course ID with the specific -FP (FlexPath) course designation.
Sternberg, R. J., & Sternberg, K. (2012).Cognitive psychology(6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Chapter 7, “The Landscape of Memory: Mental Images, Maps, and Propositions.”
Chapter 8, “Organization of Knowledge in the Mind.”
Assessment Instructions Complete the following:
Identify a common misconception that you have faced or are likely to face in your professional work.
Construct a possible approach for addressing this misconception, drawing on the theories and principles pertaining to both cognitive and affective psychology that can inform your approach.
Identify any ethical issues to consider.
Draw on scholarly work and professional experience to support your approach.
Additional Requirements
Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Resources and citations should be formatted according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting.
Length: 5-8 double-spaced, typed pages.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
