CGSC 1001 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4-5: Reductionism, Situated Cognition, Cultural Anthropology
11 Jun 2016
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Subject matter: how the brain processes information and creates cognitive processes. Methods: neuro-imaging, single-cell recording, anatomical observation, computer modelling, pharmaceutical e ects, genetic analysis, etc. Overlaps with biological and physiological psychology, neuropsychology and the rest of neuroscience. Underestimate the complexity of language and other thought processes. Completely unable to shed light on many of the processes everyone else is interested in. Tend to be dismissive of other approaches or reductionist. Lean too far toward nature on the nature/nurture debate. Subject matter: how people (usually children) learn and how we can design education to help them e ectively do it. Methods: naturalistic observation of case studies, empirical studies. Case studies are worthless or close to it. It"s too applied and not telling us enough about basic cognitive processes. The controlled studies are poorly done: to their credit, they"re very expensive and hard. They only deal with one part of cognition.
