Reference no: EM133624699

One of the broad ideas that you should have taken away from the unit on sensation, attention, and perception is that while we move through the world feeling as though we have a very accurate representation of what's currently going on 'out there', the reality is that this is often not the case. Moreover, our memory is also subject to a number of challenges that can create distortions and an inaccurate recollection about past events. Again, though, we often feel much more confident about our memory than the data suggest is warranted. Finally, our coverage of information literacy in Section 1.8 of the text (and in seminars 4 and 7) demonstrates that we're often bombarded with (mis/dis) information that appeals to the very human tendency to engage in confirmation bias. You might think that all of this would lead us to be quite cautious about assessing what we know (and don't know), but this isn't really the case. In fact, our assessments of what we know about a particular topic (or our level of skill at a particular task) can sometimes be quite inaccurate. The ability to accurately assess our knowledge (and skills) is referred to as metacognition, and it was described in lecture, and in Section 5.5. There are numerous implications of these metacognitive challenges that all humans face. One relates to our disinclination to seek out additional information; that is, to learn. When we're confident that we already know things, the likelihood that we will show some genuine curiosity and take the time to engage in self-directed learning goes way down. After all, why would you need to learn anything if you think you're already incredibly well-informed? A second, related implication of poor metacognition is our tendency to speak with much more certainty than is often justified on the basis of our knowledge, and to speak with authority rather than demonstrating intellectual humility. Intellectual humility refers to the tendency to 'own your uncertainty', and admit to gaps in your knowledge (and, on occasion, to admit to being wrong). Asking you to take seriously the limitations of what you perceive, remember, and 'know' is a major priority for me in this first section of the course - I think the world would be a much more supportive (and interesting) place if everyone practised intellectual humility more frequently than we do. The goal of this seminar is to emphasize the connection between intellectual humility and many of the other concepts we've tackled previously in the course (perception, attention, memory), but especially the types of learning that were outlined in Chapter 6 of the text and in lecture (associative conditioning, cognitive learning, observational learning).

Read the Week 10 Background for the information necessary to complete this homework sheet
Read textbook Sections 5.5 and 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5, using Guided Notes( textbook Required: Coon, D., Mitterer, J. O. & Martini, T. (2022). Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior (16th edition).
When completing this sheet, please write your answers in the boxes that follow each question. When you are done, submit your homework to Brightspace.
Bring a copy of your answers with you to class (digital or paper)
Please bring a computer or tablet to seminar if you have one

Let's start by thinking about how operant conditioning be applied to intellectual humility. For example, imagine you're with a group of people, and you admit being to being wrong about something, or to making an error. This is the operant (voluntary) behaviour that's discussed on page 197.

Operant conditioning is all about the consequences that follow the voluntarily emitted behaviour. One possible response to your admission is that the people in the group praise you for being honest.

Based on what you have read in the text and heard in lecture, would the group's response be considered reinforcement or punishment?

Is that reinforcement/punishment negative or positive?

Another possible response to your operant behaviour is that members of the group ridicule you for your admission, and they no longer want to spend time with you (basically, their friendship is 'taken away' from you).

In this case, would the group's response be considered reinforcement or punishment?

Is that reinforcement/punishment negative or positive?

Based on your experience, how does observational learning play out when we watch others who express the limits of their knowledge, or people who acknowledge their mistakes? For example, can you think of a situation that you have read about in the media or popular press when someone admitted to being wrong, or confessed that they didn't fully understand something? Briefly (1-2sentences) describe what happened. Who might have been learning by observing the events that unfolded in that episode? What do you think they will have learned?

Are there situations in which (or people with whom) you'd never admit to being wrong, or acknowledging that you didn't really understand? Do any of the forms of learning discussed in Chapter 6 underlie your response?

In what situations would you feel comfortable admitting you were wrong, or that you didn't understand? For example, with which kinds of people are you most likely to demonstrate intellectual humility? Here, I'm not asking you to name specific people; rather, I'm asking you to think about what it is about those people that allow you to demonstrate intellectual humility - what are the characteristics they possess that allow you demonstrate intellectual humility?

Think about a workplace where you either have worked, or where you could imagine yourself working. What mistakes or errors are people likely to make in those settings? How could a manager or supervisor create the conditions that allow for employees to express intellectual humility, including the admission that they don't really know something, don't understand something, that they were wrong, or that they made a mistake.