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Self‐Reflection and the Cognitive Control of Behavior: Implications for Learning

Self‐Reflection and the Cognitive Control of Behavior: Implications for Learning ABSTRACT— In this article, we suggest that self‐reflection and self‐control—studied under the rubric of “executive function” (EF)—have the potential to transform the way in which learning occurs, allowing for the relatively rapid emergence of new behaviors. We describe 2 lines of research that indicate that reflecting on a task and its affordances helps children to respond flexibly in a more top‐down fashion despite interference from prior learning or perceptually salient aspects of the task. Research on A‐not‐B tasks with infants and young children revealed that postswitch flexibility is an inverted U‐shaped function of number of preswitch trials. Overlearning may provide additional opportunities for reflection, in part by freeing up cognitive resources as behavior becomes automatized. Findings from the Flexible Item Selection Task with preschoolers and adults revealed that, although labeling the relevant dimension facilitates performance, performance declines when participants are prohibited from labeling. Labeling one’s perspective on a situation not only helps make that perspective an explicit object of consideration, but it may also help children access more abstract conceptual descriptions of a stimulus. Research on EF has broad implications for the way in which human learning differs from learning in other species and the way in which human learning may change over the course of development. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Mind, Brain, and Education Wiley

Self‐Reflection and the Cognitive Control of Behavior: Implications for Learning

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2008 the Authors Journal Compilation © 2008 International Mind, Brain, and Education Society and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ISSN
1751-2271
eISSN
1751-228X
DOI
10.1111/j.1751-228X.2008.00044.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

ABSTRACT— In this article, we suggest that self‐reflection and self‐control—studied under the rubric of “executive function” (EF)—have the potential to transform the way in which learning occurs, allowing for the relatively rapid emergence of new behaviors. We describe 2 lines of research that indicate that reflecting on a task and its affordances helps children to respond flexibly in a more top‐down fashion despite interference from prior learning or perceptually salient aspects of the task. Research on A‐not‐B tasks with infants and young children revealed that postswitch flexibility is an inverted U‐shaped function of number of preswitch trials. Overlearning may provide additional opportunities for reflection, in part by freeing up cognitive resources as behavior becomes automatized. Findings from the Flexible Item Selection Task with preschoolers and adults revealed that, although labeling the relevant dimension facilitates performance, performance declines when participants are prohibited from labeling. Labeling one’s perspective on a situation not only helps make that perspective an explicit object of consideration, but it may also help children access more abstract conceptual descriptions of a stimulus. Research on EF has broad implications for the way in which human learning differs from learning in other species and the way in which human learning may change over the course of development.

Journal

Mind, Brain, and Education – Wiley

Published: Sep 1, 2008

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