[vinnomot] Humanism and Psychology: (Comp 9): Emotion and Learning

 

Understanding Ourselves and Our Universe: How Psychology Can Turn the "Mysteries of Human Nature" into Useful Tools for Self Improvement and Success in Life

 

Part 9: A few more points about human cognition and emotion (and the summary, conclusions, and humanistic implications of these discussions)
Summary
Thus, emotions (positive and negative feelings) are intimately intertwined with most human cognition process, and can influence information processing in many ways…….   As this module has tried to show, Understanding Ourselves and Our Universe begins by understanding how we understand anything, from our innermost thoughts to the myriad of natural stimuli impinging on us from the outside world…..   Although humans' basic instincts, CNS capacity and functions, and abilities to learn, remember, and process information are all genetically pre-programmed, exactly what knowledge we acquire and how we acquire it and how we use our knowledge and understandings is mostly learned…..   ******** If this type of material is new to you, you're probably feeling pretty overwhelmed right now. Believe it or not, we've just begun to scratch the surface of what the PaB (psychology as Biochemistry) Theorem has to offer regarding understandings, insights, and useful applications of the natural principles of SciPsy (scientific psychology). An example of these "layers of insight" available to you is the relationship between cognition and emotion -- and both their relations to learning and information processing -- in human psychology. One might call this section "putting the human back into human psychology." While this module may be perceived as presenting a strictly mechanical model of human psychology, that is not the case. Every step of learning and information processing, from the first millisecond of perception, can be mediated (consciously analyzed, interpreted, conceptualized, reflected upon, decided on, and even distorted) by cognition, and every step is powerfully influenced by emotion. The fact that humans can and do routinely think about (and wonder about, and reason about, and hypothesize about) their situations (As or Antecedents), and their thoughts and emotions and behaviors (Bs or behaviours), and their consequences (Cs), starts to illustrate the influential role of cognition in psychological development (which is substantially different from that of most other animals). The fact that virtually every aspect of every human experience has emotional overtones or underpinnings (i.e., we may like or dislike almost every stimulus, thought, feeling, and behavior of ourselves and others to at least some degree) clearly shows its pervasive influence. And the fact that we routinely and almost automatically consciously distort our feelings about many situations (e.g., responding "OK" to questions about what we think or how we feel about things that are anything but all right with us -- just trying to "be agreeable") shows how intimately cognitions and emotions are usually intertwined. Thus, emotions (positive and negative feelings) are intimately intertwined with most cognitions, and can influence information processing in many ways. For example, memories with moderate emotional content (either positive or negative) are recalled better than memories with very high or very low emotional content. And although we would presumably rather think happy thoughts, the fact is that unhappy thoughts are recalled better than happy ones are (which is probably a genetic holdover from our evolutionary past, when remembering negative events had much more survival value than remembering positive events did). We also can and do "talk ourselves out of" perceiving the rudeness of a loved one as non-reinforcing. We can and do "talk ourselves into" perceiving a comic's joke that we didn't really get as hilarious if the rest of the audience cracks up laughing. We can and do "recall" doing things we've never done, and not doing things we have done. Given the right (or wrong) learning experiences and situations, most of us can and do claim that we've seen things we've never seen, heard things we've never heard, felt things we've never felt, and know things we don't know! (There are many examples of this in religious testimonials of "witnessings" of "healings" at a fundamentalist revival.) While these are arguably not examples of normal cognition, affect, and behavior, they are completely understandable as natural ( ?) and, more importantly, they are predictable and modifiable by principles of the PaB Theorem using BeMod technologies and others. If you can "see around the corner" to the tremendous implications and possibilities of how cognitive and affective mediation can enrich (or confound) the natural psychological processes of human beings, these are but a few of the fascinating and insightful topics that could be addressed in future modules of this course, given sufficient student demand. This Comprehensive Module has established a solid foundation for further, more sophisticated study of the intricate details of Understanding Ourselves and Our Universe. This knowledge will also greatly enhance your ability to maximize your learning in future settings as well.
Summary
As this module has tried to show, Understanding Ourselves and Our Universe begins by understanding how we understand anything, from our innermost thoughts to the myriad of natural stimuli impinging on us from the outside world. Although we have progressed only a small way into the scientific study of how and why humans receive and process information as we do, we've already learned a lot. By understanding the facts about our sensation and perception processes, we can become more vigilant and effective receivers of information about our external and internal worlds. By learning how our three memory stores work, we can consciously improve our selective attention, rehearsal strategies, and memory retrieval. And by applying all that knowledge in our daily lives, we can improve our learning and memory skills, which will make us all smarter and better able to select and take advantage of personal development opportunities, no matter what our age or ability levels. And that can make us happier and more successful, too! Although humans' basic instincts, CNS capacity and functions, and abilities to learn, remember, and process information are all genetically pre-programmed, exactly what knowledge we acquire and how we acquire it and how we use our knowledge and understandings is mostly learned -- by programming and re-programming those pre-programmed memory stores and neural circuits and networks through environmental experiences. Understanding how our sensory and perceptual processes work, and how they contribute to our three memory stores, and how to optimize our brains' ability to acquire, store, and retrieve information can make us more intelligent and empower us to take advantage of our capabilities to become better and more effective humans, and especially humanists. The upper limits of how intelligent we can become (i.e., our brain's capacity for acquiring knowledge and skills) is set at conception, but how much of that potential is realized depends on the quantity and quality of our learning experiences, and how much of that genetic potential and learning experiences are disordered or destroyed by sub-standard envoirnment or CNS trauma. (By the way, using our brains to study how our brains work and improve how well our brains work is an apparently uniquely human ability called metacognition.) Those three basic determinants of human intellectual development have been percieved as irrevocable natural laws of "being human" since our species evolved. But now, for the first time in history, thanks to human learning and genius, those laws may change, and that amazing change may occur as soon as the next generation. Modern psychological, biological, and genetic science and technology -- including such recent discoveries as the contents and function of the human genome and genetic engineering -- may well enable future humans to reprogram their genotypes to repair inherited disorders or correct the effects of traumatic dysfunctions! If retrogresive and religiously misguided "moral" or political obstacles don't sabotage the responsible and ethical use of such research and experimentation, future humans can have their enhanced abilities to understand themselves and their universe significantly enhanced, perhaps to levels we can't even imagine, as none of the billions of human beings who preceded them could ever do. What extraordinary opportunities for personal development and humanistic progress those fortunate people (perhaps our grandchildren?)will enjoy!

 

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