Psychology of Music Learning Miksza Cognitivism Part I Foundational Theories, Developmental Perspectives

Foundational cognitive theories Tolman Gestalt Psychologists Piaget Bruner Assumptions of ‘contemporary cognitivism’

Edward Tolman Transition figure… Objectivity/Measurable events Equipotentiality The study of behavior should not be oversimplified Reinforcement not always necessary for learning to occur Latent learning… Intervening/organismic variable must be considered Links between behaviors and results begin to set up ‘expectancies’ Learning is not a set of independent events - but results in a body of organized information, or ‘cognitive maps’

Gestalt Psychology Theoretical Elements Gestalt - ‘structured whole’ the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts… Against studying experiences in isolation of eachother Perception is different than reality Max Wertheimer - ‘Phi Phenomenon’ - ‘Kit’ from Night Rider Muller-Lyer illusion Ponzo illusion Law of Pragnanz Preciseness, terseness Mnemonic - ‘pregnant with meaning’

Wolfgang Kohler The Mentality of Apes (1925) The role of internal mental processes in problem solving Intuition Apes solving problems without ‘trial and error’

Kurt Koffka …with Wertheimer and Kohler… Helped formalize principles of Gestalt Psychology Perception: An Introduction to the Gestalt Theory (1922) Proximity Similarity Common Fate/Direction Good Continuation Closure

Cognitivism - Developmental Perspectives Piaget Genetic Epistemology Case studies/clinical method, his own children Schema and operations Egocentric to allocentric Processes of assimilation and accommodation Equilibration - equilibrium/disequilibrium

Piaget’s stages of development Sensorimotor SYMBOLIC THOUGHT Properational CONSERVATION Concrete Operational METACOGNITION Formal Operations Neo-Piaget - Post-Formal RELATIVISM/ACROSS FIELDS Consider age trends, characteristics, salient differences between stages

Stages of Development Implications Environment should support activity Interactions with peers are important Make children aware of conceptual conflicts and inconsistencies

Jerome Bruner The Process of Education (1960) Cognitive constructivist Influenced heavily by Piaget Elements of ZPD also… Readiness Enactive - Iconic - Symbolic Spiral Organization Learner active, exploring, creating…

Summary of Cognitivist Assumptions Equipotentiality not always necessary A focus on mental events/processes rather than exclusively behavior Inferences about mental events/processes must be based on observable behaviors Individuals active participants in learning and may construct their own knowledge Learning may not necessarily be observable Knowledge is organized