Friday, June 13, 2014
Essential Questions Week Two
What role does the environment play in the development of cognition?
I remember asking a similar question in class recently. I wanted to understand how our genetic makeup affected the development of cognition. I've grown to understand that genetics plays a definite role in how we are shaped. We also go through stages of development. The other half of this, (which I consider a stronger influence on cognition) is environment. For example. Let's say that someone is born crippled. In a welcoming environment, in which self worth is not dictated by this disability, a person can still thrive in their environment. There is going to be a greater sense of possibility and positive feeling developing inside the child. They will be told that they are full of worth. I recently posted this thought on Facebook today. "The mind is a fascinating tool. During our childhood we were taught to believe many things. Not having our frontal lobes developed (the front of the brain responsible for reasoning and critical thinking) we believed what others said about us. In any thought or experience our mind creates a neural pathway. The more experiences or thoughts we have the more those neural pathways connect and tell us what to believe, even subconsciously. Many of us were taught to believe our very lives were not good enough. Who can fit into the same mold as their neighbor or a celebrity. There is no norm, every life and brain is unique. Somewhere in any, "societal norm" we taught others who to be to be acceptable. No wonder we suffer so much from our thinking, we can't live up to expectations that are not possible and we were taught to feel bad for it. Our brains have been wired to believe what we told them. One of the problems we face as adults now is to overcome beliefs that were formed at ages we can barely recall. The amazing fact is that our minds are pliable and we are able to challenge our thinking and change it. Today I can tell myself that I am lovable, acceptable, and have value no matter what anyone says. I can create happy and healing thoughts. I can think myself into a new person. I can also create new thoughts to love and accept others that think differently then me." :)
Yes, our environment shapes cognition.
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The environment is so powerful in cognitive development. To what have you been exposed that has allowed you to develop deeper thinking skills, problem solving and analytical abilities? What were you asked to do - what challenges were you presented - that facilitated this development?
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of these skills came from my father who had developed them. Most of my challenges had to do with the culture I grew up in. I didn't feel like I fit in and there were a lot of expectations to be perfect. I turned into a perfectionist and hated myself for a while because being a perfectionist means every small failure becomes a huge failure in the mind.
ReplyDeleteI read through a lot of non fiction books to challenge this perfectionist theory. I loved reading eastern philosophy, psychology, self help, and new age books like Eckhart Tolle's a New Earth. These books challenged my thinking and I loved it! They opened up a whole new world of thought.