Bringing Contexts In, Taking Racism Out: How to Improve Cognitive Psychology
Listen now
Description
Cognitive psychology studies universal processes such as memory, decision making, or emotions, for example. However, the theoretical, epistemological, and methodological assumptions that support the field’s longtime focus on studying “cognitive universals” might have resulted in a science of human cognition based on the performance and behavior of people who are predominantly White, English-speaking, and socially dominant. In other words, scientific racism has likely influenced the study of cognition. How can researchers reshape cognitive psychology to become more aware of the roles of culture and context?  Ayanna Thomas is a professor at Tufts University and lead author of an article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science that explores how psychological scientists can reshape the field of cognitive psychology and move toward well-developed theories of cognition in context. Ayanna joins APS’s Ludmila Nunes to discuss scientific racism in cognitive psychology. 
More Episodes
Many studies show that sexual attraction in long-term relationships decreases over time. Is this decline inevitable? Are we doomed to be not as into our partners as we were in the honeymoon period? Can we get too close to our partners?  APS’s Özge Gürcanlı Fischer Baum interviews relationship...
Published 05/02/24
Children absorb much from their environments. Although the impact of parental conflicts and fights on children has been greatly studied, the impact of positivity has yet to fully be explored.  In this episode, Under the Cortex features Brian Don from the University of Auckland who recently...
Published 04/18/24
Published 04/18/24