# Improving a cognitive process

> IB Psychology · IB Psychology 2027 First Assessment
> Source: https://www.owlsprep.com/study/ib-psychology-lc-improving-a-cognitive-process/

One or more strategies to improve one or more cognitive processes.

## Learning objectives

- One or more strategies to improve one or more cognitive processes.

## Core concept

If cognitive processes can be distorted, they can also be improved by deliberate strategies. One family targets decision-making directly: debiasing techniques (training, checklists, decision aids) try to catch and correct systematic errors. Another works on implicit, associative cognition: exposing people to counter-stereotypical examples can reduce automatic bias. Both show that cognition is changeable — but the evidence also shows improvement is partial and depends on the method and context.

## Key studies

IB Psychology answers must be supported by named studies. Learn these to cite as evidence:

**Ludolph and Schulz (2018)** — A systematic review of debiasing found 69% of interventions were partially or completely successful, with technological strategies most effective. — *Anchors DEBIASING as a strategy to improve decision-making — and quantifies that it works only partially.*

**Columb and Plant (2011)** — Exposure to Barack Obama's name reduced implicit anti-Black bias on an Implicit Association Test in non-Black participants (the 'Obama effect'). — *Anchors EXPOSURE to counter-stereotypical examples as a strategy that improves (de-biases) social cognition.*

## Evaluation (AO3)

**Strength — evidence-based and applicable** — Both strategies are tested with real outcomes and translate into practical tools (decision aids, exposure to positive exemplars), so improvement is demonstrable rather than assumed.

**Limitation — partial and context-bound** — Debiasing succeeds only some of the time (69% partially/completely), and effects like the Obama effect can be short-lived or context-dependent, so a bias is reduced, not erased.

## Scope

> **note**
>
> Strategies to improve a cognitive process are the focus. The biases being corrected are LC_1 / COG_1 / COG_5; the dual-processing rationale is COG_6; technology-as-environment on cognition is LC_9. Brain-computer-interface work (Willett, Velliste) is a further technological strategy the guide layer can pull if a stronger 'augmentation' angle is wanted.

## Common pitfalls

- **Wrong:** Assuming that once a bias is identified it can simply be trained away.
  - Why it fails: A frequently penalised misconception in IB Psychology exams.
  - Correct: Improvement is real but bounded — Ludolph and Schulz found only 69% of debiasing interventions partially or completely successful, and implicit-bias reductions can be context-dependent; present a strategy WITH how well it actually works.

---

From [OwlsPrep](https://www.owlsprep.com) — free study guides for A-Level, IB, AP and IGCSE, written against the official syllabus. Canonical page: https://www.owlsprep.com/study/ib-psychology-lc-improving-a-cognitive-process/