Improving a cognitive process
IB PsychologyΒ· Learning and cognitionΒ· 14 min read
1. 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 β but the evidence also shows improvement is partial and depends on the method and context.
2. 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. β Anchors DEBIASING as a strategy to improve decision-making β 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'). β Anchors EXPOSURE to counter-stereotypical examples as a strategy that improves (de-biases) social cognition.
3. Evaluation (AO3)
Strength β evidence-based and applicable β 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 β partial and context-bound β 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.
4. Scope
5. Common Pitfalls
Wrong move:
Assuming that once a bias is identified it can simply be trained away.
Why:
A frequently penalised misconception in IB Psychology exams.
Correct move:
Improvement is real but bounded β 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.
Going deeper
- Cognitive biases in decision-makingthe biases these strategies aim to fix are the decision biases of LC_1 (and COG_1/COG_5).
- Dual processing theoryengaging slow, deliberate System-2 thinking to override System-1 errors is the dual-processing rationale for debiasing (COG_6).