Dualism in Cognitive Development – Understanding the Early Stages of Knowledge and Learning
Critical thinking can help individuals identify bias in themselves and others. According to Paul and Elder (2014), critical thinking enables individuals to think about their thinking to improve it. Critical thinking is self-corrective and can, therefore, help one eliminate or lessen bias. Self-reflection is another mechanism that can help one to become a strategic thinker, capable of identifying irrational and biased thoughts and working towards improvement (Paul & Elder, 2014).
As I have grown older, I have learned to take on the perspectives of other people, knowing that this enhances my understanding of the world around me. The process of switching perspectives has not always been easy, as it entails questioning long-held worldviews and incorporating another’s. However, with today’s diversity, I have found the importance of incorporating other people’s perspectives, as this fosters a sense of intellectual empathy and enhances understanding of complex issues. Besides, Eisenberg et al. (2014) note that the ability to take other people’s perspectives is among the factors that enhance global managers’ success.
I have not reached a level where I can fully inhabit another person’s perspective as I feel that I am still limited by certain cognitive biases. Through self-reflection, critical thinking, and interaction with others, I get to identify personal biases that prevent me from thinking outside my perspective. However, this process helps me learn every day to incorporate the views of others, even if I cannot fully inhabit them.
What Paul and Elder (2014) refer to as intellectual cowardice is among the barriers that prevent me from letting go of my worldview. Worldviews are gained from childhood, and over time, our thoughts and beliefs become habitual. The fear of stepping out of this comfort zone to confront a worldview prevents me from letting it go. The media formulates a big part of my worldview and therefore, sometimes I feel that what is communicated in it is correct. Since most people think the same way, it becomes difficult to think that there is the possibility of error in a certain worldview, or that there is a need to expand this worldview to incorporate other perspectives.
References
Eisenberg, E. M., Goodall, H. L., & Tretheway, A. (2014). Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and constraint (7th ed.). Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2014). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your professional and personal life (2nd ed.). Pearson FT Press.
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The initial stage of cognitive development, defined as dualism by Perry (1968/1999), is defined by Thoma (1993) as: “characterized by a view that objective and immutable answers exist for most questions and that authorities or experts know or can discover the eternal truths. The dualism, students hold a black or white, right or wrong, view of the world and have little tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. Knowledge is regarded as timeless and absolute. Learning is viewed as a process of the transmission of facts and truths from the teacher to the student” (p. 129).
Dualism in Cognitive Development – Understanding the Early Stages of Knowledge and Learning
Paul and Elder (2014) refer to habitual thinking as biased, distorted, partial, uninformed, and often downright prejudiced. Everyone is biased. A person’s view is always partial, partisan, and problematic (Eisenberg et al., 2014).
Write a 250- to 300-word response to the following:
How can you retarget the mechanism you use to identify bias in others and to identify bias in yourself?
What is the experience of switching perspectives like for you?
How fully are you able to inhabit the perspective of another?
What barriers prevent you from letting go of your worldview?