Human Development and Performance Throughout

the Lifespan 2nd Edition Cronin Mandich 1133951198

9781133951193
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Chapter 6
Mental Functions and Learning
across the Life Span
OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this chapter, readers should be able to:
• Discuss ICF definition of mental functions and how this definition relates to the aspects of cognition typically seen in the
psychology and rehabilitation literature;
• Describe embodied cognition and embodied learning while reflecting on how people with cognitive impairments may best be
supported to develop cognitive skills;
• Offer clinical examples of disorders in consciousness and orientation functions; differentiate these from disorders in
sleep functions;
• Compare the older Chess and Thomas categorization of temperament types with the newer approach developed by
Rothbart;
• Discuss the distinctions between the psychological, the physiological, and the social theories of intelligence;
© 2016 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
18 Chapter 6

• Explain what is meant by metacognitive knowledge, and offer clinical examples or disorders associated with deficits in
this area;
• Categorize the aspects of metacognitive process in terms of their function in the performance of a complex task, such
as cooking a meal;
• Compare implicit and explicit long-term memory storage, and discuss how difficulties in these areas might manifest in a
clinical population; and
• Describe social learning and affordances in the context of human development and skills acquisition.

CRITICAL THINKING TOPICS

1. The text states that “Cognition is not an isolated brain function, but a complex process that includes a constant use of
communication, language, personal experience, and cultural information.” Consider how culture and communication
functions support and are interrelated with cognition.
• People learn what is needed, valued, and is available to them as an affordance. Where and how you live determine
what you need to learn and what type of learning will be needed for you to be successful in that context. For
example, in most industrialized societies, basic literacy and calculation skills are expected even for unskilled jobs. In
developing countries, skills in cooking, sewing, and building may be more important and more highly valued than
literacy skills.
• Similarly, differing communication expectations impact learning. Most European children develop proficiency in
several languages and have relatively easy access to environments in which to practice these languages to support
learning and eventual skill in the new language. In the United States, few children learn to speak more than
English. Although other languages are taught in the school setting, children have few opportunities to use these
languages outside of the school and therefore do not practice enough to develop proficiency.
2. Embodied cognition theories support that the mind, body, and the environment interact, enabling learners to acquire
or construct new knowledge in an effective manner.
• Three basic tenets define embodied cognition: (1) It is goal-oriented and takes place in real time; (2) embodiment
determines learning outcomes; and (3) cognition is constructive (Cowart, 2005). This model indicates that learning
is most effective when it is placed in a context that is very similar to real-life scenarios and requires learners to
solve problems that would most likely be encountered in real life. Additionally, that learning takes place best in
social contexts where individuals use their prior knowledge to solve problems that are of common interest.
• Consider clinical interventions that students may have observed. Discuss these experience in terms of whether they
were designed to support embodied learning, or how they could be altered to allow embodied learning.
3. Discuss the different types of intelligence and how these functions are affected by aging.
• Intelligence is a key aspect of intellectual function, which refers to those skills that help individuals understand and
constructively integrate information from all types of mental functions. Intelligence is influenced by experience,
environmental contexts, and learning, and is usually measured by the intelligence quotient (IQ). Some people
conceive of intelligence as one general factor; others consider multiple intelligences. Vulnerable aspects of
intelligence include spatial reasoning, perceptual speed, visual processing, and processing speed. Maintained
abilities include habits and cultural knowledge.
4. Describe in your own words a theoretical model of motor learning.
• Three stages of motor learning exist. The first is cognitive and is characterized by verbal rehearsal. The second is
associative, which is feedback-dependent; the movement is refined. The third is autonomous, in which the
movement proceeds automatically and is interrupted by bringing it to conscious awareness.
• There are basically two theoretical models of motor learning. The first is closed loop, which is feedback-
dependent. In the closed loop model, a memory trace of a movement is stored and brought into active memory
when the movement is being worked on. Feedback modifies the perceptual trace. In the open loop theory, which
is used to explain learning of fast or ballistic movements, there is a motor response schema, which contains the
rules for directing movement. These rules are called response specifications. The response specifications are

© 2016 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Mental Functions and Learning across the Life Span 19

changed when actual and expected sensory consequences are compared and an error signal is obtained. The
response specifications are then modified and a new attempt at the task is initiated.
5. Working memory has been intensively studied in recent years because it is so integral to learning complex skills and
ideas. How might working memory impairments manifest in a traditional rehabilitation setting?
• The term working memory describes the ability we have to hold in mind and mentally manipulate information over
short periods of time. Working memory is often thought of as a mental workspace that we can use to store
important information in the course of our mental activities. Working memory allows us to remember that we are
to do 20 repetitions of an exercise and at the same time count how many we have already done.
• In more complex tasks, working memory lets us know where we are in a sequence of tasks. For example, if we are
cooking using a recipe, it lets us remember where we are in cooking process. What ingredients have been added,
and what still need to be added, as well as what tasks we need to complete such as mixing, peeling, chopping, or
baking the food.
• Often individuals may have adequate physical ability to perform tasks, but lack the cognitive support, especially the
working memory to apply the physical ability functionally to perform complex tasks.
Cowart, Monica. (2005). Embodied conition. The Internet Encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved January 31, 2015, from
www.iep.utm.edu/embodcog.htm.

© 2016 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
20 Chapter 6

ACTIVE LEARNING EXERCISE

Activity: Take any well-learned skill that you have. This could be anything such as driving a standard automobile, needlework,
dance steps, or a sport activity. Teach that skill to a novice learner.
Report/Discussion: Answer the following questions about the motor learning session:
• What worked well?
• What do you think you could have improved on?
• What was the most helpful thing you did (demonstration, passive movement modeling, verbal feedback)?
• Could you identify any characteristics of the stages of motor learning in the experience? The Motor Learning
Worksheet can be used with this assignment.
Activity: Play the Go Baby Go Project video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcZtW18WgtE).
Discuss this project in terms of the concepts of embodied cognition and situated learning. Focus on how the motorized vehicles
help make learning about movement concrete and perceptible. Similarly, tell students that cognition refers to the intellectual
processing activities of “thinking, learning, and reasoning.”
The scientists studying embodied cognition look at how the whole body, not just the brain, is involved in perceiving,
learning, and making sense of the world around us. Embodied cognition includes the theory that the body uses concrete sensory
information—smell, texture, movement, sound, temperature, cleanliness—to develop our understanding of space, movement,
and abstract ideas about distance and travel time. Discuss the impact of absent or faulty sensory information on learning, as in
the case of people with vison, hearing, or mobility impairments.

Web Resources
Discover your child’s temperament style (from infants to toddlers), from The Preventive Ounce:
www.preventiveoz.org/image.html

The Keirsey Temperament Sorter II (from the Keirsey website):

www.advisorteam.com/temperament_sorter/register.asp?partid

Myers-Briggs Personality Type (from Know Your Type):

www.knowyourtype.com/

The Personality Compass:

www.personalitycompass.com/

Go Baby Go Project:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcZtW18WgtE

© 2016 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.