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Debate on Introspection News & Comment TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences Vol.6 No.9 September 2002 371 sleeping did not help. Importantly, though, locate a previously hidden food cache. Super siesta! performance could be restored without Alaskan chickadees were more efficient at A nap in the afternoon could prevent sleep if stimuli were presented on the finding their hidden supplies, suggesting information overload. That is the message opposite side of the screen, suggesting that they had a better spatial memory. from a study conducted by Sara Mednick that deterioration of performance was Analysing the birds’ brains supported this and her colleagues at Harvard University’s caused by region-specific loss of function in hypothesis, showing that hippocampal psychology department [Mednick, S.C. et al. the brain, not general fatigue. So either formation was significantly larger in (2002) Nat. Neurosci. 5, 677–681]. Mednick have a nap after lunch or at least don’t do Alaskan chickadees. It would appear that the tested 139 undergraduates on a ‘texture the same thing all day; perhaps have a word Alaskan chickadee has evolved specific discrimination task’, 4 times in 1 day. The with your boss about the afternoon brain properties to adapt to its harsh students had to report the orientation of a timetable! CBJ environment. As the human brain is similar target-array of bars presented very briefly to the bird brain at the cellular and against a background of horizontal bars. For Harsh conditions make birds sub-cellular level, this study might help us each student, the length of time the appreciate how our own brains change target-array was visible was manipulated brainy during learning and memory. KR until they achieved 80% accuracy. Mednick Living an easy life might not be such a found that with each testing session, the good thing after all. A recent experiment students needed more time to respond has shown that birds that live in a harsh In Brief articles written by accurately, but that performance could be climate have bigger brains than those that restored by a nap of 30 to 60 minutes enjoy a mild climate [Pravosudov, V.V. and Heidi Johansen-Berg, between sessions. And the longer the nap Clayton, N.S. (2002) Behavioural Neurosci. Christian Beresford Jarrett and the better: 60 minutes gave more time for 116, 515–522]. The researchers compared slow-wave sleep, the crucial factor for chickadees from two different areas, Kate Ravilious. restoration of performance. A rest without Alaska and Colorado, and their ability to Letters Debate on Introspection that have led many, though certainly not article.’ This, they argue, is because Establishing a all, psychologists to spurn introspection. researchers ‘…are already highly familiar legitimate My discussion (pp. 339–344 in same issue) with the evidence.’ This logic sounds of the various ways in which people can dangerously close to Woody Allen’s classic relationship with fail to apprehend their own experience is line that he is such a good lover ‘because I introspection not meant to undermine reconciliation practise a lot on my own’. One’s own between psychologists and introspection. personal experiences, no matter how Response to Jack and Roepstorff To the contrary, by conceptualizing the compelling they may seem, are a very manner in which introspection can be dangerous proxy for those of others. Psychologists’ relationship with dissociated from experience, I hope we can How many relationships have suffered introspection is much like that between anticipate potential rough spots in the because one person presupposes that men and women: it is on again, off again relationship before unexpected difficulties what is good for them must necessarily be and psychologists often feel they can further sour psychologist’s trust in good for their partner? It is a similar leap neither live with introspection nor without introspection. As in any relationship, trust to assume that because researchers feel it. In their often compelling article, Jack necessarily depends on an understanding they can naturally introspect about their and Roepstorff argue that the fertility of of differences. own experiences, that they should be the field depends on psychologists When couples commit themselves to similarly able to interpret the reuniting with the practice of introspection enduring relationships, they must introspections of others. [1]. They suggest that, although reluctant recognize not only the anticipated Indeed it is questionable how confident to admit it, psychologists have been pleasures but also the hardships. researchers can be in their own carrying on a surreptitious relationship A danger for any relationship is the introspections. One of the central with introspection that they should come underestimation of the challenges that it implications of dissociations between clean and admit. Although mindful that faces. Although Jack and Roepstorff pay consciousness and meta-consciousness is challenges exist, Jack and Roepstorff lip service to these challenges, their that individuals, presumably including suggest that psychologists can safely admonitions are insufficiently strong. researchers, can misrepresent their embrace introspection and spawn They suggest, for example, that in order to experiences to themselves. Jack and important new insights. apply introspective methods successfully, Roepstorff assert, ‘…there is also a sense in I am sympathetic to Jack and researchers ‘…need do scarcely more than which subjects simply cannot be wrong Roepstorff’s attempt to mend the divisions read the rest of this [Jack and Roepstorff’s] about their own experiential states.’ http://tics.trends.com 1364-6613/02/$ – see front matter © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S1364-6613(02)01970-8 372 News & Comment TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences Vol.6 No.9 September 2002 Presumably they arrived at this conclusion Such linguistic training enables people to of Arizona. I thank Tim Wilson for helpful by drawing on the seemingly self-evident avoid the verbal overshadowing effects discussions and Charles Schreiber and quality of their own introspections, and that translations of experience can Tonya Schooler for comments on an assumed that it must equally apply to otherwise produce [9]. Common ground earlier draft. others. However, when we consider can also be established between research on the topic, this conclusion introspective reports and physiological Jonathan W. Schooler seems less self-evident. If, for example, measures. Jack and Roepstorff cite a 518 Learning Research and Development extensive introspection can cause people to study by Lutz et al. [10] in which subjects’ Center, 3939 University of Pittsburgh, make decisions that they later regret [2], categorizations of different perceptual Pittsburgh PA 15260, USA. then one very reasonable possibility is that experience consistently mapped on to e-mail: [email protected] the introspection caused them to ‘lose unique EEG responses. Once such touch with their feelings’. In short, mappings have been established, then References 1 Jack, A.I. and Roepstorff, A. (2002) Introspection and empirical studies suggest that people can future introspections can be evaluated by cognitive brain mapping: from stimulus–repsonse to fail to appraise adequately (i.e. are wrong assessing the degree to which self-reports script–report. Trends Cogn. Sci. 6, 333–339 about) their own experiential states. co-occur with established associated 2 Wilson, T.D. et. al. (1993) Introspecting about If researchers can neither have physiological responses. reasons can reduce post-choice satisfaction. Pers. Soc. Psychol. B. 19, 331–339 complete confidence in their own Perhaps the most critical element of 3 Wilson, T.D. et al. (1984) Effects of analyzing introspections nor those of their any successful relationship is trust. This is reasons on attitude–behavior consistency. J. Pers. participants, then how do we insure certainly the case for psychologists and Soc. Psychol. 47, 5–16 a successful relationship between introspection, where demonstrations of 4 Wegner, D.M. and Wheatley, T. (1999) Apparent mental causation: sources of the experience of psychologists and introspection? Three questionable introspections [11] have will. Am. Psychol. 54, 480–491 strategies (also fundamental to sound undermined psychologists’ willingness to 5 Wilson, T.D. and Schooler, J.W. (1991) Thinking personal relationships) seem important: rely upon this source of evidence. As in too much: can introspection reduce the quality of identifying behaviors that establish relationships however, it is important to preferences and decisions? J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. credibility, finding common ground that have a theory about when to hold people at 60, 181–192 6 Schooler, J.W. et. al. (1997) At a loss from words: enables mutual understanding, and their word and when to shrug off their verbal overshadowing of perceptual memories. developing a trust that allows one to know comments. We learn to disregard a In The Psychology of Learning and Motivation when to give the benefit of the doubt. partner’s impetuous remarks after a (Medin, D.L., ed.), pp. 293–334, Academic Press In relationships it is often said that difficult day, knowing that such comments 7 Schooler, J.W. et. al. (1993). Thoughts beyond ‘actions speak louder than words’. This often do not represent enduring feelings. words: when language overshadows insight. J. Exp. Psychol. Gen. 122, 166–183 expression does not mean that words are Similarly, as we refine our understanding 8 Sieck, W.R et. al. (1999) Justification effects on the unimportant but rather that they are only of when experiences are likely to become judgment of analogy. Mem. Cogn. 27, 844–855 meaningful if validated by one’s actions. dissociated from meta-consciousness, 9 Melcher, J. and Schooler, J.W. (1996) The Similarly, when people report strategies, we can increasingly predict when misremembrance of wines past: verbal and feelings or beliefs, their accompanying introspections are accurate and when they perceptual expertise differentially mediate verbal overshadowing of taste. J. Mem. Lang. 35, behaviors must correspond with these are suspect. As in human relationships, 231–245 statements if they are to be believed.
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