Cognitive Development

The purpose of this program is to increase our understanding of the ways in which psychological processes promote the development of capability and expertise in the domains of cognition and emotion. This would include the underlying neurological processes that govern and regulate these processes as well as inquiry into how these capacities develop over time in response to environmental demands. We further seek to understand how emerging learning technologies can be engaged to both broaden and accelerate these processes in the context of social and organizational behavior.

New developments in the cognitive sciences are beginning to shed some light on some of the key issues in learning and development such as how people acquire expertise and how they make decisions. For example, according to David Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz ("The Neuroscience of Leadership") people's mental maps, which include their personal expectations, attitudes and theories about the world, have a strong influence on their openness to change. These mental maps are increasingly being documented in neuroscience studies. Intuitive Expertise is a key concept in Naturalistic Decision-Making theory of intuition. Together these and similar concepts are redrawing the map of leadership, moving beyond behaviorally-based competency definitions and into areas that have not been well-understood or studied until now.

Cognitive Agility is another emerging concept or construct in leadership studies. It is related to expertise and the ability to shift one's thinking and re-configure one's "mental models" in response to indications that tried-and-true solutions will not work in the current situation. The implications for assessment and development are considerable. As an example, two candidates might have similar general cognitive abilities as measured by traditional I.Q. test, but these same two candidates might differ greatly in the ability to apply their expertise to new and unfamiliar situations. Since there is a wide-spread recognition that future business decisions will have to be made under conditions of increased uncertainty and ambiguity, success may well depend on a person's to think adaptively and continually question one's assumptions.

This on-going research is leading to promising new insights and new methodologies in the future for promoting human growth and development in all walks of life. One thing these studies are telling us is that traditional approaches to learning such as behavioral modeling or insight-oriented counseling are not adequate. New ways to accelerate learning and overcome inertia are needed. These methods will need to be designed, tested and deployed in order to have an impact. Summit is focuing its efforts on creating and testing these new applications.

We are monitoring the literature in neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and developmental psychology, especially as it relates to leadership. We anticipate that there will be a convergence of ideas and methodologies as research in these areas continues and that there will be an increasing demand for new tools and applications that will follow on from this.

We are also actively pursuing partnerships with other organizations who are doing research and applications in this area.