Developing a Research Strategy
and the use of Argument Maps in the
Construction of Journal Articles
Research Interests
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Systems Science and Collective Intelligence (Systems Research and Behavioral
Science);
Behavioral and electrophysiological aspects of learning and memory
(Experimental Ageing Research; Brain Research; International Journal of
Psychophysiology; Cognitive Brain Research; Neuropsychobiology);
Physical activity and ageing cognition (International Journal of Human Ageing and
Development);
Emotion, Personality and Cognition in younger and older adults (Psychology and
Aging; Experimental Ageing Research);
Emotion and cardiovascular responding (Biological Psychology; International
Journal of Behavioral Medicine)
The cerebellum and aging cognition (Cortex; New Ideas in Psychology)
Well-Being and Positive Psychology (The Journal of Positive Psychology);
Romantic relationships and well-being (The Journal of Positive Psychology)
Critical Thinking and Education (Educational Research and Reviews; Thinking Skills
and Creativity);
Argument Mapping (Thinking Skills and Creativity; Metacognition and Instruction);
Chronic Pain (PAIN; European Journal of Psychological Assessment);
Spirituality and Mindfulness (The Irish Psychologist; Thinking Skills and Creativity).
The Psychology of Music (getting started...:)
Why conduct research?
• Adapt and flourish: continuous engagement, discovery, creation,
problem-solving, contribution
• Defend and grow: challenge assumptions, critique worldviews,
evaluate accepted knowledge, dethrone maladaptive agendas,
synthesis new powerful perspectives, etc.
• Social engagement: Facilitate understanding and quality decision
making
• Global vision: Shape cultural evolution and bring about positive
social change
• Many other good reasons...
Meaning, flow & well-being
• Meaning
- Three ways of differentiating jobs according to goals and
meaning (Wrzesniewski et al., 1997): Just a job; a Career,
or a Calling
• Flow
- When high skill match high challenge at work, flow may
be experienced and may be key to job satisfaction
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1997)
• Recognising and developing one’s strengths and managing
one’s weaknesses (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001)
Job Satisfaction and the Workplace
Peter Warr (1999) ten qualities of a positive work environment
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Opportunity for personal control
Opportunity for skill use
Reasonable externally generated goals
Variety
Environmental clarity
Availability of money
Physical security
Supportive supervision
Opportunity for interpersonal contact
Valued social position
Values in Action
Classification
Peterson & Seligman (2004)
Facilitating Quality Decision-Making and Action:
Curiosity, reflectiveness, and neutrality
Developing your perspective in a field of others
People use different mental models to describe the same problematic situation....get
stuck in and synthesise
Hofstadter’s integration of Gödel's
Incompleteness Theorem, the music of
Bach, and the art of Escher
Kurt Fischer (Harvard):
People integrate at different
levels of complexity
Table 1. Heuristic Maneuvers and their Reasoning Disadvantages
Developmental automaticity and getting stuck in
y=1181.04+-191.576*log10(x)+eps
2400
2000
Distincts Targets
Typing (speed and accuracy)
Endnote reference tools
Data search tools
Data analysis tools
Data synthesis tools
Argument construction tools
1600
1200
800
400
Developmental automaticity
IT, Information System,
and Semantic Web supports
We cannot automate critical thinking and collective intelligence
Lanier argues:
1) The algorithm-driven direction of Web 2.0 is disempowering
individuals and reducing the creativity of people online
2) The social-semantic web is distorting human relationships and
distancing people from true intimacy.
• Collective intelligence can never be an exclusively algorithm-driven
process; cultivating critical thinking, systems thinking, and computational
thinking skills within individuals is important.
• Technology can support the development of these thinking skills and
facilitate collective intelligence and collective action
• The social psychology of collective action presents other real challenges
(or problems) that require higher-order social-emotional intelligence
However, actively mapping out arguments can facilitate the growth of knowledge,
comprehension, and critical thinking skills
1. Dwyer, C., Hogan, M.J., Stewart, I. (2010). The evaluation of argument mapping as a learning tool: Comparing the effects of map
reading versus text reading on comprehension and recall of arguments. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 5, 16 – 22.
2. Dwyer, C., Hogan, M.J., Stewart, I. (2011). The Promotion of Critical Thinking Skills through Argument Mapping, in C.P, & Forte,
J.M. (Eds), Critical Thinking, Nova Science Publishers, New York.
3. Dwyer, C., Hogan, M.J., Stewart, I. (2013). An Evaluation of Argument Mapping as a Method of Enhancing Critical Thinking
Performance in e-Learning Environments. Metacognition and Instruction (In Press)
4. Dwyer, C., Hogan, M.J., Stewart, I. (2013). An examination of the effects of argument mapping on students' memory and
comprehension performance. Thinking Skills and Creativity (In Press).
Let’s map some arguments...