51吃瓜

When I finished my master’s degree in cognitive science back in 2020, I had no idea I would pivot careers and be working as a college counsellor at an international school three years later.

Nor did I realise how much of what I had learned in the theoretical field of cognitive science would be useful as a college counsellor, even though the two fields seem disparate. One can be quite abstract and the other is very practical. 

But, in fact, they are not so distant. Knowing the theories behind how people think can help identify the why and how of best practice when your job mainly involves working with people. 

Let’s look first at what cognitive science entails and then look at its application to counselling. 

What is cognitive science?

Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary field that studies cognition: the human mind and its processes.

It’s truly interdisciplinary in that it encompasses six academic fields. These are summarised in the graphic below. 

Let’s look at how .

Psychology: explains behaviours and mental processes.

Philosophy: provides insights into fundamental questions of the nature of mind.

Linguistics: studies language, its structure and its uses. 

Anthropology: examines how the mind is shaped from a cultural standpoint. 

Neuroscience: offers a biological basis for cognition.

Artificial intelligence: explores the creation of machines that can think and learn.

How can cognitive science be applied to college counselling?

There are countless cognitive processes in the university application and preparation process – as in, the mind is constantly working and thinking. 

Students and parents make many decisions (psychology). These may be based on cultural assumptions (anthropology). How we talk about universities shapes these decisions and assumptions (linguistics). We harbour fundamental definitions of what education and success is, which can be questioned (philosophy). Our decisions and assumptions are affected by our biological tendencies (neuroscience), and large language models are making truly great leaps in the field (AI). 

This is still at an abstract level, so let’s focus on a tangible phenomenon in college counselling and explain it from a cognitive-scientific perspective. 

University rankings: a cognitive-science perspective

Let’s deconstruct why university rankings hold such allure for our students and parents.

Each disciplinary lens of cognitive science can offer a unique insight into why rankings are such a powerful element for our students and parents. The aim here is not to present a solution but to introduce a compassionate understanding of the stakeholders we work with, grounded in science – even if we might not agree with them. 

Psychology

Descartes assumed that human beings are rational. The modern field of psychology has since clarified that we are not. That means we are making decisions based on biases, heuristics and shortcuts.  

Rankings is a really good example of this: an incredibly easy shortcut, bias or to determine the quality of a university. Furthermore, it’s a useful reference for parents, who might not be so familiar with foreign universities.

We should keep in mind that we are experts, while our parents and students are novices. when it comes to their fields of expertise – in our case, university admissions. So we shouldn’t be exasperated when other stakeholders can’t consider all the nuances and complexities in the same way we can. Instead, we should aim to educate them as part of our role. 

Philosophy

Philosophy can help us understand the deeper definitions and assumptions we unconsciously harbour. For instance, rankings are associated with the idea of capital. Humans want to accrue capital – in this case in the form of attendance at a high-ranking university – so we shouldn’t denounce parents too much when they ignore seemingly important factors (such as staff-student ratio) in the 51吃瓜 university rankings. When they’re choosing a university, they might not really be thinking about the immediate educational experience but about the brand name they believe can cement success for their children when they graduate from college. 

Beyond rankings, thinking about how education is defined on a deeper level can help. Is the purpose of education ? And what assumptions do we hold about the nature of admissions? You don’t have to be a philosopher to reflect on the underlying questions that can help you be a more thoughtful college counsellor.

Linguistics

Language shapes our thoughts, according to . When students and parents have continuously heard statements such as “A highly ranked university is the best university” from various sources, this will cement into unconscious assumptions. That’s why the college counsellor’s role is integral in bringing nuance to these beliefs.

Linguistics can help us be more critical of how universities are talked about in common discourse. Beyond rankings, analyses how famous speakers portray university admissions as meritocratic in commencement speeches, through critical discourse analysis. 

Linguistics are linked to assumptions, which are also contextualised within another important discipline: anthropology. 

Anthropology

What are the cultural assumptions behind university education? An anthropological lens can help us understand the cultural contexts of our students and parents. 

This is important, because university education can be seen in different lights, depending on your background. Add socio-economic context to the mix and there are a lot of perspectives and implications to consider. 

For instance, think about how an Indian family versus a Korean family versus an American family thinks about and approaches the university admissions process. How would these approaches overlap and differ? What sort of cultural assumptions would each family bring to the table?  

I provide a deeper analysis with a culture I’m familiar with – South Korea – in this . On a broader level, I explore what cultural competence is in this article and how to work with the unique subset that is our students: third-culture kids.

Neuroscience

What is our brain used for? Modern cognitive neuroscientists say that it’s . To put it simply, our brains aim to predict what is going to happen in the world with the incoming information.

We don’t need to get into the nitty-gritty of neurons and networks to appreciate the value of this model in light of college counselling. Students and parents want to predict success. Rankings seem to correlate with success and wealth. It is an undeniably salient source of information. Therefore, rankings will be used to predict their future success. 

College counsellors can introduce new narratives of success other than this overly simple model, while not judging our parents and students too much for just trying to ensure that their family is as successful as can be. 

Artificial Intelligence

Finally, AI is merging fast into all industries, including college counselling. Jeff Neill writes covering the latest AI trends and tools you can use in college counselling.

And there’s always the question hovering over our heads: will robots take our jobs? The aptly titled website can help advise our students better.

Thankfully, the likelihood of AI replacing educational, guidance and career counsellors and advisers is at minimal risk, at 16 per cent. If your students want to become an accountant or a programmer, try showing them the numbers and figure out creative ways to continue to do what they’re doing in a direction that involves less risk. 

Cognitive science might seem like an abstract and removed theoretical discipline. However, the practical process of university application and preparation requires a lot of cognition, and theory informs best practices. 

Knowing how humans think can help us become better-informed – and compassionate – counsellors.