By Myron Alexander Socop Arango and Ming Yean Sia
In a digital period the place science appears extra accessible than ever, massive gaps nonetheless exist, particularly in underrepresented communities. These disparities in entry to data are particularly evident in Guatemala, a rustic wealthy in cultural variety but usually excluded from mainstream scientific conversations. Our initiative, “The Cognitive Science Behind the Adventures of Junajpu and Xbalamke”, seeks to bridge these gaps in Guatemala’s Mayan and Mestizo communities by mixing cognitive science with tales from the traditional Mayan textual content, the Popol Wuj.
In our initiative, our mission is straightforward but profound: To introduce the fascinating discipline of cognitive science to academics in Mayan and Mestizo communities, empowering them to foster curiosity for science in younger minds. We imagine that cognitive science ought to be accessible to all, because it gives worthwhile insights into understanding human behaviour. Subsequently, our workshop is aimed toward educators, dad and mom, and group leaders, who will assist us in spreading this information to the youthful era. By adapting our workshop contents to cultural narratives and on a regular basis contexts, we hope to encourage a future era to discover cognitive science.
Broadening Participation in Cognitive Science by way of Enjoyable Actions and Native Tales
Cognitive science helps us perceive how the mind works, how we expect, take selections, be taught, and the way human behaviour develops. Resulting from historic, political, and economical causes most cognitive science analysis is concentrated inside WEIRD populations — western, educated, industrialised, wealthy, and democratic societies. This leaves a spot in understanding how these findings apply to numerous populations, resembling Guatemala, a rustic with 23 totally different indigenous languages and Spanish because the official lingua franca. Moreover, with restricted entry to instructional assets, data of science is often out there solely to the privileged.
Critically, our workshop goals to unfold the data of cognitive science in addition to preserving the indigenous tradition. We obtain this by taking an revolutionary strategy, weaving in narratives from Popol Wuj, an historical textual content of the Ok’iche’ Maya, to introduce cognitive science ideas. Briefly, Popol Wuj is a set of adventures of the hero twins, Junajpu and Xbalamke, which we use as analogies when introducing totally different branches of cognitive science in our workshop. By instructing cognitive science by way of acquainted tales, we goal to make complicated ideas relatable and related, displaying how conventional data and trendy science can coexist and enrich each other.
As we shall be introducing 4 totally different subjects to our workshop individuals, we’ve fastidiously chosen 4 related tales from Popol Wuj. The primary story that we’ve chosen is a story by which Junajpu misplaced his head but remained alive. This story provides an attractive strategy to introduce Neuroscience, specifically, the mind anatomy (e.g., discussing totally different mind areas) and its varied roles, such because the regulation of important life features, sensory processing, and better cognitive features. The second story that we are going to use is about Xmuqane, the grandmother of the dual heroes, who couldn’t cease laughing even when she was suggested to restrain herself. This scene shall be used as an entry level into discussions about Cognitive Psychology, particularly specializing in govt perform, i.e., the flexibility to set objectives and management one’s actions based mostly on the present wants. The third key episode taken from Popol Wuj describes how Junajpu and Xbalamke negotiated with a rat to disclose a secret hiding place to them. This story highlights an enormous debate in Comparative Psychology: How clever are animals? We may also take this chance to introduce essential considering abilities to our individuals. The fourth and closing story is about Wuqub’ Kak’ix, a proud and boastful macaw who was later defeated by Junajpu and Xbalamke. His sons, Sipakna and Kabraqan, have been equally boastful and each of them met the identical destiny as their father. We are going to use this story to introduce Developmental Psychology and supply an summary of how we sometimes examine language improvement in younger youngsters.
Apart from folktales, our workshop may also embody hands-on actions, movies, and discussions to make sure that the workshop supplies are numerous and interesting. We shall be together with brief clips of well-known analogies, as an example, Intelligent Hans and Mike the Headless Rooster to maintain the workshop individuals’ curiosity excessive. We’re particularly enthusiastic about our day-night Stroop activity, tailored from Sia et al. (2023), as a result of the duty will give the communities a glimpse of how researchers measure inhibitory management. Extra importantly, we may also ask them to make the duty extra culturally relatable in order that they will expertise how psychological experiments are performed.
Present standing
The undertaking has reached a number of thrilling milestones. We’ve developed our supplies systematically, fastidiously checking information and findings within the discipline of cognitive science to create 4 tailor-made displays. We’ve additionally gathered partaking studying supplies, for instance, the related Popol Wuj chapters, to refresh the communities’ reminiscence of the tales. We’ve additionally designed a novel brand by which we embody Mayan glyphs that correspond to the names of Junajpu and Xbalamke, the dual Mayan heroes after whom our undertaking is known as. One other essential step that we’ve undertaken is the interpretation of all the aforementioned supplies from English to Spanish to make them extra accessible to Guatemalan educators. Lastly, we’ve related with Popol Nah, a neighborhood Guatemalan organisation, to achieve academics from maya and mestizo communities. This collaboration with Popol Nah is essential because it roots our workshop in a neighborhood community that shares our dedication to cultural and academic progress.
Lengthy-Time period Imaginative and prescient: Making a Lasting Influence
This workshop is simply step one in direction of creating an enduring affect. We hope this undertaking will encourage additional instructional initiatives that embrace cultural heritage as a gateway to scientific curiosity. We goal to assist educators past the initially deliberate periods, equipping them with instruments to combine cognitive science into lecture rooms and communities. By specializing in cognitive science in Guatemala, we envision a future the place younger individuals from all backgrounds really feel empowered to ask questions concerning the thoughts, behaviour, and human notion. With this undertaking, we hope to put the muse for a extra inclusive scientific group, one the place variety is widely known and data flows freely throughout cultural and linguistic borders. Our workshop individuals will obtain assets such because the tailor-made displays, chosen readings from the Popol Wuj, and directions on how you can perform a easy experiment, specifically the day-night Stroop activity, to allow them to replicate this workshop with different educators and college students. Final however not least, all our supplies shall be out there in an open-access repository on GitHub.
The Cognitive Science Society’s Broadening Participation Grant is now coming into its third yr of funding new initiatives to extend international participation in Cognitive Science. The recipients of this grant characterize a broad scope of revolutionary initiatives aimed toward encouraging participation within the Cognitive Sciences by way of interdisciplinary outreach packages, tasks, and occasions. Individuals in these packages characterize numerous identities, cultures, and geographical places. Because the Cognitive Science Society’s Outreach Committee prepares our name for the third annual Broadening Participation Grant (coming quickly!), we’re delighted to offer updates on every of our 2024 grant recipients.
Sia Ming Yean is at present a postdoctoral researcher at Nationwide Taiwan Regular College. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from the College of Nottingham and labored as a postdoctoral researcher thereafter on the College of Göttingen, Germany. Her analysis curiosity lies broadly in shared studying and cognitive improvement, caregiver-child interplay, early language acquisition, curiosity-based studying, and neuroscience.
