PSYCOLOGY IN THE CONTEXT OF INFORMATION SOCIETY

di Paolo Manzelli - Presidente Associazione Internazionale EGO-CreaNET

First issue - Mental Disorders from Cognitive problems

Anxiety and other psycological problems can be generated from cognitive origin. As a matter of fact, cognitive disorders affects the brain learning system , when knowledge acquired thought traditional studies, becomes obsolete and so it can«t be usefull to forecast the complexity
of changing reality.

The development of a conscious Ego it is a dinamical process is a dinamical process of learning.

As a matter of facts, we onserve that when the acquired knovledge is obsolete that means the cognitive domain is no more coexisting and hence useful to adapt the conscious Ego to the evolving condition of living environment, some disorder in the psyche emerges, resulting like in the contemporary society, in a deep mankind’s crisis.

An example of what I am saying is relative to the use of Internet in the World Wide Web.

In fact, using Internet gives the possibility to get over the traditional Cartesian- space--time dimensions (x,y,z, t ), and also gives the possibility to explore some different aspects of the hiddden creativity of the proper Ego, in the new psychological context of the incoming information society.

Cognitive confusion and hence mental disorders can be generated in the learning system when conservative conception of Cartesian-space-time, even are included in teaching programmes of internet utilisation in the WWW, instead of the new dimensions of space time of information that is (x,y, t1,t2) where space it is bidimentional and also time is bidimensional. (see in Italian: http://www.psychomedia.it/pm/telecomm/telematic/manzelli.htm)

Because each event is codified into the brain functions according to the cognitive spatial and temporal patterns, the previous paper titled, "from the world of Atoms to the words of Bits" , will be useful to cover the new need to understand the space-time dimension on a global world of information and hence to prevent cognitive addition of mental disorders at the psychological level of students. This same paper is also written with the aim to get over the traditional barriers among the old disciplinary division of knowledge and also to implement the integration between humanistic and scientific understanding.

Speaking now in a general way about Psychology in the context of information society, I would like to say that sometimes a diffused stress can be originated from cognitive lack of appropriated knowledge, An example comes from the consideration that our contemporary society is leaded by mass media that imposes a passive behavior to the people learning systems.

Second Issue: From a passive to an to an interattive communication.

An italian sociologist Giovanni Sartori, wrote a book on this issue translated also in spanish with the title of , HOMO VIDENS - LA SOCIEDAD TELEDIRIGIDA ( SEEING MAN - THE TELEDIRECTED SOCIETY). In this book, Prof. Sartori carefully takes account of the fact that the "non interactive" behaviour of TV. and alsoin general of the mass -media information, causes a deep change in the cognitive authority of society, that goes out of University and schooling system to became the power of journalists and also of stars of films or of football players, .....and so on. Therefore the unidirectionality of the informational impact, impresses a psychological decline to the creative ability of HOMO SAPIENS.

The TV in somes ways, gives a psychological conditioning, emerging from a passive learning behaviour. The natural ability of imagination and the capacity of cognitive criticisms is decreasing, and as a result we observe a systematic annulment of creative thought in the contemporary society. But now , at the end of the second millenium we get the opportunity to reverse the conditions of passive behaviour created by mass media , opening a new interactive dialoge by developing internet global intormation and knowledge in the World Wide Web.

Therefore we underlain that , in a potencial way, the new technologies of information can be useful for the need to improve creativity in the post industrial society of the global information.

But nowadays , in spite of this potentiality of interactive collaboration , as an effect of the previuos conditioning of non interactive mass media, about 80 % of internet users are passive lookers.

Also we need to be reminded that a great amount of Internet information is actually not reliable. The previous considerations indicate that at present it is not a large and well qualified use of interactive collaboration in the WWW.

This bad situation may be improved in the next future if Universities and schooling systems all over the world become able to develop new media competencies, and therefore will be capable decide to re-establish the proper authority in the cognitive societal domain, producing international projects for a correct and creative use of new media competencies in internet.

In fact the great potential of interactive communication in the WWW can grow up the post- industrial society of information and knowledge in wich the cognitive power can be centered correctly into the innovative learning system University and Schooling, connected all over the world by internet.

Aiming to fulfil this goal, the Laboratory of Educational Research of the University of Firenze headquarters of EGO-CreaNET WWW-telematic association, (see: http://www.chim1.unifi.it/group/education/) , now is working to develop some international projects oriented to promote new interactive media competencies and skills by means the following projects A) and cognitive new strategy B).

A) To make new professions of interactive infobroker in internet with a very high cultural qualification , for teletraining and telework , as for example in telecommerce, tele medicine, and so on This project is named "Creativity on Line for telalabour , and will be sponsored by the programe ALFA II of the European Union External relations.

B) To develop a strategy aiming to disminish the credibility of TV and traditional mass media , starting from a new cognitive point of view of active functioning of brain-perception.

Working for fitting this goal the LRE of University of Florence develops the new conceptualization of brain active functioning and learning connected with a new approach on space-time dimensions in the field of information. (see in English, SCIENCE & CREATIVITY in: http://www.edscuola.com/)

This cognitive strategy is diffused and continuosly enriched by means an interative co'operation in the WWW, with the EGO-CreaNET international networking team of educational creative research. (EGO'CreaNET means Global Expansion of the Network of Observatories on Creativity).

I really hope that with this lecture (written for the Third International Congress on the issue - LA PSICOLOGIA Y SUS CONTEXTOS, organized by the Psychology Department of the Universidad de Las Amricas in Puebla Mxico 12-14 Nov.98), and on the European Workshop on "STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING NEW MEDIA COMPETENCIES " organized in Mars-Dusseldorf , from European Institute of The Media (22-23 Nov. 98), some of the ideas and projects above can be developed with your co-operation , aiming to create an top level communication through Internet in the WWW that will give a new cognitive authority and an important social power to schooling systems and to Universities all over the world, to grow up the post-industrial society of communication of creative information and knowledge.