Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology is a field in psychology which studies the internal process of the mind. The discipline rejects the use of introspection and utilizes scientific method as a method that is valid for investigation (Schunk, 2008, pp 14&28). This is in contrast with other approaches such as the method in Freudian psychology which is symbol-driven. Cognitive psychology acknowledges the presence of internal state of the mental process such as desire, motivation, and belief which is an aspect that contrasts with Behaviorist psychology. Critics have indicated the contrasting aspect of cognitive psychology as being the empiricism of the field together with the acknowledgement and acceptance of internal mental state.
Cognition is a state of knowing and cognitive psychology aim to study the human activity that deals with knowledge. These activities include memory, perception, thinking, memory solving, attention, creativity, and language use. This cognitive approach in psychology had little impact on experiments out of the laboratory. But as from the 1970, various theories on personality have been developed. Other developments of cognitive psychology are the analyses of information processes, the testing of intelligence and a numbers of therapies that are cognitively oriented.
The development of cognitive psychology was partially due to the reaction against behaviorism. This is because behaviorist insists that responses and stimuli are within the scientific scope. This approach had for a long time prevented the effective study of the process of the higher mental state. Cognitive psychology was the first to study this process against the claim of the behaviorists.
Cognitive psychology defines the human mind as having a structural system that is effective in processing, and storing information. Most cognitive theories indicate that the senses pick information; this information is then analyzed, reordered, stored, and then used in various ways. This activity is called information processing. This process does not necessarily have to occur in the conscious mind and the field hardly relies on conscious introspection.
Experiments have instead been designed to take into consideration the many objective indicators shown in information processing. These are selection of response, measurement of reaction time, test performance of the memory and many others. Logical and mathematical analyses and data found from the experiments have been used to develop models that explain the underling processes. But the models are not absolute in representing the mechanism in the actual brain. It is however, assumed hat all mental activities have various psychological bases and these bases are of minor concern to most psychologists specializing on connectivity. This approach is similar to computer program which have no knowledge but have a physical construction. This is with the hope that the information process in the mind can be understood in relation to the brain machinery (Nesselroade, 2010, P 31-55).
The analogy between the computer and the brain or the program and the mind has in many ways influenced cognitive psychology. These are through the various concepts such as information retrieval and storage, code, executive routine, and buffer have appeared in many cognitive theories. Some cognitive psychologists have viewed artificial intelligence and their field as a science of coordination which borrow concepts from each other. However, not all cognitive psychologists accept this view because they feel that the difference between artificial intelligence and man intelligence is so great that they do not have to be compared together. Therefore, the analogy between the two principles according to them is misleading. This forms a milestone that has been seen in cognitive psychology development.
Cognitive psychology and behaviorism have been used to explain the condition and actions of animals and human beings without necessarily dealing with the mind. Behaviorism approach though it much concerns itself with a completely different aspect from cognitive psychology formed a good starting point for cognitive psychologist in explaining the mysterious nature of human mind. Technology has further assisted psychologists in the understanding of human perception and to interpret the mind into more realistic view of life. The complexities of the mind have been interpreted to issues like synapses, chemicals, brain waves, and various related fields. Modern technology has further assisted the study of cognitive psychology to view the brain and figure out the thinking process in it (Demetriou, Mouyi, & Spanoudis, 2010, P 31).
Behavioral psychology majors on the external actions that are observed. Internal aspects of the mind such as beliefs, faith, and instincts are completely unnecessary to behavioral psychologists. The behavioral psychologist will only aim at describing the observable human behavior. This puts questions as to what actually happens in the internal mental state of the mind. Aspects as memory, the complexity of language, and problem solving are the vital aspects that had not been addressed by behavioral psychologists. This school of thought led to the dismissal of behaviorism and they came up with cognitive psychology.
Ulrich Neisser became among the first renowned cognitive psychologists who first described cognitive psychology. His description referred to all the mental process in which the input of the sensory is reduced, transformed, stored, received, and use. This process is just similar to the functioning of the computer. The computer technological system has become the foundation of cognitive psychology. As the technology grows and improves, psychologists have become more able to study the internal state of the human mind. Thus, technology has become the bridge between cognitive psychology and behaviorism (Sun, 2008, PP 45).
Reference
Schunk, D H (2008) Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective, 5th. Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall, pp. 14, 28
Demetriou, A., Mouyi, A., & Spanoudis, G. (2010). The development of mental processing.
Nesselroade, J. R. (2010). Methods in the study of life-span human development: Issues and answers. In W. F. Overton (Ed.), Biology, cognition and methods across the life-span. Volume 1 of the Handbook of life-span development, Editor-in-chief: R. M. Lerner. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, pp. 36-55
Sun, R(ed.), (2008). The Cambridge Handbook of Computational Psychology. Cambridge University Press, New York. 2008. PP 45
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