Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive Psychology

The thorough understanding of the field of cognitive psychology requires examining each aspect of the field. The start of such an examination is the definition and the milestones in the history of cognitive psychology. Some scientists call the field of cognitive psychology the new behavioral psychology or a break from observation only psychology. However, behavioral observation remains a key component in method of study of cognitive functions. The part the brain plays in the thinking process of course, is a main area of study in cognitive psychology. Each of these areas is a topic in this research paper, but first things first. What is cognitive psychology?

Definition of Cognitive Psychology

Is cognitive psychology a new field of study? Considering humans have been studying the thinking process since the beginning of consciousness the word new hardly fits. Perhaps a more appropriate term is the rebirth of the study of mental processes. The struggle of the field of psychology has always been and perhaps always will be to have acknowledgement as a true science. This need to follow empirical methods of study is the reason cognitive psychology has only recently re-arisen as a branch of psychology.

Cognitive Psychology is a study of the processes in acquisition of knowledge. These processes according to Willington (2007, p. 35) are studied in stages which the Online Medical Dictionary's (OMD, 2005) seems to agree within this definition; "A branch of psychology that attempts to integrate into a whole the disparate knowledge from the subfields of perception, learning, memory, intelligence, and thinking. " Although this definition is clear and precise, a full understanding requires looking at the significant historical points of the field of cognitive psychology.

The Key Milestones of the Field

K. S. Lashley (1930) who was a student of Watson's challenges behaviorism as being inadequate to explain cognitive function. Lashley's attack had a large impact in that it was well prepared and had an influence on other psychologists. Lashley's studies point out that behavioral explanations fall short in explaining the interconnectivity of different parts of the brain in cognitive functions. Lashley's objections led others in the field of psychology to question the limitations of the traditional behavioral approach.

A student of Watson's Donald Hebb (1949) proposes that the cognitive functions of the brain are like electrical hardware, which is an analogy to a computer (Willingham, 2007). This touches off a debate about the validity of unobservable data. Hebb's research lead to the information-processing model, which was too far, out for behaviorists but opened a much deeper study of cognition.

Hebb makes a significant contribution here because the analogy he uses has scientific basis but goes against ideas of behaviorism. The following invention of the computer must have helped prove his theory.

Willingham (2007, p. 412) explains that one of the most significant milestones was Norm Chomsky's disagreement with Skinner's behaviorist theory about language. Skinner believed children's acquisition of language could be explained by classical conditioning. Chomsky pointed out that language could be generated or changed by each individual, which of course, meant the mind creates language not controlled by certain form.

This challenge by a noted linguist must have truly stirred things up in the field of psychology. This was significant in establishing cognitive psychology as a science.

Willingham (2007, p.153) gave George A. Miller's 1956 writing on the magical number seven as a milestone for cognitive psychology. Miller's study of memory was significant in showing the ability of the brain to retain information. The magic number 7 plus or minus 1 or 2 shows a limitation on the amount of information the brain can retain in short periods. This work in primary memory is an abstract construct. An abstract construct is difficult for Behaviorists because an abstract construct is a function of thought and therefore unobservable.

The importance of the invention of the computer cannot be overlooked as a milestone for cognitive science since this invention provided the framework for the information-processing model. Willington (2007) says the computer was a new metaphor for cognitive scientists because the computer interprets information from symbols just as the human brain does.

The Importance of Behavioral Observation

Willington (2007) explains cognitive psychology has the goal to explain behavior through determining which thoughts produce which behavior. In this way, cognitive science is not a break from behavioral observation but rather an extension of behavioral psychology.

In defining cognitive psychology as a replacement for behavioral psychology, Willington (2007) still emphasizes the importance of behavioral observation. However, the importance in explaining behavioral observation fully is cognitive psychology's goal. The invention of the computer is the perfect way to show the importance of thought in behavior. Using the computer as an analogy of the human brain was a breakthrough for cognitive psychologists. Since behaviorists look, only at what is observable the analogy is behavioral observation only is like looking at a computer monitor and thus having no idea of the software processes going on. The metaphor of the computer being like the brain led to the information-processing model. This model shows that the human brain processes information just as a computer and does so in stages just as a computer. This model led to a much deeper understanding of behavior…..an enhancement of behavioral observation.

Explain the Role of the Brain in Cognitive Functions

According to Willington (2007, p. 49) since the brain produces the mind the most likely conclusion would be that cognitive science focuses on the brain. However, in the beginning of cognitive science, the brain was not the focus of study and not until the 1980s did the brain become a more important are of study for cognitive psychologists. The most important function of the brain that is useful for cognitive psychologists is the aspect of localization, which means a particular part of the brain for a particular function. When a part of the brain is identifiable as having relation to a certain function of thought processing the area can be manipulated to show why a particular thought occurs and what causes a change in that processing.

Analytic Conclusions

The birth of cognitive psychology seems to have arisen from the inadequate explanations of behavioral psychology. The psychologists Lashley, Hebb, and Miller each brought a challenge to behaviorists in the limitations of behavioral observation. The linguist Chomsky probably dealt the hardest blow showing Skinner's report on language as being untrue. In addition to these challenges, the invention of the computer gave cognitive supporters just the tool to show the importance of thoughts in producing behavior. The objections to behavioral psychology were not that it was an incorrect science but rather a limited one. This meant that behavioral observation was still important but that thought and the mind could not be overlooked as a fundamental influence to behavior. Finally, the localization of the brain in cognitive function is a significant help to cognitive science in studying cognitive functions.

References

Green, C. (n.d.) Classics in the history of psychology, Retrieved May 9, 2008 from

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Lashley/neural.htm

Willingham, D.T. (2007). Cognition: The Thinking Animal, (3rd ed.), by Daniel T. Willingham.

Published by Pearson Prentice Hall. Copyright ©2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.