Cognitive Psychology Paper
Cognitive Psychology Definition Paper
Psy 360 6/ 27/11
INTRODUCTION
What is cognitive psychology? Cognitive psychology (2011), according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is defined as, "a branch of psychology concerned with mental processes (as perception, thinking, learning, and memory) especially with respect to the internal events occurring between sensory stimulation and the overt expression of behavior”. Cognition is controlled by the part of the brain that is called the cerebrum. The cerebrum makes up 85% of our brain weight, and is responsible for the way we perceive, think, learn, and memorize things. It is the most important part of the body, because it allows us to function in our everyday routine. In the past ten years we have learned more about cognition and the brain. Cognitive psychology has had many milestones thanks to the evolution of science. DEVELOPMENT OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
The study of cognitive approach in the field of psychology had been around for years, but it wasn’t until the 1970’s when it made an impact in the laboratory. Although there were many different theories that had been developed about personality as well as information- processing, intelligence tests, and many cognitive therapies, cognitive psychology emerged as a reaction to behaviorism. Behaviorist insisted that only stimuli and response were responsible for the way people behaved; cognitive psychology changed that with the study of superior mental processes, which proved that there was more happening in the brain that controlled how people behaved than just a stimuli and response.
E.C. Tolman was one of the psychologists that contributed to cognitive psychology. While conducting experiments with rats to study learning, Tolman observed how reinforcement played a role in the way the rats were learning. This led him to his theory of cognitive maps. His study proved that latent learning (learning that does not consist of an obvious reward) could occur in
Psy 360 6/ 27/11
INTRODUCTION
What is cognitive psychology? Cognitive psychology (2011), according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is defined as, "a branch of psychology concerned with mental processes (as perception, thinking, learning, and memory) especially with respect to the internal events occurring between sensory stimulation and the overt expression of behavior”. Cognition is controlled by the part of the brain that is called the cerebrum. The cerebrum makes up 85% of our brain weight, and is responsible for the way we perceive, think, learn, and memorize things. It is the most important part of the body, because it allows us to function in our everyday routine. In the past ten years we have learned more about cognition and the brain. Cognitive psychology has had many milestones thanks to the evolution of science. DEVELOPMENT OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
The study of cognitive approach in the field of psychology had been around for years, but it wasn’t until the 1970’s when it made an impact in the laboratory. Although there were many different theories that had been developed about personality as well as information- processing, intelligence tests, and many cognitive therapies, cognitive psychology emerged as a reaction to behaviorism. Behaviorist insisted that only stimuli and response were responsible for the way people behaved; cognitive psychology changed that with the study of superior mental processes, which proved that there was more happening in the brain that controlled how people behaved than just a stimuli and response.
E.C. Tolman was one of the psychologists that contributed to cognitive psychology. While conducting experiments with rats to study learning, Tolman observed how reinforcement played a role in the way the rats were learning. This led him to his theory of cognitive maps. His study proved that latent learning (learning that does not consist of an obvious reward) could occur in