Definition of Cognitive Psychology (Essay Sample)

Definition of Cognitive Psychology
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Cognitive psychology can be defined as the scientific study of the human mental processes. It involves the study of how human language is developed and used, the way people approach and solve their problems. It also involves the study of a person’s thinking and creativity. This paper will examine the definition and all that the cognitive psychology entails. The cognitive psychology study as a separate discipline started long time ago during the days of great Greek philosophers such as Plato.
Historically, the term cognitive psychology was used by ancient philosophers and as Plato defined it, cognitive psychology is seat of the mental functioning processes. However, the definition further changed years later as the subject became a different and separate subject. Psychologists who came years later after the great ancient Greek philosophers such as Rene Descartes understood the idea of cognition differently and this brought more comprehensive definition other than the seat of the mental processes as was earlier defined by their predecessors. Descartes argued that the human mind and body are two different entities and should be viewed in such away. Descartes further argued that human beings are born with the innate knowledge. After some years later discussions began to emerge as to whether the mental process of human beings should be views as experiential or regarded as nativism which means that human beings are born with the innate knowledge. Psychologists later came up with discoveries which set the definition of cognitive psychology clear. For example, Paul Broca was also a psychologist who discovered that it was the brain which was solely responsible for language production. Carl Wernickle also further discovered that the brain was also responsible for language comprehension. The definition was not full yet until the mid-20th century when psychologists found more answers to the cognitive functions (Wood at al. 2011). Some of the factors which influenced the psychologists’ findings include; the Second World War in which was majorly accompanied by great development of technology. Scientists wanted to know what influenced human understanding and behavior. This period was marked by mass recruitment of military soldiers and psychology scientists observed how the soldiers were trained and how they could use the new technology. As a result of the study carried out years later by scientists, the definition of the term cognitive psychology developed and acquired a comprehensive definition. Generally, cognitive psychology can be defined as the scientific study of the mind and mental functioning. This functioning includes; learning, retaining information in the memory, maintaining attention, establishing conceptual development, language development and effective decision making processes (Wood et al. 2011).
Some of the key milestones in the development of cognitive psychology include; first is the information processing. Many years ago human brain was compared to a computer. Human brain was identified with the computers because psychologists believed that the human brain used representations just like the computers. Some of the terms such as information processing were later developed in attempt to explain the human mind. Psychologists define information processing as the process in which the mind can receive information, use it and finally keep it in the mind. According to the psychologists, human beings receive information through hearing and seeing, they interpret the information and keep it in the memory and finally, they release that stored information through speaking. Second is the criticism of behaviorism. Behaviorists mainly focused on the observable features or characters of a person. According to the behaviorists, the environment in which one is exposed determines and influences his/her behavior so much. While behaviorists were only concentrating on the person’s behavior alone, the cognitive psychologists looked at the behavior and what caused it step by step. Cognitive psychologists developed a study pattern which ensured investigating the root cause of a behavior and its consequences. Cognitive psychologists argued that behaviorism could not justify the development of a language. According to Chomsky, behaviorists could not explain the origin and development of human language. According to him, language was generative. Lack to explain the development of language was considered the major criticism of the behaviorism.
The third milestone is the Neuroscience. Neuroscience is the study of the interconnection between the nervous system and the brain. It examines how these two things influence the behavior of a person. Researchers have found that the neuroscience helps to understand the states of human consciousness and sensory experiences. In addition, the neuroscience also helps in determining the development of emotions, the physical and the psychological health status of a person. As a result of this stu...